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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) appears poised to enter an era of artificial intelligence monetization when it reveals an array of system updates at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, according to Wedbush.
WWDC 2025 kicks off today with a 1 p.m. EST keynote address at Apple Park in Cupertino, Calif.
“While many on the Street are heading into WWDC as underwhelming given the slower-than-expected rollout of Apple Intelligence, we disagree with this bearish narrative and strongly believe this will be the start of AI monetization period of the Apple ecosystem as the company will continue to lay the foundation through its new operating system updates across mac, iOS, iPad, and others with its ’26’ update,” said Wedbush analysts, led by Daniel Ives, in a Monday investor note.
Wedbush maintains its Outperform rating and $270 12-month price target on the Tim Cook-led tech titan.
“The company will provide a wide array of new features through Apple Intelligence including a revamped operating system while answering key questions about the overall AI strategy that has recently come under fire by the Street,” Ives said. “The company is also expected to provide some important updates on Siri’s integration with Gemini and ChatGPT and the progress with integrating this technology deeper into its app ecosystem which will be key to unlocking the iPhone upgrade cycle for iPhone 17.”
Wedbush also expects to hear an announcement on the status of the partnership between Apple and Alibaba Group (BABA), Apple’s key partner for deploying AI in China.
“This Alibaba partnership is key to the long-awaited growth catalyst in this region with our estimate that over 100 million of the roughly 200 million iPhones in China are in the window of an upgrade opportunity,” Ives said. “While there are still some small issues to be resolved we believe there is growing confidence inside and outside China this AI launch will ultimately happen between Apple and Alibaba.”
Wedbush contends that Apple’s role in the AI revolution isn’t centered around developing the best-performing large language model or a killer AI app, but rather to reap the rewards through its hardware empire.
“Of course, Apple is late to AI, but they are essentially a toll collector on its unmatched global ecosystem as any AI app to consumers will ultimately go through Cupertino as we saw firsthand with DeepSeek (DEEPSEEK) earlier this year,” Ives added.