Apple WWDC likely to focus on AI progress, design improvements: Goldman Sachs

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is getting ready to hold its annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference next month, and Goldman Sachs is expecting to hear lots of information about artificial intelligence progress and improvements to the designs of its operating systems.

“We expect AAPL to demonstrate continued progress toward incorporating AI into its operating systems through developer access to its AI models for app development … as well as the potential announcement of Gemini AI integration on iPhones given Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai’s recent comments regarding hopes to finalize a partnership with Apple by mid-2025,” Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng wrote in a note to clients.

“That said, we believe AAPL will need to demonstrate further success with Apple Intelligence (e.g., late 2025/26 features including AI-enhanced Siri, on-screen awareness, personal context) before investors are willing to underwrite Apple Intelligence as a demand driver.”

Apple will kick off WWDC on June 9 with a keynote address at 1 p.m. EST.

Ng, who has a Buy rating and $253 price target on Apple, also noted that Apple’s various operating systems — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS and visionOS — should get a refresh that gives them a “standardize[d] user interfaces across devices.”

He’s also expecting iOS 19 to include a number of convenience-oriented features, including public Wi-Fi access syncing, AI-powered battery optimization and more. He also said he expects improvements to Apple’s digital voice assistant, Siri, as well as the potential for Apple to open up its large language models to app developers.