Apple is limping into its big summer event this year.
The iPhone giant is setting the stage for its Worldwide Developers Conference — its annual software-focused event that Apple fanatics and investors alike look forward to.
On Monday, developers will descend on Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California, where CEO Tim Cook and other executives are set to debut their famous keynote. The event has become known for exciting product reveals, such as the Apple Vision Pro headset and a sneak peek at the latest version of its iPhone operating system, iOS.
This year, however, Apple will have three elephants in the room on its big day: biting China tariffs, an already-behind-schedule Apple Intelligence, and questions around the company’s long-term vision for its hardware.
Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee doesn’t expect much fireworks.
“The WWDC announcements will be relatively incremental and muted, perhaps except for a likely visual design overhaul of the user experience,” Chatterjee told Business Insider.
In 2024, Cook and Co. introduced the world to Apple Intelligence, Apple’s play on artificial intelligence. It built an iPhone around the AI. Nearly a year later, Apple Intelligence hasn’t lived up to analysts’ expectations for driving more iPhone upgrades.
Apple delayed its promise of a more personalized Siri, which was showcased at WWDC 2024. In April, the company told the unaffiliated Apple blog Daring Fireball that it would take “longer than we thought” to be ready for release.
Monday is a “critical opportunity” for Apple to address key questions about its AI, such as where its roadmap for Apple Intelligence is headed, said Gadjo Sevilla, analyst at EMARKETER, a sister company to BI.
“The company’s AI transition has been fraught with delays and the company’s inability to showcase its own AI capabilities,” Sevilla said.
Apple’s terrible, horrible, no good start to 2025
Apple hasn’t had the easiest start to 2025.
The company has been raked by legal battles involving its app store, unpredictable tariff announcements that caused a supply-chain scramble, and ongoing challenges in China, a key region for iPhone sales and manufacturing.
During Apple’s earnings call in early May, Cook told investors to expect $900 million in tariff costs in the June quarter.
Then, on May 23, President Donald Trump said iPhones produced outside the US would face a tariff of at least 25%. Analysts previously said shifting iPhone production away from countries like India and China to the US could take up to 10 years and cause iPhone prices to skyrocket.
Chatterjee said these tariff changes could have “grave consequences” for the company.
Apple also suffered a major setback last month in its yearslong court battle with Epic Games. A judge ruled that it will no longer be able to collect a 27% fee from US developers who direct users to make purchases externally.
As a developer-focused event, WWDC could be an opportunity for Apple to smooth things over with app builders.
“This is Apple’s chance to mend ties with developers frustrated by its restrictive ecosystem and high fees,” Sevilla said.
Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.
Meanwhile, OpenAI, which partnered with Apple last year to bring ChatGPT to Siri, recently tapped Apple’s former design lead Jony Ive to work on wearable AI hardware. Ive famously worked closely with the late Apple cofounder, Steve Jobs, to design some of the company’s most iconic gadgets before leaving the company in 2019.
Apple was notably late to the AI game. The recent OpenAI hire has analysts concerned that Apple’s position as a frontrunner in innovation is slipping.
“This raises expectations for Apple to counter with its own AI innovations — especially since the narrative of the ‘next big thing’ happening outside Apple, led by its former star designer, is one the company will likely want to dispel,” Sevilla said.
Apple has a key advantage in the AI race, however — a massive, global distribution channel for its software. After all, the iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the world.
The tech world will be watching to see if Apple makes moves at WWDC to course-correct after its stumbles in AI over the last year.
Business Insider will be liveblogging Cook’s WWDC keynote, which kicks off Monday at 1 p.m. ET.
