Apple is gearing up to reveal new advancements in artificial intelligence at its upcoming developers conference, starting Monday. This event will mark the final conference under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook before John Ternus takes the reins in September.
The World Wide Developers Conference, drawing thousands of developers from around 60 nations to Apple’s Silicon Valley base, primarily concentrates on software updates. This differs from the company’s fall events, which are known for showcasing the latest iPhone models.
Industry experts anticipate that Apple will introduce updates on AI innovations and enhancements, particularly concerning its Siri voice assistant.
“Although hardware launches are uncommon at developer conferences, we might catch glimpses of Apple’s ventures into foldable devices, wearables, and smart home technology through various developer and ecosystem updates,” remarked Emarketer senior analyst Gadjo Sevilla, who identified 2026 as a “transition year” for the conference.
In the realm of AI, Apple has been striving to match the advancements of other major technology firms. It currently employs Google’s Gemini AI model to bolster its AI functionalities.
Sevilla said he anticipates Siri will be reimagined as an AI chatbot and will be more conversational, have memory to pick up previous conversations, and will be able to complete multiple tasks with single requests.
There is optimism around the potential for an enhanced Siri, he said.
“An upgraded, agentic version of Siri — capable of managing conversations and tasks across iPhones, Macs, and iPads — could become as ubiquitous as features like AirDrop and Handoff, which already unify Apple’s ecosystem,” Sevilla said.
Cook announced his retirement in April, ending a 15-year run that saw the company’s market value soar by more than $4 trillion during an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity.
Ternus has been with Apple for the past quarter century, including the past five years overseeing the engineering underlying the iPhone, iPad and Mac — a role that made him a prime candidate to succeed Cook.
The transition to a new CEO comes at a pivotal time for Apple. Artificial intelligence has unleashed the most upheaval within the industry since Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. Apple has gotten off to a rough start in AI after stumbling in its efforts to deliver new features built on the technology, as promised nearly two years ago.