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The
World Wide Developers Conference, which attracts thousands of
developers from some 60 countries to Apple’s Silicon Valley
headquarters, usually focuses on software, in contrast to the
fall unveiling of the latest iPhones.
Analysts expect the iPhone maker to give updates on new AI
features and capabilities, including developments with its Siri
voice assistant.
“While hardware products are rarely launched at a developer
show, we could see hints of Apple’s expansion into foldables,
wearables, and smart home products by way of developer and
ecosystem updates," said Emarketer senior analyst Gadjo Sevilla,
who called 2026 a ”transition year” for the conference.
Apple has been playing catch-up with on AI with its Big Tech
peers. It uses Google’s Gemini AI model to help power its AI
features.
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.
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