Apple's WWDC is on deck. Here are 5 things to expect as AI comes into focus.

By Emily Bary

WWDC kicks off Monday with CEO Tim Cook's keynote address

Apple Inc.'s iPhone launch events are usually its most anticipated, but this year the company's software-focused World Wide Developers Conference is set to capture Wall Street's attention.

With Apple shares (AAPL) fairly stagnant on the year, Chief Executive Tim Cook will have to live up to big expectations in his Monday afternoon keynote speech, which is likely to bring artificial-intelligence announcements. Given that Apple has been relatively quiet about the technology over the past year, Wall Street is hoping for something flashy.

"In our view WWDC represents the most important event for Apple in over a decade as the pressure to bring a generative AI stack of technology for developers and consumers is front and center," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote earlier this week.

Read: Apple has a chance to change investors' minds

Apple hasn't talked up AI nearly as much as rivals, even though it uses AI across its business, and that might have held its stock back. Still, Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. analyst Brian White thinks Apple made the right move.

"The most overzealous are now saddled with higher-than-expected [generative-AI] expenses," he wrote. "Apple took a different path. Apple wisely chose not to participate in this gen-AI propaganda campaign. We believe this discipline and foresight has served the company well."

But now, it's showtime. Here are some of the biggest expected announcements to watch out for when the event kicks off Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

An OpenAI partnership

Apple does plenty on its own, including designing custom chips, but the company is expected to show off a landmark partnership at Monday's event.

"We expect the formal announcement of a flagship OpenAI partnership will consist of an OpenAI Chatbot with exclusive features" that take advantage of Apple's on-device large language models as well as cloud-powered ones, Ives wrote.

Bloomberg News has reported that Apple will be "outsourcing" AI-chatbot capabilities, allowing itself some insulation in the event that the AI spits out inaccurate responses. And while Apple may not have its own AI-chatbot technology ready for primetime now, that doesn't mean it plans to work with OpenAI forever. Apple could take more time to build out its own offering in the meantime, the report noted.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a MarketWatch request for comment about its OpenAI plans.

Don't miss: OpenAI deal would be AI 'golden goose' for Tim Cook and Apple, says Dan Ives

A better Siri

Apple's WWDC is an annual developer event at which the company typically previews its forthcoming software update - in this case, iOS 18 for iPhones, plus new systems for other Apple devices.

This year's announcements could feature Siri upgrades, Bloomberg has noted. While new Siri functions could take some time to roll out, Apple reportedly plans to make the voice assistant more helpful by giving it the power to control additional apps. For instance, users could ask Siri to delete an email, according to Bloomberg's reporting.

"We view messaging, payments, ride hailing, workouts, photos, car commands, restaurant reservations, music, shortcuts etc. as potential domains that will likely see deeper integration with Siri," BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a recent report.

MacRumors has discussed the prospect of "a more natural voice" for Siri as well.

Emoji upgrades

Software upgrades are important for Apple because they keep users locked into the company's ecosystem. The company routinely bets that fun software features will keep consumers using and buying Apple devices, partly because they're intrigued, and partly because they don't want to miss out on what others are doing.

This year, one intriguing feature could be an upgrade to the emoji experience on iPhones, with Bloomberg reporting that the company is developing a tool that could create custom emojis based on the content of conversations.

MacRumors also mentions that Apple users may be able to add more "reactions" to the messages they send. Right now, iPhone users can choose from six options, including adding a "heart" or "thumbs down" to a message. Soon that could be able to add emojis to the mix there.

A privacy focus

Apple has tried to distinguish itself from others in the tech world by talking up an emphasis on user privacy. Watch for discussion around that theme when WWDC kicks off.

"Privacy and security has become one of the biggest concerns when it comes to generative AI models, and as Apple is known for taking privacy more seriously than peers," Citi Research analyst Atif Malik wrote recently. "Data security will be a key advantage for the company and we expect them to spend time talking about their privacy efforts during the WWDC as well."

Some tweaks to the home screen

Prepare for a few more options if you want to customize your iPhone home screen.

Apple reportedly plans to let users change the colors of iPhone apps, even if developers don't give those options, according to Bloomberg. Other likely home-screen improvements include more flexibility to place apps without strictly adhering to the grid system that has dominated Apple's past operating systems.

-Emily Bary

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06-09-24 0931ET

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