Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) stock has not reacted all too positively amid WWDC 2026. Undoubtedly, that’s not because the presentation disappointed. There were ample AI innovations under the hood, but, in terms of the surprise factor, not much wasn’t on the bingo cards of investors going into the big week. Siri AI is finally here, and the age of AI devices and personalized intelligence seems ready to enter prime time.
It took quite a while to rebuild Siri from the ground up, but the important thing is that the firm is ready to go with a bit of help from Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Gemini. With shares of Apple pulling back more than 4% at its worst point on Tuesday, it feels like just another sell-the-news WWDC event.
Indeed, there was a lot of anticipation going in and, for the most part, it was as expected. To move the needle higher on a stock priced at more than 36 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E), sometimes it takes a bit more, especially now that the market has a bit of an upset stomach when it comes to tech names following Friday’s big blow-up in tech.
Apple Intelligence in the Google era looks promising
For OpenAI, it’s hard not to feel left behind now that Apple has a new dance partner and a polished update that might finally deliver for Apple users. In my view, it feels like ChatGPT, the former star of Apple Intelligence, is now poised to take on a more background role. If Siri AI and Gemini are so great, then I just don’t see as many Apple Intelligence queries going to ChatGPT.
And with rumors swirling since May that OpenAI was considering legal action over the “strained” relationship, questions linger as to whether OpenAI is poised to become just another rival rather than a partner.
Time will tell how the Google partnership goes, but it seems like Apple’s new relationship is going much, much better. Of course, Apple users will have to wait to get their hands on the latest and greatest Siri. But I have a feeling that Apple has gotten AI right.
Morgan Stanley makes a good point
All seems right for Apple after a decent WWDC showing. And while Apple’s steadily been improving its position in the AI race, with some intriguing Apple Foundation Models, exciting innovations built on top of Gemini, and, of course, a dedicated Siri app (again, nothing all too surprising here), there is one small potential cause for concern outlined by analysts over at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), around 1.3 billion devices might not be able to make use of the latest and greatest Siri.
There’s no question that there are a lot of aging devices out there. Given the new architecture and the memory demands, perhaps the initial launch of iOS 27 and the latest Siri won’t benefit those who haven’t upgraded their devices in a while.
Indeed, Morgan Stanley is right on the money. But where some, most notably older iPhone users, see a problem, others, like Morgan Stanley’s Erik Woodring, see a catalyst for an upgrade cycle. Of course, we’ve heard endlessly about an iPhone supercycle from many over the years. And it hasn’t come to fruition, at least not to the magnitude that warrants the use of the word.
Siri AI’s hardware demands are a feature, not a bug
If the latest and greatest AI features are that good, though, my guess is that all those users will have a reason to finally upgrade. And, at the end of the day, it’s device upgrades that are the reason to own the stock as shares sag post-WWDC.
In my view, this could be the pivotal moment where AI, not the camera, the form factor, the screen, or anything else, is the main attraction or the “killer feature,” if you will. With Woodring raising his bull-case target to $440, I think Apple shares have to be a table-pounder at under $300 per share.
Those with devices too old to run the latest Siri might not get a chance to try it out until later. But they will probably go to the Apple Store to test it, and if it delivers, my bet is they’ll probably buy the latest iPhone.
The bottom line
Siri was an afterthought in the past, but now, I think we’re entering an era where Siri is the reason to buy that latest iPhone. And I think the supercycle could also stand to lift sales in the Mac, iPad, and even Apple Watch.
Is this an across-the-board supercycle in the works? Possibly. In any case, the plethora of older devices that can’t run the latest Siri AI is a feature, not a bug, but, of course, that’s just my humble opinion.
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