Absent from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference next week will be the eagerly awaited artificial-intelligence update to Siri. Its rollout has been postponed indefinitely and is likely to be deferred to the next operating system update cycle, “though the exact timing is still uncertain,” according to analysts. This delay may be contributing to “low investor expectations” for the upcoming event, Citi noted on Monday. The firm’s analysts have consistently highlighted the delay as a negative factor for Apple stock, with Citi stating in March that it could impact full-year device sales.
Mackenzie Tatananni for Barron’s:
Regardless of this stumbling block, the analysts said Monday that Apple is ready to participate in the era of “personal AI server devices,” in which models are distilled and integrated directly onto devices.
The firm remains bullish on Apple’s competitive positioning, as the maker of a so-called full stack of hardware, software, and services. Another bright spot is the company’s 2.35 billion-strong user base, from which Apple can scrape large amounts of data “to optimize user experience.”
The analysts expect Apple to unveil a sweeping user interface redesign, making it “more consistent and simpler” and akin to the OS for Vision Pro, Apple’s mixed-reality headset.
These may seem like negligible changes compared to the much-awaited Siri update, but the analysts see them as evidence of Apple’s “continued efforts on a more consistent and better integrated ecosystem.”
MacDailyNews Note: Citi reiterated a Buy rating and $240 price target on Apple stock, $20.10 below its all-time high of $260.10 set on December 26, 2024.
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