Apple unveils software redesign while reeling from AI missteps, tech
upheaval and Trump's trade war
[June 10, 2025] By
MICHAEL LIEDTKE
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big
Tech’s pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple
tried to regain its footing Monday during an annual developers
conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic
changes in its technology.
The presummer rite, which attracted thousands of developers from nearly
60 countries to Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters, subdued compared
with the feverish anticipation that surrounded the event in the last two
years.
Apple highlighted plans for more AI tools designed to simplify people's
lives and make its products even more intuitive. It also provided an
early glimpse at the biggest redesign of its iPhone software in a
decade. In doing so, Apple executives refrained from issuing bold
promises of breakthroughs that punctuated recent conferences, prompting
CFRA analyst Angelo Zino to deride the event as a “dud” in a research
note.
More AI, but what about Siri?
In 2023, Apple unveiled a mixed-reality headset that has been little
more than a niche product, and last year WWDC trumpeted its first major
foray into the AI craze with an array of new features highlighted by the
promise of a smarter and more versatile version of its virtual
assistant, Siri — a goal that has yet to be realized.
“This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar,” Craig
Federighi, Apple’s top software executive, said Monday at the outset of
the conference. The company didn't provide a precise timetable for when
Siri's AI upgrade will be finished but indicated it won't happen until
next year at the earliest.
"The silence surrounding Siri was deafening," said Forrester Research
analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said. “No amount of text corrections or cute
emojis can fill the yawning void of an intuitive, interactive AI
experience that we know Siri will be capable of when ready. We just
don’t know when that will happen. The end of the Siri runway is coming
up fast, and Apple needs to lift off.”
Is Apple, with its ‘liquid glass,’ still a trendsetter?
The showcase unfolded amid nagging questions about whether Apple has
lost some of the mystique and innovative drive that has made it a tech
trendsetter during its nearly 50-year history.
Instead of making a big splash as it did with the Vision Pro headset and
its AI suite, Apple took a mostly low-key approach that emphasized its
effort to spruce up the look of its software with a new design called
“Liquid Glass" while also unveiling a new hub for its video games and
new features like a “Workout Buddy” to help manage physical fitness.
Apple executives promised to make its software more compatible with the
increasingly sophisticated computer chips that have been powering its
products while also making it easier to toggle between the iPhone, iPad,
and Mac.
“Our product experience has become even more seamless and enjoyable,”
Apple CEO Tim Cook told the crowd as the 90-minute showcase wrapped up.
IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said Apple seemed to be largely using
Monday's conference to demonstrate the company still has a blueprint for
success in AI, even if it's going to take longer to realize the vision
that was presented a year ago.
“This year’s event was not about disruptive innovation, but rather
careful calibration, platform refinement and developer enablement
—positioning itself for future moves rather than unveiling game-changing
technologies,” Jeronimo said.
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Attendees watch a presentation during an event on the Apple campus
in Cupertino, Calif., Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Apple’s next operating system will be iOS 26
Besides redesigning its software. Apple will switch to a method that
automakers have used to telegraph their latest car models by linking
them to the year after they first arrive at dealerships. That means the
next version of the iPhone operating system due out this autumn will be
known as iOS 26 instead of iOS 19 — as it would be under the previous
naming approach that has been used since the device's 2007 debut.
The iOS 26 upgrade is expected to be released in September around the
same time Apple traditionally rolls out the next iPhone models.
Playing catchup in AI
Apple opened the proceedings with a short video clip featuring Federighi
speeding around a track in a Formula 1 race car. Although it was meant
to promote the June 27 release of the Apple film, “F1” starring Brad
Pitt, the segment could also be viewed as an unintentional analogy to
the company's attempt to catch up to the rest of the pack in AI
technology.
While some of the new AI tricks compatible with the latest iPhones began
rolling out late last year as part of free software updates, the delays
in a souped-up Siri became so glaring that the chastened company stopped
promoting it in its marketing campaigns earlier this year.
While Apple has been struggling to make AI that meets its standards, the
gap separating it from other tech powerhouses is widening. Google keeps
packing more AI into its Pixel smartphone lineup while introducing more
of the technology into its search engine to dramatically change the way
it works. Samsung, Apple's biggest smartphone rival, is also leaning
heavily into AI. Meanwhile, ChatGPT recently struck a deal that will
bring former Apple design guru Jony Ive into the fold to work on a new
device expected to compete against the iPhone.
Regulatory and trade challenges
Besides grappling with innovation challenges, Apple also faces
regulatory threats that could siphon away billions of dollars in revenue
that help finance its research and development. A federal judge is
currently weighing whether proposed countermeasures to Google's illegal
monopoly in search should include a ban on long-running deals worth $20
billion annually to Apple while another federal judge recently banned
the company from collecting commissions on in-app transactions processed
outside its once-exclusive payment system.
On top of all that, Apple has been caught in the crosshairs of President
Donald Trump's trade war with China, a key manufacturing hub for the
Cupertino, California, company. Cook successfully persuaded Trump to
exempt the iPhone from tariffs during the president's first
administration, but he has had less success during Trump's second term,
which seems more determined to prod Apple to make its products in the
U.S.
The multidimensional gauntlet facing Apple is spooking investors,
causing the company's stock price to plunge by 20% so far this year — a
decline that has erased about $750 billion in shareholder wealth. After
beginning the year as the most valuable company in the world, Apple now
ranks third behind longtime rival Microsoft, another AI leader, and AI
chipmaker Nvidia.
Apple's shares closed down by more than 1% on Monday — an early
indication the company's latest announcements didn't inspire investors.
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