Are Apple's Announcements Really Worth The Hype?

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) overtook Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) earlier today to become the world’s most valuable company with the market sending Apple stock more than 12% higher since the beginning of the WWDC 2024 event on June 10. The tech giant, until recently, was thought of as a laggard when it comes to AI investments, but the sentiment is quickly changing for the better with the company unveiling Apple Intelligence, an AI suite that leverages generative AI technology to improve personalization of apps and notifications on devices, enhanced communication features such as grammar-checking and email summarization, image creation including sketches and illustrations, and improved Siri capabilities. The hype surrounding these features seems justifiable given that integrating these new features into future iPhone models will likely create a new smartphone upgrade supercycle.

What Was Revealed At WWDC?

The biggest revelation at the WWDC event so far has been Apple’s AI product suite. In addition to this, the company unveiled Apple iOS 18, which allows users to customize the iPhone’s home screen like never before. The new macOS Sequoia for Mac computers, which was revealed during the event, is likely to offer users access to Apple Intelligence as well. The other most notable update comes to Siri, which promises to interact with users more efficiently by pulling data across different applications without prompting the user to switch between apps.

In a bid to offer improved privacy features in the AI era, Apple announced new company-owned servers built on in-house semiconductors which will enable its devices to process generative AI queries without storing sensitive consumer data.

What The Analysts Are Saying

Wall Street analysts are praising Apple’s new AI product suite after being skeptical of the tech giant’s AI strategy for the last couple of years. Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives, in a note to clients earlier today, wrote that Apple devices will trigger a new AI revolution focused on the consumer. The analyst believes that Apple will be able to offer a bundled subscription service for high-end AI capabilities, boosting its services segment revenue in the coming years. Dan Ives has a $275 price target for Apple. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also believes that Apple has an advantage over its rivals in offering on-device AI features to customers. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria, reiterating his $230 price target for Apple, commented that the tech giant’s devices are likely to appeal to a wider audience, triggering broad adoption of AI.

Julie Stoller does not hold positions in Apple. Stocks.News does own positions in Apple.