Apple – WWDC Offerings a ‘Show Me’ Story

Apple (AAPL) kicked off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address in Cupertino, California on Monday. The conference, running through June 13, delivered a slate of significant software updates under a bold new naming convention, alongside enhancements to Apple Intelligence and developer tools. With a hybrid format blending online access with an in-person experience for over 1,000 developers and students, WWDC 2025 lived up to its tagline, “On the Horizon,” by showcasing a forward-looking vision for Apple’s ecosystem.

Unlike last year’s conference that focused on Apple Intelligence and its integration into its products, this year was all about its operating system rebrand and unifying branding across their platforms. Apple introduced a sweeping rebrand of its operating systems, moving away from incremental version numbers to a year-based naming scheme. The company unveiled iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26, aligning version names with the year they will primarily dominate in 2026.

A centerpiece of WWDC 2025 was a major design refresh across Apple’s operating systems, the most significant since 2020. The redesigned user interfaces for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 draw inspiration from the sleek, translucent aesthetics of visionOS, the operating system powering Apple Vision Pro. New “liquid glass” icons introduce a more dynamic, three-dimensional look with enhanced animations and a cohesive visual language across devices.

Following its debut at WWDC 2024, Apple Intelligence received further refinements. Apple announced that its Foundation Models, the backbone of Apple Intelligence, are now open to third-party developers, enabling custom AI-driven app features. Apps like Safari and Photos are quietly rebranded as “AI-powered,” with enhancements such as improved content summarization and smarter photo editing.

Siri also saw updates, with deeper integration into apps and improved context awareness, though highly anticipated features like on-screen interaction and advanced task automation, teased last year, remain in development. This has been the biggest miss for Apple since announcing the AI tools that were supposed to be present already. The Siri updates may not come until next year and may be why the stock is still down 22% from its all-time highs from last December.

There were a few headline additions like watchOS 26 with new design and 'Workout Buddy' to support users staying active. Apple unveiled tvOS 26 and says it comes with improved playback controls and updated interface. Apple previewed the next major macOS release - macOS Tahoe 26 - which it says "introduces a stunning new design and powerful capabilities that enable users to get even more done.

Still, the stock finished Monday down 1.2% as investors reacted to the announcements with some skepticism. The bar was low for the stock and it responded the way many thought it should with valuations still elevated on a historical basis. With the benchmark S&P 500 Index (SPX) only 2.3% off its all-time high as of Monday’s close, Apple stock continues to lag the overall market. Instead of the hype last year’s WWDC provided, maybe investors should be more cautious as Apple may be becoming a ‘show me’ story.