Apple’s (AAPL) Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) has arrived, and investors are eagerly anticipating the unveiling of new offerings from the tech giant, with a particular focus on the artificial intelligence (AI) front. Joining Yahoo Finance to share his outlook is Philip Michaels, the Managing Editor of Tom’s Guide.

Michaels highlights the iOS 18 preview as the big draw for investors, noting that it will showcase Apple’s AI features. “It seems like the brunt of the features are going to be mobile-focused,” he says. Additionally, Michaels anticipates that Apple will address the “compatibility issue,” demonstrating whether older iPhone models will be capable of fully supporting these new AI-driven features.

Addressing concerns about Apple’s late entry into the AI race and the potential impact on its market share, Michaels remains optimistic: “I wouldn’t worry too much about Apple losing market share. They have a very loyal audience. But it is something that Apple is going to need to address given the emphasis that rival companies, like your Google and your Samsungs, are placing on AI,” Michaels told Yahoo Finance.

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This post was written by Angel Smith

Video Transcript

Apple fans are waiting on the edge of their seats for info on the latest iphones I OS update and more here with the biggest questions Apple has to answer for customers is Philip Michaels Tom’s guide, managing editor.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

So Tom, obviously we remember the days of old where there be some some huge hardware launch not expecting that this time around.

What can customers actually get excited about here?

I think the big thing to uh uh get excited about this time around uh in particular will be the uh preview of I OS 18.

Uh the A I features that Apple is gonna talk about today are gonna touch across all the uh various platforms that they have the iphone, the Mac, uh even the, the Apple watch.

But uh it seems like the brunt of the features are going to be uh mobile focus because of course, that’s where uh Apple sells the most products these days.

And um uh the thing that I’m most interested in seeing and I think Dan mentioned it was the uh compatibility uh issue whether older iphones are going to be able to fully support these features or whether uh Apple is using this opportunity to um uh maybe push us towards uh upgrading our iphones in the fall.

And if we do potentially see an upgrade in, in some of these products that will force us to, to buy a new product here, do we know what sort of price range some of these A I enabled uh features will, will come with II I don’t think that the A I itself is going to cost anything.

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I know that there is talk of subscription fees particularly on the uh uh Android platform.

But I think this is gonna be something that Apple bakes into its operating system and, and really all that you’re, you’re, you’re dealing with is the cost of the new phone which uh using Apple’s current prices ranges between $799 to uh 1199.

And that’s, that’s a one time purchase.

And so Philip, are you wondering why we’re not seeing any hardware with this announcement or anything about the, the iphone 16 when when are customers actually going to see that?

So Apple, uh well, Apple is mysterious.

Apple was a very predictable.

Uh They, they like to hold off their phone hardware announcements until the fall to maximize uh sales, particularly around the holiday quarter.

Um WW DC is a developer.

Uh and really the audience that Apple is typically trying to reach are the people that build its apps.

So you don’t often see a lot of hardware at this, at this particular show to the extent that they have done hardware in the past, it’s been either Mac focused uh the machines that these developers can build their apps on uh or occasionally an ipad.

But the the phone announcements are very uh strictly in the fall.

And so then as we look at where the A I capable and A I enabled smartphone market is headed, there’s some recent data from analysis which shows that these A I enabled smartphones are expected to make up 54% of the global smartphone market in 2028.

And that’s actually going to be driven and by consumer demand as well as some of these advanced chips.

So from a customer perspective, do you think Apple is going to lose its edge if it doesn’t come out though, with some really impressive hardware to really take some of this market shit away from your, your Samsungs and your and your Googles.

I, I wouldn’t worry too much about Apple losing market share.

They have a very uh uh loyal audience.

Um but it is something that Apple is uh going to need to address given how the the the um emphasis that rival companies like your Googles and your Samsungs are uh placing on A I.

And I think uh the chip set is really gonna tell the story and we’ve seen Qualcomm with its uh snapdragon chips really put an emphasis on its neural engine.

We’ve seen Google with the uh the tensor chips in its pixel phones, but that’s been a major focus.

Uh up until now go Apple with its a series chips that power its uh its smartphones.

The emphasis has really been on performance and I think we’re going to see more of a focus on neural capabilities going forward.

And so then when you look at some of these, um some of these additions that we’re expecting with the iphone 16, if you’re just a consumer looking to see some sort of big announcement from the WW DC, are, are they going to be disappointed then if it’s really just about more so about software here?

Um I, I think that uh uh people who’ve been Apple customers for a while kind of know what the game is that this is a, that this is where Apple previews its software updates for the year and keep in mind that these uh updates are gonna be available as public beta in a couple of weeks time.

So if you’re really excited to see what uh what’s in store for your iphone, be able to sign up for a public data of I Os 18, download it onto your phone.

I’m not sure I’d do that right away because reports are that the early version might be a little bit buggy.

Uh uh But uh I, I don’t think people are gonna be too disappointed especially since Apple just a month ago, released some new ipads.

We’re gonna have the new phones in the fall.

This is, this is typically a time to focus on software and certainly AAA precursor there as people can sort of think about what they might want to purchase in the fall as well.

Appreciate you joining us this morning, Philip Michaels Tom’s guide, managing editor.

Thank you so much.

Thank, thank you for having me.