WWDC 2025 is just around the corner, and something feels off about the usual pre-conference buzz. The whispers from inside Apple suggest this won’t be the big AI moment everyone’s waiting for. Instead, we’re about to see a company grapple with an uncomfortable reality: they’re further behind in AI than anyone wants to admit.

Apple Intelligence: Promise That Didn’t Deliver

Remember last year when Apple introduced “Apple Intelligence”? The company played it cool, positioning itself as the thoughtful alternative to all the rushed AI products flooding the market. The message was clear:

“Sure, we’re late to the party, but we’ll do it right.”

That confidence hasn’t aged well. By August, when developers finally got their hands on the beta, the cracks started showing. Apple Intelligence felt more like smart marketing than actual innovation. Don’t get me wrong, features like Writing Tools, Genmoji, and Priority Notifications are genuinely useful in everyday life. But they couldn’t compete with the jaw-dropping capabilities that OpenAI and Google were rolling out.

The real disappointment? Siri’s promised makeover got shelved indefinitely. Apple had big plans to turn Siri into a truly conversational assistant; think ChatGPT with Apple’s polish. Instead, they’re stuck with the same Siri we’ve been frustrated with for years while Google’s AI is already accessing personal data and generating videos.

WWDC 2025: Managing Expectations

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman put it bluntly:

“Apple needs a comeback. But that probably won’t be happening at this year’s WWDC.”

Sources inside the company are already warning that the conference might disappoint anyone expecting major AI breakthroughs.

So, what will we actually see? Here’s the realistic rundown:

Opening Up AI to Developers: The biggest announcement is Apple sharing its Foundation Models with third-party developers. These are relatively small AI models (about 3 billion parameters) designed for simple on-device tasks like summarizing text. It’s a smart move that plays to Apple’s ecosystem strengths, but let’s be honest: these aren’t the powerful AI models making headlines elsewhere.

Better Battery Life: An AI-powered battery management system that optimizes power consumption. Practical? Absolutely. Revolutionary? Not exactly.

Improved Translation: The Translate app gets a makeover with better AirPods and Siri integration for real-time translation. Again, useful but not groundbreaking.

The Rebrand Game: Apple will likely slap “AI-powered” labels on existing features in Safari and Photos. It’s the same strategy they used last year; if you can’t beat them, at least it sounds like you’re keeping up.

Real Action Starts in 2026

Here’s where things get interesting. Apple isn’t just sitting around—they’re making some serious bets on 2026. If these projects pan out, they could actually change the game:

LLM Siri: A complete architectural rebuild of Siri is on the way, aiming to create something genuinely conversational, which is more like ChatGPT’s voice mode than the current command-based system. This represents the kind of fundamental rethinking that could actually differentiate Apple’s approach.

“Mulberry” Health AI: An AI-powered doctor service and redesigned Health app is targeted for spring 2026 as part of iOS 26. This plays directly into Apple’s health ecosystem strengths and could represent a genuine breakthrough in consumer health AI.

“Knowledge” Chatbot: Apple’s answer to ChatGPT is in development, and it’s designed to pull information from the open web. However, this has faced delays like the Siri overhaul, reportedly due to concerns about AI hallucinations and internal disagreements about the approach.

Behind the scenes, Apple has been busy. They’re testing AI models ranging from small (3 billion parameters) to massive (150 billion parameters). That biggest model? It’s reportedly performing as well as recent ChatGPT versions in internal tests. But Apple being Apple, they’re holding back due to concerns about AI making mistakes and internal debates about the right approach.

It’s Not All About AI

WWDC 2025 will bring some other notable changes that are worth paying attention to:

New Naming System: Say goodbye to iOS 19, 20, 21. Apple is switching to year-based names like iOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26. It’s a small change that signals Apple recognizes the tech world is moving faster than their traditional annual update cycle.

macOS Gets a New Look: The next Mac operating system will be called “macOS Tahoe” and comes with what sounds like a significant visual overhaul. If you’re tired of the current Mac interface, this might be the refresh you’ve been waiting for.

Gaming Gets Serious: Apple is launching a new gaming app across all devices that’ll serve as a central hub for discovering games, checking leaderboards, and connecting with other players. The really interesting part? The Mac version might even let you access games sold outside the App Store and that would be a pretty big departure for Apple.

Bottom Line

Apple finds itself in an unusual position. For years, they’ve perfected the art of being fashionably late by arriving after everyone else but delivering something so polished and integrated that it doesn’t matter. They did it with smartphones, tablets and smartwatches.

However, AI feels different. The pace is relentless, and the competition isn’t slowing down. While Apple works on their 2026 projects, OpenAI and Google are shipping new capabilities every few months. The risk is that by the time Apple’s ready to show their cards, the game might have moved on entirely.

That said, don’t count Apple out just yet. When they do launch their conversational Siri, AI health assistant, and web-connected chatbot in 2026, these features will likely be more thoughtfully integrated into daily life than most current AI tools. The question is whether that integration advantage will be enough to make up for the time they’ve lost.

WWDC 2025 is shaping up to be something we rarely see from Apple: a moment of visible vulnerability. They’re not hiding their current limitations, but they’re also making it clear they have bigger plans brewing. Whether those plans are enough to keep Apple competitive in AI remains the biggest question facing the company today.