NEW YORK, June 11, 2026, 08:02 EDT
- Apple ended Wednesday at $291.58, gaining 0.35%. Shares had fallen hard after WWDC early this week.
- AAPL investors are focused on whether Siri AI will actually spark a new iPhone upgrade cycle, or if hardware and regional restrictions hold back uptake.
- Apple’s next big test isn’t another keynote—it’s the Siri AI beta due out later this year.
Apple Inc. shares were looking for direction Thursday as the company’s highly anticipated Siri AI rollout left investors waiting for more. AAPL was last seen at $293.10 premarket, ticking up 0.52% after finishing Wednesday at $291.58. Now the talk is not just about Apple’s AI plans, but about how soon iPhone users will actually get them.
Apple clawed back just a bit after WWDC losses. Shares finished Monday at $301.54, dropped 3.64% Tuesday to $290.55, and added 0.35% Wednesday. Even with the small bounce, the stock sits well under Monday’s intraday high of $317.40. Investors dumped the shares after the event details came out.
Apple is rolling out a shift in its product lineup with Siri AI, a new assistant powered by artificial intelligence. The system will read what’s on the user’s screen, pull in personal info from messages, mail, and photos, respond to web queries, and run tasks inside apps. Developer testing is underway, and Apple plans to release Siri AI as a beta for English-language users on supported devices later this year.
Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi is pitching a “dramatically more capable and conversational assistant” that will help users “get things done throughout the day.” That is the sell investors were looking for—AI not as a stand-alone chatbot, but integrated into iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro. Apple
Market response was muted. Reuters said analysts saw the news as measured, not “earth-shaking.” Bob O’Donnell at TECHnalysis Research told Reuters the latest Siri “finally delivers” on Apple’s promise for the voice assistant. Craig Moffett at MoffettNathanson thinks the Siri changes could turn it into a “credible chatbot,” maybe even a meaningful agent that can do tasks for users instead of just answering questions. Reuters
Reach is the main issue here. Morgan Stanley estimates over 850 million iPhones won’t be able to handle even basic Apple Intelligence queries, and more than 1.3 billion are shut out from advanced Siri features. According to the firm, the chip architecture and a need for 12 GB of unified memory — which the processor and AI modules share — are key roadblocks for rolling out the top-end features.
That’s a mixed bag for Apple’s stock. Limited compatibility might help Apple push upgrades on users with older iPhones, but it could dampen the impact AI has on usage, services revenue, or keeping customers. Morgan Stanley said selling more hardware because of software is a tough sell, even with AI now pushing some buyers to swap phones.
Competition is adding to the time crunch. Reuters said Wednesday that Apple’s Siri AI demo hit the same day OpenAI quietly filed for a possible large IPO. Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT still set the pace Apple wants to match. Apple isn’t just out to show it has AI — it’s fighting to keep the iPhone where most daily AI jobs get done.
Apple faces a regulatory snag. The company said Siri AI won’t launch first in the European Union on iOS, iPadOS or watchOS. Apple cited the Digital Markets Act, a new EU law that pushes big tech firms to open up their systems. Apple also said Siri AI and other new Apple Intelligence functions aren’t coming to China yet due to local rules.
EU officials pushed back. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Reuters, “The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple’s and Apple’s only.” He said the DMA does not block new product launches. Europe made up about 27% of Apple’s sales last fiscal year. DMA violations can cost up to 10% of global annual turnover. Reuters
Apple’s business remains big and profitable, helping the stock hold up despite a letdown. The company posted March-quarter revenue of $111.2 billion, climbing 17% from last year, and diluted EPS of $2.01, up 22%. Apple also approved up to $100 billion more for buybacks. That strong cash flow buys Apple time, but it also sets high expectations for whatever comes next.
Siri AI could land too late, cover too few devices, or end up with weak third-party app support, which may not be enough to shift buying habits. U.S. stock-index futures got a lift from a wider tech rally Thursday, with Nasdaq 100 futures adding 0.98% before the bell, but Apple is facing an execution test now. If the beta later this year can’t show Siri can handle daily stuff well on the devices it runs on, investors may stick with the view that the WWDC pop is on borrowed time.
