Apple Confronts AI and Regulatory Hurdles at WWDC 2025
The tech giant is facing many technical and regulatory hurdles.
Apple is grappling with significant technical and regulatory hurdles as key executives prepare to speak at its annual WWDC software developer conference on Monday. The event comes at a critical time, with the company navigating complex issues that could shape its future in the tech landscape.
On the technical side, many of the long-awaited artificial-intelligence features Apple promised at the same conference a year ago have been delayed until next year, even as its rivals such as Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft woo developers with a bevvy of new AI features. Those unfulfilled promises included key improvements to Siri, its digital assistant.
On the regulatory front, courts in the U.S. and Europe are poised to pull down the lucrative walls around Apple’s App Store as even some of the company’s former supporters question whether its fees are justified.
Those challenges are coming to a head at the same time U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened 25% tariffs on Apple’s best-selling iPhone. Apple’s shares are down more than 40% since the start of the year, a sharper decline than Google and also lagging the AI-driven gains in Microsoft shares.
