Investing.com -- The most closely watched element of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this year will be how the company integrates a revamped Siri across its operating system and ecosystem, with particular focus on whether it lays the groundwork for agentic AI workflows, Citi said following an expert call with IDC analysts.

Citi told investors in a note on Friday that the key question is whether Apple will demonstrate autonomous agents capable of completing multi-step tasks on behalf of users, such as managing reservations, shopping decisions, and travel logistics across applications.

New developer tools and APIs enabling third parties to build AI-native experiences on iOS will also be closely watched, according to the bank.

However, Citi cautioned against expecting a landmark moment. "This year's WWDC will likely mark Apple's AI catchup phase rather than be a breakthrough AI moment," the firm wrote, summarizing IDC's view that the conference represents a necessary foundational step rather than a truly differentiated AI experience.

On iPhone demand, IDC experts told Citi that hardware design rather than AI remains the primary demand driver in the near term.

IDC now expects global and China iPhone demand to decline 5% and 3%, respectively, this year, an improvement from prior estimates of down 8% and 9%.

A meaningful AI-driven upgrade cycle is seen as unlikely in the near future, partly because many upcoming Apple Intelligence features will run on existing devices from the iPhone 16 family onward.

On Services monetization from agentic AI, Citi said the opportunity is real but not imminent, with Apple needing to first demonstrate the value of Apple Intelligence before meaningful monetization becomes realistic.