2026 is the year for Apple Intelligence to shine

Investment firm Wedbush is telling its clients to ignore recent reports of delays to Siri, saying that 2026 is when Apple Intelligence will be a boon.

Wedbush took its Apple target price up to $350 in December 2025, based on high expectations for Apple Intelligence. Keeping that figure, it then repeated this expectation in January 2026 — and is now back to do so again, specifically because of recent rumors.

Those rumors claimed that testing of the new Siri is going poorly, and its improved features will be delayed, perhaps until iOS 27 in September. Consequently, investors have been selling off their Apple shares, but Wedbush says this is unwarranted.

Its analysts acknowledge that features may be more spread out across iOS 26.4, iOS 26.5 and iOS 27. But overall says that Apple is on target for its planned summer release.

The company does still say that there is a concern about what it describes as Apple’s invisible AI strategy. But in a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, its analysts advise sticking with Apple, and the firm is keeping its $350 target price.

Underestimating Apple

Wedbush maintains that 2026 is going to be Apple’s year for AI, and says that the Street is greatly underestimating what the will mean for its bottom line. Its analysts again predict an Apple Intelligence subscription option, saying that could add up to $100 in value per share.

There is the issue that Apple has been perceived to be behind its competitors in AI. While describing Apple’s approach to Apple Intelligence as having been a soap opera so far, though, Wedbush thinks that is about to change.

Specifically, it expects better things from Apple over AI in part because of the deal with Google Gemini. Then Apple has restructured its AI leadership, too.

But it does all rest on the new Siri being as good as promised. Wedbush says that this is one of Apple’s most important technology launches in the firm’s history.

That is down to the significance of the revamped Siri, plus how it should put an end to Apple being considered as behind by investors. But it’s also important because an improved Siri will launch simultaneously for a significant portion of the 1.5 billion iPhones in use.

Separately, the absence of improved Apple Intelligence features in the newly-released beta of iOS 26.4 isn’t necessarily a sign that the work is delayed. As it did with the original Apple Intelligence release, Apple is at least likely to again not enable the features until closer to the public shipping date.