CUPERTINO, Calif. >> After stumbling out of the starting gate in Big Tech’s pivotal race to capitalize on artificial intelligence, Apple tried to regain its footing Monday during an annual developers conference that focused mostly on incremental advances and cosmetic changes in its technology.

The presummer rite, which attracted thousands of developers from nearly 60 countries to Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters, was more subdued than the feverish anticipation that surrounded the event during the previous two years.

Apple highlighted plans for more AI tools designed to simplify people’s lives and make its products even more intuitive while also providing an early glimpse at the biggest redesign of its iPhone software in a decade.

In doing so, Apple executives refrained from issuing bold promises of breakthroughs that punctuated recent conferences, prompting CFRA analyst Angelo Zino to deride the event as a “dud” in a research note.

In 2023, Apple unveiled a mixed-reality headset that has become little more than a niche product, and last year trumpeted its first major foray into the AI craze with an array of new features highlighted by the promise of a smarter and more versatile version of its virtual assistant, Siri — a goal that has hasn’t been achieved yet.

“This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s top software executive, said Monday at the outset of the conference. The company didn’t provide a precise timetable for the Siri’s AI upgrade to be finished but indicated it won’t happen until next year, at the earliest.

“The silence surrounding Siri was deafening,” said Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee said.

“No amount of text corrections or cute emojis can fill the yawning void of an intuitive, interactive AI experience that we know Siri will be capable of when ready. We just don’t know when that will happen. The end of the Siri runway is coming up fast, and Apple needs to lift off.”

Apple executives promised to make its software more compatible with the increasingly sophisticated computer chips that have been powering its products while also making it easier to toggle between the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

“Our product experience has become even more seamless and enjoyable,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told the crowd as the 90-minute showcase wrapped up.

IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said Apple seemed to be largely using Monday’s conference to demonstrate the company still has a blueprint for success in AI, even if it’s going to take longer to realize the vision that was presented a year ago.

“This year’s event was not about disruptive innovation, but rather careful calibration, platform refinement and developer enablement — positioning itself for future moves rather than unveiling game-changing technologies,” Jeronimo said.

On top of all that, Apple has been caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, a key manufacturing hub for the company. Cook successfully persuaded Trump to exempt the iPhone from tariffs during the president’s first administration, but he has had less success during Trump’s second term, which seems more determined to prod Apple to make its products in the U.S.

The multidimensional gauntlet facing Apple is spooking investors, causing the company’s stock price to plunge by 20% so far this year — a decline that has erased about $750 billion in shareholder wealth.