Apple isn't expected to make any big product announcements on the level of the Apple Watch at this year's WDC. But that doesn't mean there won't be news. The five-day annual conference, which is directed mainly towards software developers, starts Monday.
Apple TV
Analysts expect new versions of iOS and OS X to be revealed, but the company could show off new services in TV or streaming music. Perhaps the most anticipated move is in TV, where the company has long been planning a major makeover."Although media reports have been swirling around these services, we believe these additions to the Apple ecosystem are a critical component of Apple's strategy, helping drive new customers and penetrating further into existing ones while adding a recurring revenue stream," Dan Ives said.
In fact, CBS said Wednesday its Showtime network will start streaming programs on Apple devices on July 12 at a monthly fee of $10.99. Also possible is an application programming interface, or API, for TV, a move which would turn the service into a platform for developers, FBR's Ives told CNBC.
What the company is not likely to unveil, though, is a brand new Apple TV box. The New York Times reported this week that Apple scrapped plans to unveil a new device as the product isn't yet complete.
Streaming Music
Investors and consumers alike have also been waiting for the company to dive deeper into the music streaming space after buying Beats Music for $3 billion last year.On Monday, the Wall Street Journal first reported that Apple would in fact roll out a music streaming service to compete with the likes of Pandora and Spotify.
The new service would cost users $10 per month, similar to rates charged Spotify and the recently-launched Tidal. Apple's offering would come as paid downloads on its iTunes music platform declines, as the popularity of streaming grows.
Street eyeing Apple's future
In addition to possible product announcements, investors will be looking for clues about the company's long-term future, Ives said."[Investors] want to know what Apple's future will look like two-to-three years from now," he said. "They want to know how Apple fits into the Internet of Things space."
Ives also said the company could hint at a possible augmented reality project since it confirmed the purchase of Metaio, a Munich-based company that makes augmented-reality software. (That technology, as distinct from virtual reality, adds information or images to real-world scenes when viewed through a special headset or even a smartphone camera.)
Near-term, however, the company's stock growth will be driven by the continuing success of the iPhone 6 and 6+, he said. "You don't mess with Stephen Curry's 3-point shot, just like you don't mess with the iPhone's cycle [because] it's been such a home-run."
Ives also noted it will take something dramatic for a considerable rise in the stock following the event.
Apple Watch
The company will also likely release a software development kit (SDK) for the Apple Watch, thus propelling app development for the wearable, Trip Chowdhry, managing director at Global Equities Research, told CNBC.The company released the wearable in April and, while it has received mixed reviews, Chowdhry said it is "the most addictive device in the world."
"We are living in a 'now' world ... and the Apple Watch is the only device that serves [it]," Chowdhry added.
Not everyone is sanguine about the watch's prospects, though. . "It's less than spectacular [and] certainly not in keeping with some of the other blockbuster releases Apple has had in the past," JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on May 27.
He added that the watch's distribution has been mired by supply-chain issues, thus driving down shipments for this year.
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