There were high expectations on Apple for its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year. The Cupertino giant had fallen behind rivals when it came to AI features, and it needed a strong comeback. And Apple did not disappoint on Monday night with its WWDC 2026 keynote, as the company revealed a bunch of new stuff that will be coming to your Apple devices soon.
The company is going all-in on AI with a plethora of new features announced during the WWDC 2026 keynote. But before we have a look at what’s in store, keep in mind that this keynote was even more special as it was Tim Cook’s final WWDC keynote as Apple CEO. Cook will be succeeded by John Ternus as CEO on September 1.
Siri AI
Apple has gone back to the drawing board with Siri, now calling it Siri AI. The company announced that it has rebuilt Siri with a new AI architecture developed in collaboration with Google and based on the Gemini family of models – part of a deal signed between the two companies earlier this year.
Siri AI now gets a dedicated app, and can also work across various apps on your device. Apple says that the new Siri is more conversational, and understands personal context. Siri AI will work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay and Vision Pro. Your conversations with Siri AI can be synced via iCloud.
Visual Intelligence has also improved with Siri AI. The voice assistant will now be able to better understand what is on your screen and give you relevant information, akin to Google Lens.
Apple stated users will be able to adjust Siri’s speaking pace, make it more expressive, change its accent and use it while typing anywhere text input is supported. The initial rollout is in English, with more languages to follow. However, Siri AI will not be available in the EU and China at launch for regulatory reasons.
Improved Apple Intelligence
Siri is not the only one getting smarter. Apple also announced improved Apple Intelligence features. Apple Intelligence will now manage Safari tabs, update compromised passwords with one tap, understand cross-app context and offer AI-powered reply suggestions in Messages.
It can also suggest actions such as creating calendar events from conversations, track price changes on webpages and pull information from other apps such as Mail and Messages during a phone call.
In Health, Apple is adding menopause and perimenopause support to Cycle Tracking. Apple revealed that the Phone and Messages apps would become more context-aware, while Photos, Safari and other apps would gain deeper Apple Intelligence integration.
The Home app can now use Apple Intelligence for clearer camera alerts and to stitch together clips from multiple cameras. For developers, Apple announced new APIs, updated foundation model tools, image-generation features and support for third-party AI models through a new Core AI framework.
Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi stated, “We believe privacy in AI is non-negotiable,” adding that data sent to the cloud is used only to execute a request and that outside experts can verify that promise.
As per the company, Apple Intelligence combines on-device processing with Private Cloud Compute and a new system orchestrator that links apps, personal files, screen content and web information. Federighi said some Apple Intelligence features, including image generation, will have daily usage limits, with increased access available through most iCloud Plus plans.
Image Playground and new features for Photos
Apple also confirmed that the Image Playground app was being improved. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the app can now create better images based on your prompts. You can also use the app to generate lock screens, iMessage backgrounds, contact posters, and more. And Apple will not use your images to train its AI models.
If you don’t want to generate AI images, you can still use AI to edit your images in Apple’s Photos app. The company announced new features such as Reframe that allow you to reposition the camera in the original scene. There is also Expand that can change the aspect ratio of your image or add more to a scene. The Clean Up tool is also getting better at removing objects from images.
iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate
During the keynote, Apple confirmed that it would bring iOS 27 support to all iPhones that got iOS 26 – that is, till the iPhone 11. The Cupertino giant said that in iOS 27, apps could launch up to 30 per cent faster and newly captured photos could appear in the Photos app up to 70 per cent faster. AirDrop transfers could also be up to 80 per cent faster, with changes to CPU scheduling aimed at better multitasking and benefits for older devices.
Another change with iOS 27 is Liquid Glass. Apple will now give full control to users on whether they want to have the Liquid Glass theme across the UI or switch to a more tinted look.
The update also brings smarter switching between Wi-Fi and cellular networks, a new search infrastructure, support for Android and Windows users to contribute to iCloud Shared Albums, custom EQ settings for AirPods and upgraded Flyover experiences in Maps.
Apple also announced macOS Golden Gate. The update brings redesigned toolbars, edge-to-edge sidebars, colour-coded sidebar icons, refreshed app icons and rounded window corners. Siri AI will be integrated into Spotlight on the Mac, where users can ask questions, analyse files and expand queries into separate windows, and Apple said a new Siri input option would also appear when right-clicking files.
Apart from these updates, Apple also announced stricter parental controls for Child accounts, using approval-based systems and stricter defaults for safer device use.
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