8 big takeaways from Apple’s WWDC 2026 event

If there was one phrase the company wanted people to remember from WWDC 2026, it was Apple Intelligence, its very Apple-y branding for its suite of AI features.

Apple said its new AI software, which has undergone a broad overhaul, is being threaded through every product — including its phone-based digital assistant Siri and the Vision Pro wearable.

Siri, in particular, is getting an AI glow-up (more on that below). Safari will be able to organize tabs by topic, monitor webpages for updates, and create custom extensions from a natural-language prompt. Messages, Mail, Calendar, Phone, Home, and Shortcuts are all getting new AI-powered features that will help users do tasks faster.

“We believe that truly helpful AI must be centered around you and your needs,” Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said.

Apple says iOS 27 is designed to make some aging devices feel more responsive.

Stacey Ford, Apple’s vice president of operating systems program management, said the company is bringing an optimized CPU scheduler to older mobile devices, going all the way back to the iPhone 11. The system helps manage how the phone allocates computing power as users juggle different tasks throughout the day.

Ford said the software update’s inclusion of older phones makes it “available to more users than any iOS update, ever.”

Siri is getting a much-needed makeover — and it’s largely powered by AI.

“We know there are times when you expect more from Siri,” Mike Rockwell, Apple’s VP of Siri engineering, said. “Siri is now a profoundly more capable assistant that helps you find what you need and gets more done.”

Siri’s software will make the assistant more conversational and better able to handle multi-step requests, even in third-party apps. The new AI-enhanced Siri can answer follow-up questions, pull from personal context located on the device, understand what’s on your active screen, and take actions across apps — like finding photos from a trip and adding them to a shared album.

Apple is also giving Siri AI its own app, where users can revisit past conversations across devices.

Apple wants to be an iPhone user’s photographic editor. The photo app has three new tools to help.

Photos is getting an upgraded Clean Up tool, which removes distractions even in busy images; Extend, which can generate more images around the original frame; and Spatial Reframing, which lets users shift the perspective as if they had moved the camera before taking the shot.

Apple says the tools are meant to improve composition, not rewrite reality.

“At Apple, we have a deep respect for the craft of photography,” Alok Deshpande, Apple’s director of photo and camera software engineering, said. “Our goal for bringing AI into the Photos app is to help photographers enhance their images in ways that respect the original moment.”

After laying out all the benefits of Siri AI, Federighi shared the catch: users in the EU and China will find their access restricted.

Apple cited the Digital Markets Act for the restriction, and said that it had spent “several months” proposing solutions that EU regulators have rejected. Users in the EU will be able to use Siri AI on their Macs, but not on their phones or watches.

“We’re working hard to find a path forward that preserves our users’ privacy and security,” Federighi said.

After riding high for much of WWDC, Apple’s stock sank following the announcement.

Apple is expanding its protections for child accounts, introducing restrictions on how long your child can use their device and what they can see.

Parents can now instruct their child to request website access before browsing, or to request to text someone before messaging. They can also set time allowances for apps and restrict access during certain times of day, such as school hours.

For those wanting an immediate shutdown, parents now have a “pause device” button.

“For those under the age of 13, access to personal devices should be limited and expanded when a child is ready,” said Sumbul Ahmad Desai, Apple’s VP of Health. “As parents, we want our kids to develop healthy digital habits.”

Last year’s WWDC brought a new “Liquid Glass” interface to Apple’s screens. Not everyone loved it.

After rolling out the glossy design language last year, Apple said it is making tweaks to improve readability and make apps feel more structured.

While the company isn’t letting users fully get rid of the fresh look, a new settings slider lets users adjust Liquid Glass from ultra clear to fully tinted.

This is Cook’s final WWDC as Apple’s top boss. He’ll make way for John Ternus to take over as Apple’s CEO in September.

Cook ended the conference with a “personal note” about his career at the company.

“Some of the greatest highlights of my time as CEO have been events like this,” he said. “I truly believe that the best is still ahead.”

Cook said that his work at Apple has been the “honor of a lifetime.”