Apple opens WWDC 2026 with the release of Siri AI

Apple Inc opened its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday with the unveiling of Siri AI, an overhauled version of its voice assistant, alongside an expanded suite of parental controls and a broad software refresh set to arrive with iOS 27.

The event, which marks Tim Cook's final WWDC as the company's chief executive, spanned three areas: platform and design improvements, child safety features and the integration of AI into Siri, which Apple is rebranding as “Siri AI” in collaboration with Alphabet Inc's Google Gemini.

Apple introduced the revamped assistant on its Apple Intelligence platform, incorporating image understanding and generation, improved language comprehension and what the company described as more expressive voices. Apple said it collaborated with Google to integrate the Gemini model into the assistant.

Siri AI can now search a user's photo library through natural language queries, drawing on Spotlight's semantic index to surface results. Apple said it has improved the assistant's conversational capabilities and will release a dedicated Siri app that lets users review past conversations.

On the platform side, iOS 27 will support devices back to the iPhone 11, extending Apple's compatibility window further than any prior iOS release.

“This continues our industry-leading support and means iOS 27 is available to more users than any iOS release ever,” said Stacey Ford, Apple's vice president of OS program management.

Apple said the update delivers app launch speeds 30% faster than the prior release, with system content loading more quickly as well. A new CPU scheduler manages processor resources across workloads to improve overall efficiency.

Apple also refined its Liquid Glass visual language, introduced last year. New sliders in Settings let users adjust the effect from ultra-clear to fully tinted, and the company said it integrated additional layers of Liquid Glass into app icons to make them appear sharper.

Apple announced a broad expansion of child safety features, giving parents control over what content their children can access, who they can communicate with and when they can use their devices. Following its existing “Ask to Buy” feature, Apple introduced “Ask to Browse,” which is on by default for children under 13, which requires parental approval before a child visits a new website. Communication Safety is also being updated, which will now blur and warn children before they view potentially harmful content. A new Screen Time Schedule lets parents restrict app access based on the time of day to support learning routines.

Reaction to the announcements was mixed. Oiane Urra, CEO and co-founder of biotech startup BioPulse, said she was disappointed that many of the new AI features will be unavailable in the European Union due to regulatory constraints.

“The most interesting thing to see is that Apple Intelligence has evolved a lot, but after all the wonderful things that we have seen, none of them are going to be applied in the European Union, so it's a bit frustrating,” said Urra.

Kim Brady, a software developer from Seattle, said he is excited about Apple's planned integration of artificial intelligence into its Mac and iOS operating systems.