WWDC26: Apple unveils next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI, powerful parental controls, and an expansive set of software improvements
Today, during the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple® previewed its upcoming software releases that will deliver the next generation of Apple Intelligence™ and introduce Siri® AI, an entirely new version of Siri that is profoundly more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable. The releases also bring powerful and intuitive new features to help parents create safe digital experiences for kids, as well as improvements that further elevate the software design and performance of Apple products while making them more responsive, delightful, and easier to use with iOS 27, iPadOS® 27, macOS® 27, watchOS® 27, visionOS® 27, and tvOS® 27.
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At WWDC26, Apple unveiled the next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI, powerful parental controls, and an expansive set of software improvements across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS.
"Apple products are an essential part of people's lives, and this year we're bringing powerful new capabilities to empower our users in even more ways," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "We're delivering the next generation of Apple Intelligence across our platforms; introducing Siri AI, a profoundly more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable Siri; expanding child safety features with intuitive new tools for families; and making our software platforms faster, more reliable, and more delightful than ever before."
Next Generation of Apple Intelligence and an Entirely New Siri Experience
Leveraging a bold new architecture uniquely designed to protect users' privacy, the next generation of Apple Intelligence powers Siri AI and brings helpful new features to apps users rely on every day.
Siri AI is an entirely new version of Siri deeply integrated into iPhone®, iPad®, Mac®, Apple Watch®, and Apple Vision Pro®. It can draw on personal context understanding to search across messages, emails, photos, and more, and get things done across apps with even more systemwide app actions. Additionally, Siri AI can answer questions related to the content on a user's screen or go out to the web to get up-to-date information using broad world knowledge and generate a helpful answer. A dedicated Siri app allows users to revisit a past conversation or kick off a new one — all in one place — and uses iCloud® to privately sync conversational history across a user's products.
In addition to Siri AI, the next generation of Apple Intelligence powers tremendous new features in apps across the system to simplify the things users do every day, like editing images in Photos, browsing across multiple tabs in Safari®, expressing creativity with Image Playground™, communicating in Messages and Mail, and so much more.
New Parental Controls and Significant Updates to Screen Time
Powerful and intuitive new features that are easy to use help parents manage what their kids can see, who they can talk to, and when they have access to apps. By setting up a Child Account, parents can immediately enable age-appropriate protections across the system, and with Setup Assistant, parents can choose exactly which apps to make available and stay in control of what gets added over time. With communication safety features, parents can require approval for each new contact their kids connect with and enable automatic interventions if explicit or violent content is being shared.
New tools aimed at building healthier screen time habits make it easy to set daily total time allowances across Entertainment, Games, and Social Media apps, with a daily time allowance recommendation based on guidance from leading clinical and child development experts that gives parents a helpful starting point. Schedules let parents manage which apps their children have access to at different points in the day, and Screen Time has been redesigned to be more intuitive for parents, offering an at-a-glance view of their kids' average device usage and top apps.
To help parents stay informed and learn more, Apple has launched a dedicated website that features the latest tools, helpful resources, and answers to common questions — like how to get started.
More Responsive, Reliable, and Delightful Experiences Across Software Platforms
The 2027 releases make Apple products even more responsive, reliable, and delightful to use through design refinements, performance improvements, and enhancements to the ways users work, communicate, share memories, enjoy music with AirPods®, track their health, and more.
Improvements across platforms push key system capabilities forward so everyday tasks feel faster, smoother, and more enjoyable. For example, iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30 percent faster,1 photos load up to 70 percent faster after being taken,2 and AirDrop® transfers are up to 80 percent faster.3 During network transitions, moving between cellular and Wi-Fi networks is more seamless than ever, and browsing and transferring files between external drives and iPad is up to 5x faster — making it just as fast as Finder® on Mac.4 In Spotlight®, Photos, and Mail, the search experience has been rebuilt to make it more stable and efficient to help users find exactly what they are looking for. And in Mail, a completely new ranking system surfaces even more relevant results in Top Hits.
Refinements to the software design deliver an even more focused and approachable experience across apps and platforms. A new slider in Settings gives users the option to personalize Liquid Glass, adjusting it anywhere from ultra-clear to fully tinted to match their preference, and app icons have been updated to be sharper and more defined. On Mac, updates reincorporate cornerstones of the macOS design that users have always loved, including a more uniform toolbar across the top of apps, edge-to-edge sidebars, colored sidebar icons, and more.
Additional features coming this fall:
- iCloud Shared Albums introduce cross-platform photo sharing with full-resolution support.
- The Health app brings support for perimenopause and menopause in Cycle Tracking, including notifications about cycle deviations inclusive of perimenopause.5
- On Apple Watch, a new dynamic app grid features the icons for five Siri-suggested apps, users can open a widget in the Smart Stack with a new tap gesture, and a new Find My® app consolidates Find Devices, Find Items, and Find People.
- AirPods users can now enjoy custom EQ to further personalize how their AirPods sound. And with expanded Apple GymKit™ functionality, users with AirPods Pro® 3 can sync their heart rate data through iPhone while enjoying incredible audio quality.
- Apple Vision Pro users can now turn panoramas into spatial scenes and use them as personal Environments, and connecting to Wi-Fi is up to 3x faster.
- Apple Maps brings an enhanced Flyover® experience, which combines aerial imagery with AI, allowing users to enjoy even more detailed visuals.
Availability
- The new features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. New software features will be available as a free software update this fall. For more information, visit apple.com/ios, apple.com/ipados, apple.com/macos, apple.com/watchos, apple.com/tvos, and apple.com/visionos.
- Users who enable Apple Intelligence on supported products set to a supported language will have access this fall with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.
- Apple Intelligence is available with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see apple.com/apple-intelligence.
- Apple Intelligence and Siri AI in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 are available on iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini® (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 or later, Mac with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch Series 10 or later, Apple Watch Ultra® 2 or later, and Apple Watch SE® 3 when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone nearby.
- Some Apple Intelligence features, including image generation, have daily usage limits because they rely on powerful server models. Increased access is available with most iCloud+® subscription plans, which also include Apple Intelligence support for compatible Home cameras.
- New Siri AI features are available for developer testing starting today across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27. Siri AI will be available for developer testing in a future watchOS 27 beta.
- Siri AI will be available as a beta later this year for users with a supported device set to English, and Apple will quickly expand support for more languages.
- Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when set to a supported language. Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU in iOS and iPadOS.
- Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features will not be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements.
- Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple's six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV. Apple's more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Footnotes
1. Testing conducted by Apple in April and May 2026 using iPhone 11 Pro Max with iOS 26.4.2 and prerelease iOS 27. App launch performance measured after many cycles of device usage. Performance varies based on configuration, settings, content, usage, software versions, environmental conditions, and other factors.
2. Testing conducted by Apple in April and May 2026 using iPhone 15 with iOS 26.4.2 and prerelease iOS 27. Photos app tested using a 50,000-asset library and taking additional individual photos with the Camera app. Performance varies based on configuration, settings, content, usage, software versions, environmental conditions, and other factors.
3. Testing conducted by Apple in April and May 2026 using iPhone 16 Plus with iOS 26.4.2 and prerelease iOS 27. AirDrop tested by transferring multiple photos totaling 30MB between nearby contacts while not associated with a Wi-Fi network. Performance varies based on configuration, settings, content, usage, software versions, environmental conditions, and other factors.
4. Testing conducted by Apple in April and May 2026 using iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) with iPadOS 26.4.2 and prerelease iPadOS 27, and an APFS-formatted USB4 external SSD drive. Files app tested using 10,000 JPG files, copying and browsing from iPad to the external drive. Performance varies based on configuration, settings, content, usage, software versions, environmental conditions, and other factors.
5. The Cycle Tracking app should not be used for birth control or to diagnose a health condition.
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© 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Intelligence, Siri, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, tvOS, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, iCloud, Safari, Image Playground, AirPods, AirDrop, Finder, Spotlight, Find My, GymKit, AirPods Pro, Flyover, iPad mini, Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch SE, and iCloud+ are trademarks of Apple. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260608304595/en/
Alex Kirschner
Apple
alexkirschner@apple.com
Tania Olkhovaya
Apple
tolkhovaya@apple.com