WWDC 2026. Relive Apple’s keynote: Siri finally revolutionary?

WWDC 2026. Relive Apple’s keynote: Siri finally revolutionary?

WWDC 2026 is Apple’s major June keynote. As every June, Apple holds its traditional keynote dedicated to developers. This WWDC 2026 is shaken up by the AI landscape—Apple, which is quite behind, needs to reassure both consumers and investors. Apple took the opportunity to introduce Siri AI, the new version of its assistant based on Google’s Gemini. It is a conversational AI designed to be powerful, capable of analyzing data on your phone as well as communicating with remote servers to retrieve information.

Siri AI is expected to launch in the United States on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27. This will not be the case in the European Union, Apple states in a press release, because Siri AI would not comply with data governance regulations (DMA). The DMA requires tech companies to share certain data with competitors, including algorithmic data, and also allows users to retrieve their own data. Apple Intelligence is designed to be secure, sharing no information outside its own servers, which would conflict with the regulation. Apple defends its position and openly criticizes European law:

“Siri AI is designed to preserve privacy and is deeply integrated into Apple platforms through on-device processing and private cloud computing, extending iPhone privacy and security to the cloud. However, under the European regulators’ extreme interpretation of the Data Management Act (DMA), Apple would be required to grant any virtual assistant direct access to users’ private data as soon as Siri AI is made available in the EU, without the essential protections necessary to ensure user and data security.”

The fact remains that Apple wants to operate without constraints, establishing itself in the EU in disregard of existing laws. In a context where digital sovereignty is a major concern, it is urgent to regulate Big Tech within the European Union. The consequence for Siri AI is that it will not be available at launch on iOS 27 and iPadOS 27. No release date has been announced.

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Availability of new OS versions

All new operating systems are available now in developer beta. They will be released to the general public in the fall.

Apple Intelligence 2026: Available on the fastest iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Siri AI will only be available in the U.S., in English, and in beta by the end of the year.

iPhone gains Gemini-powered photo features. Unsurprisingly, Apple adopts Gemini’s photo features, directly integrated into the camera system. For example, removing people from images is now available—and this time, it works.

Three features are available:

• Clean Up: to clean images
• Reframe: to change a photo’s perspective
• Extend: to expand the background

iPhone gains Gemini-powered photo features.

Shortcuts becomes easier: Creating complex shortcuts on iPhone can be difficult. With Apple Intelligence, you simply describe what you want in plain language, and it creates the shortcut automatically.

Apple apps enhanced with AI: Apple apps can now analyze various content to suggest or display information. For example, if you call an airline’s customer service, a widget with your flight details appears directly on screen.

Safari evolves: Safari can now create extensions on demand. You simply ask the browser to generate an extension for a specific need. It also organizes tabs automatically, grouping them into folders based on topic.

Visual Intelligence on macOS: Previously available on iPhone, this feature analyzes on-screen images and queries Siri. It is now available on macOS and iPadOS.

The Siri app: This app allows access to conversation history and starting new interactions.

Siri on macOS: Siri is integrated directly into Spotlight. You can type queries or speak. You can also select multiple files and ask Siri about them. Results appear in a dedicated Liquid Glass window.

Siri AI can answer questions related to the content on a user’s screen, draw on personal context understanding to search across apps, and go out to the web to get up-to-date information using broad world knowledge and generate a helpful answer.

Siri can now… write an email—something conversational AI has done for years. The difference is that it is integrated into the Apple ecosystem.

Siri’s voice customization: Siri AI’s voice is not as natural as Apple claims, but multiple parameters can be adjusted to make it sound more human.

Awkward demos: Demonstrations of Siri AI strongly resemble Gemini features, such as analyzing screen content to answer questions. The implicit admission of lag is striking.

The new Siri: Siri AI. Siri will finally understand context, have a more natural voice, and support real conversations. A dedicated Siri app will also appear. It can browse apps and act within them—very similar to Gemini on Android.

Apple Intelligence architecture: Apple has completely redesigned its architecture for Siri and apps.

Apple announces collaboration with Google, integrating Gemini models at the core of its system. The company claims it maintains its privacy standards.

In essence, Apple Intelligence runs on Gemini and inherits its capabilities.

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Parental controls and children’s usage

Parents can create routines and customize app availability. For example, social media can be blocked during school hours.

Apple also addresses children’s mental health in relation to technology. The company has partnered with child mental health experts to guide parents. A dedicated child account allows step-by-step configuration to protect children from inappropriate content.

Parents can:

• Limit installed apps
• Restrict access to age-inappropriate apps
• Block app downloads

The “Ask to Browse” feature requires children to obtain parental approval before visiting a website.

To prevent contact with harmful individuals, communication can be restricted to approved contacts.

Screen time can also be limited based on age, with particular focus on social media.

Performance improvements

Apple claims improved interaction fluidity. Apps open 30% faster, and photos load 70% faster. AirDrop speeds are also improved (when it works).
These improvements apply to all iPhones starting with iPhone 11.
Search has also been enhanced to better understand user queries based on recency and frequency of use.

Links

• WWDC26: Apple unveils next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI, powerful parental controls, and an expansive set of software improvements – Apple Newsroom
• Sell your pre-owned Apple device online – iGotOffer
• Everything About Apple’s Products – The complete guide to all Apple consumer electronic products, including technical specifications, identifiers and other valuable information.

WWDC 2026 Impressions: Yeah, That’s About Right [Video]

Video uploaded by Marques Brownlee on June 8, 2026.