Apple’s “Intelligence” has been mediocre at most. Its message summaries are ridiculed for taking meanings too literally. While Apple Intelligence struggles, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot have been thriving through the AI boom. Thus, Apple stepped up its game in WWDC 26 with its biggest intelligence update since it announced Apple Intelligence, but it did this by letting go of making its own AI model. Instead, they’re using services from Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT for Apple Intelligence to enhance Siri, the Shortcuts App, Safari, and other apps as well.
The largest updates were seen in SiriAI. To begin with appearance, Siri only lives on the Dynamic Island, the pill on top of iPhone 14 Pro and newer phones, and swiping down in the middle of the screen (like swiping for Spotlight search) will bring up Siri. As for functionality, Siri is now more like a chatbot. There’s a Siri App that saves your conversations with Siri, like the ChatGPT App, and this app is available across all Apple devices. Siri AI is also replacing Spotlight on MacOS Golden Gate. This Siri also has on-screen awareness, meaning it knows what’s on someone’s screen, so they can ask it where a picture they’re looking at on Instagram is taken, for example.
Speaking of pictures, there’s also a Siri tab in the Photos App to search things on the go, like what flower something is or how the rating for a restaurant is. Essentially, in this update, Apple is finally catching up with the Intelligence features in Samsung and Google phones. Apple Intelligence has also brought significant updates to the Shortcuts App as well. Shortcuts has been a useful tool only if someone knows how to use it. The app tends to be difficult to use with too many functions and conditionals — it can get overwhelming. Now, the Shortcuts App gives the option to create Shortcuts with Apple Intelligence, so instead of finding the functions to create an automated command,
Apple Intelligence creates the automation based on your prompt. Safari also has some updates with Apple Intelligence. For example, if a Safari window has a lot of cluttered tabs, Apple Intelligence can organize the tabs into categories, so someone can click between different topics they were searching for. The editing feature in the Photos App can not only erase objects and extend photos, but now, it can also reposition the photo, as if it were taken from a different angle. These are only a few of the changes with Apple Intelligence.
Apple Intelligence may have been the focus of the event, but there were other updates as well. Apple claims to have improved the UI performance of its devices after years of users complaining about glitches and lag. For example, the Photos app now takes photos faster. Another update is in the Passwords. When someone has a reused or compromised password, the Passwords app lets them change the password within the app itself by logging into their account and changing it for them. Apple has brought more customizability to the UI. They’ve gotten mixed responses after the last Liquid Glass Update. Some people hated it, while some thought it was better than the opaque features from before. Now, Apple is giving people a slider to adjust how liquid or opaque they want their view.
Lastly, Apple announced enhancements to its Parental Controls. They are now mandatory for all kids under 13 and can be kept in place till 18. Parents can now decide who their kids can talk to, requiring approval for new contacts. Parent approval is also required to view new unauthorized websites and apps. Screen time is tailored for the category of app, be it entertainment, gaming, etc.
This is all for WWDC 26. This update should be rolled out sometime in mid-September, so stay tuned!