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.

“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.