Here's Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2026

Credit: Joseph Maldonado/Lifehacker

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This year's WWDC was a big one. Tim Cook took the virtual stage one last time to lead the company's announcements across all of its platforms. As expected, this year we're getting iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, among other updates, as well as new Apple Intelligence features and the long-awaited AI Siri, called, um, "Siri AI."

There was a lot covered in Apple's 75-minute keynote, but you don't have to watch the whole thing to catch up. Instead, follow along below, where I lay out every announcement Apple made at WWDC 2026:

WWDC 2026: macOS Golden Gate

The first major announcement of the day was the much-anticipated (by Apple nerds) name of macOS 27. While Apple has standardized the naming schemes of its others OSes, it still gives macOS a special name, in keeping with tradition. With recent releases, those names have been California-based, and this year is no different: macOS 27 is macOS Golden Gate.

WWDC 2026: Design and performance

Apple made a number of design changes this year, across the board. Liquid Glass isn't going anywhere, but it's now more legible. In addition, Apple is finally rolling out a Liquid Glass slider so users can control how the effect looks on their devices. Toolbars are now more defined, to improve accessibility, and sidebars on macOS now extend to the edge of windows. Apple also made sure that all macOS windows have the same corner radius, so you shouldn't notice any inconsistencies with window edges. App icons are getting a makeover, too: Now, Apple is adding multiple layers of Liquid Glass to all icons.

The company also touted general performance increases throughout all of its products. Animations should be smoother, iPhone and iPad apps should launch faster, new photos appear in the Photos app up to 70% quicker, and AirDrop works up to 80% faster now. Older iPhones, including the iPhone 11, can run iOS 27, and should run better than on iOS 26. iOS is also smarter when switching between wifi and cellular networks, and you can now send messages while a large image is still waiting to send. Indexing gets a big upgrade, too: new items should be indexed right away, so they should pop up in search. The software should be smarter, and should float more relevant results to the top of Mail, even if the email was sent a long time ago.

Apple took a moment to highlight some other new features in this section, like how shared iCloud albums are now available to Android and Windows users, with support for full resolution sharing. In the Health app, Cycle Tracking now supports perimenopause and menopause. You can now custom-tune the EQ of your AirPods, and you can turn panoramas into immersive environments on Vision Pro. In Maps, the Fly Over is highly detailed with full renderings of buildings and even trees, and definitely gives Google Maps a run for its money.

WWDC 2026: Trust and safety

Apple spent a huge portion of WWDC 2026 talking about safety features for kids. The company says it's working with experts and researchers to promote healthy habits with its devices. Parents can now choose which websites kids can visit (kids can request permission to visit new sites), and parents can also control who kids can talk to on their Apple devices.

Parents can now control three broad categories on kids' devices: Entertainment, Games, Social Media. They get to choose how long kids have access to each, and on which days. You can have different schedules for games and social media on the weekend than you do during school days. Apple has a new website for parents, too, to learn more about what they can do to control their kids' experiences on Apple devices.

WWDC 2026: Apple Intelligence and Siri AI

Apple partnered with Google to create its "next-generation" Apple Foundational Models. Apple says these new models are more powerful than ever, and can do a lot more across multiple modalities (text, images, speech, etc.) Apple is adamant that its AI is private: Private Cloud Compute processes your data without any middleman. Not even Apple can see your data. The company also runs AI processes on-device when possible.

Of course, the biggest announcement today was Siri AI, Apple's second attempt to roll out a big Siri upgrade. Apple says that Siri is a much more capable assistant than before. You can ask Siri about a concert in your area; from that answer, you can ask it how to get tickets; once it tells you, you can ask it to set a reminder based on the context of its answer.

It's also aware of what's on your screen. If you see an image of a landmark online, you can ask Siri what it is; when it answers, you can ask how to get there, and Siri will open directions in Maps. You could also ask it to pull up images from your last family vacation; based on those results, you can ask it to add only photos of specific people to a family album.

Siri sounds more natural than before. What's more, you can customize how Siri sounds, controlling pace and expressiveness. (Though this requires a newer Apple device, like the iPhone 17 Pro or Air.) Dictation is also more contextually aware, understanding things like punctuation better. Apple says Siri is also more conversational, so you can simply chat with Siri no matter the context.

There's a new dedicated Siri app, where you can access past conversations across all devices, but Siri also lives in the Dynamic Island, and you can access it from there anytime. If you ask Siri to send a message, you have the ability to review and edit the message before sending it.

On macOS, Siri lives in Spotlight. You don't have to pull up Siri to use it: You can start typing, and macOS should know it's a Siri request. You can use it to compare multiple files together, as well as anything else you'd use a chatbot for. If you have a Vision Pro, you can move Siri's icon anywhere in the room, and look at it to start a session.

Visual Intelligence now lives in the Camera app as a new Siri button. The fundamentals are the same: You can use the feature to learn more about what's in your camera view. But the feature has new abilities: You can use Visual Intelligence to split a bill with friends by pointing the camera at a receipt, or point your camera at your meal to learn more about its nutrition. You can use the screenshot tool on macOS and iPadOS to learn more about a specific section of your screen. You can ask Siri about your windows on Vision Pro, as well as items in the room with you.

Writing Tools is getting a couple of updates as well: You can describe a document you need to write in natural language to Siri, and it'll generate a first draft for you to review. When you use the feature in Mail and Messages, Siri will change the writing style based on how you usually talk to that contact.

WWDC 2026: AI in apps

Safari is getting some big AI upgrades: The app is getting AI tab management, which can organize tabs into topics and updates dynamically as you browse. Safari can also keep tabs on webpages to watch out for things like price drops. You can also use Apple Intelligence to create custom extensions for different functions you might need. The Passwords app will now update your compromised passwords for you, which works in Safari as well.

Messages can understand the context of your chats, and may float recommendations for creating reminders and notes. If someone asks for a photo, iOS can help you find it. Mail may make suggestions based on what's going on in a message. In Calendar, you can describe a new event in natural language, and the app creates the event for you, including adding contacts, dates, times, and locations. The Phone app will be able to tap into other apps based on the call: If you call an airline, the Phone app can look in your email to find your flight number, in case the airline asks.

The Home app has a couple of new features too: Your accessory notifications will update dynamically as things change, rather than spam you with multiple alerts. The app also uses Apple Intelligence to analyze your security camera footage and offer descriptions of what happened in the clip. It makes it easier to search through your clips, even across multiple cameras.

Shortcuts now supports natural language creation: You can describe what you want in a shortcut, and it'll create one for you, without you needing to know how to build it yourself. Image Playground is also much more advanced, capable of generating photorealistic images. You can also shuffle the style of any photo. The app supports iterative edits too: You can keep issuing prompts, and Image Playground will build on top of what it has already generated. It supports generations for Contact Posters and Lock Screen wallpapers.

Finally, the Photos app also gets some big updates. There are three new upgrades: Clean Up should now work better, with improved AI generating fill for removing unwanted elements. "Extend" expands the image around a subject, in case your original shot was too close-up. "Spatial Reframing" uses AI to let you reframe a photo, as if you were adjusting the framing when taking the photo originally. The background blurs as you do, indicating the area that will be filled in with generative AI.

One detail Apple breezed over that's worth noting: While Apple Intelligence is still free, some features, like image generation, now have daily usage limits. But most iCloud+ subscription plans support increased usage limits.