Apple opened WWDC with a closer look at iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, and unsurprisingly, AI was the main theme of the presentation. Alongside a number of visual tweaks and performance improvements, Apple spent a lot of time talking about the next generation of Apple Intelligence and what it means for everyday iPhone and iPad use.
The biggest announcement was the new Siri AI experience. Apple is giving Siri a much larger role across its software, even introducing a dedicated app for the assistant. According to the company, Siri can now better understand personal context, what’s currently on your screen, and information from the web, allowing for more natural conversations and more useful actions.
Whether it lives up to that promise is something users will find out once the software reaches more devices, but it’s clear Apple is trying to make Siri feel less like a voice command tool and more like a genuine AI assistant.
Apple also made a few changes to the Liquid Glass design language introduced previously. Users can now adjust transparency levels with a slider, and the interface itself looks a bit cleaner thanks to “more uniform refraction and improved contrast”.
There are some performance gains as well. Apple says apps launch up to 30% faster, photos appear in the library more quickly, and AirDrop transfers can be 80% faster than before. The company also highlighted improvements to network switching between Wi-Fi and cellular connections.
A number of smaller features were announced too. Mail search is getting smarter, VoiceOver can provide more detailed image descriptions, and subtitles now support automatic syncing and translation. One update that stood out is support for full-resolution contributions to iCloud Shared Albums from Android and Windows users, something many people have wanted for quite a while.
On the iPad side, Apple is adding a tool that can turn a collection of photos and videos into a customizable slideshow complete with transitions, music, and export options. Calendar events can also be created or edited using natural language, and file transfers to external storage devices are reportedly up to five times faster.
As usual, not every feature will be available on every device. The more advanced Apple Intelligence features require newer hardware, while many of the broader improvements will work on older supported iPhones and iPads.
Developer builds are available starting today, with a public beta expected next month and a wider rollout planned for later this year. AI may have dominated the keynote, but a lot of the updates Apple showed were actually about making everyday tasks a little faster and a little less frustrating.
(Apple)
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