Today's AI Briefing: Apple Unveils All-New Apple Intelligence and Siri AI
At WWDC, Apple announced the next generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, bringing deeper system-level integration for Siri, alongside iOS 27 and major performance upgrades, revamped parental controls, and a new Liquid Glass design slider.
Preface
At WWDC26, Apple previewed upcoming system updates that introduce a redesigned Apple Intelligence architecture and a next-generation Siri AI. The update spans iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27 — not only deepening Siri's intelligence and system integration but also adding a newly designed "Liquid Glass" slider and significantly improved parental controls.
Below is a demo of the Photos app's spatial recomposition feature shown during the keynote:
Apple Intelligence and "spatial recomposition" in the Photos app — flexibly adjust photo composition after capture.
The Next Generation of Apple Intelligence and Siri AI
The new Apple Intelligence is built on a privacy-first architecture. It powers a brand-new Siri AI and brings a range of practical features to built-in system apps.
The next-generation Siri AI is deeply integrated into iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. It understands personal context, retrieves information across Messages, Mail, Photos, and supports cross-app system-level actions. Siri AI can also interpret content currently on the user's screen and tap into a rich web-based knowledge base to deliver more helpful, context-aware answers.
Siri AI can combine personal context from Photos and other apps to perform precise image retrieval and cross-app searches
Siri mode in the Camera app can instantly recognize food on screen and display detailed nutritional information and calorie counts
Beyond Siri AI, Apple Intelligence also enhances photo editing (including spatial recomposition), Safari web page summaries, smart reply suggestions in Messages and Mail, and high-quality image generation in Image Playgrounds.
Revamped Parental Controls and Screen Time Improvements
To help parents build healthier digital habits at home, Apple significantly upgraded its parental controls this year:
- Quick Child Account Setup: A new setup assistant lets parents configure age-appropriate protections for their child in one tap, with the option to manually curate which apps are allowed.
- Communication Safety and Contact Approval: Parents can require approval for every new contact their child adds. The system automatically intervenes when it detects violent or explicit content.
- Scheduling and Time Limits: Daily time caps can be set separately for Entertainment, Games, and Social Media apps. Parents can also restrict available websites and apps by time period — such as "School Time" — with precise control.
Platform Performance and the Liquid Glass Design Refresh
This update brings notable improvements both at the system level and in interface aesthetics, making everyday interactions faster and smoother:
- Big Performance Gains: App launch speed on iPhone and iPad improves by up to 30%. Photo loading after capture is up to 70% faster, AirDrop transfer speeds are up to 80% faster, and browsing and transferring files to external drives on iPad is now up to five times faster than Finder-level performance.
- Liquid Glass Slider: A new "Liquid Glass" effect slider in System Settings lets users adjust UI transparency and color saturation on a spectrum — from fully transparent to fully tinted.
- Classic macOS Design Returns: macOS adopts a more consistent top toolbar, edge-to-edge sidebar, and colorful sidebar icons.
Other Notable Updates
- Health App: Menstrual cycle tracking now supports perimenopause and menopause, and will send alerts when irregular patterns are detected.
- Apple Watch: Siri shows a dynamic app grid view (intelligently suggesting five frequently used apps), supports tap gestures to open Smart Stack widgets, and integrates a new Find My app.
- AirPods: Custom EQ allows personalized audio tuning, and AirPods Pro 3 can sync heart rate data with iPhone.
- Apple Vision Pro: Standard panorama photos can be converted into 3D spatial scenes, and Wi-Fi speeds are improved by up to three times.
- Apple Maps: The Flyover experience combines aerial imagery with AI to deliver more detailed and realistic visuals.