Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off Monday morning at 10 a.m. PT at Apple Park, marking a significant moment for the company as CEO Tim Cook leads his final WWDC before handing the reins to Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus on September 1. The keynote, expected to span a full week of developer sessions and demos, comes at a critical juncture for Apple as it works to revitalize its AI ambitions following delays and a notable partnership with Google to bolster Siri's capabilities. With rivals like OpenAI and Google pushing aggressive AI rollouts, the pressure is on Apple to demonstrate it can compete in the rapidly evolving assistant landscape.
The centerpiece reveal was a major overhaul of Siri, now powered by Google Gemini under the hood. Apple touted the new Siri as more conversational, more capable, and integrated with visual intelligence features — and for the first time, it will live in a standalone app rather than being buried inside existing ones. Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi leaned hard into privacy during the presentation, declaring "we believe privacy in AI is non-negotiable" and promising that "data is only used to execute your request, and outside experts can continue to verify this promise at any time." The Siri revamp is widely seen as Apple's bid to recover ground after a rocky stretch that saw key AI features delayed and the company increasingly relying on partners rather than proprietary models.
On the design side, Apple acknowledged that last year's Liquid Glass aesthetic wasn't a universal hit, announcing opt-in controls that let users dial back or amplify the visual effects across the system. The company also previewed a new layered approach to Liquid Glass within individual apps — a likely response to the mixed reaction to Spotify's recent disco-ball icon refresh and other third-party redesigns. The move signals Apple is willing to give users more control over its visual direction rather than enforcing a single look across the ecosystem.
Perhaps the most expansive announcement was the device compatibility list for iOS 27, which Apple proudly called "available to more users than any iOS release ever." Every device from the iPhone 11 onward will be eligible for the update, accompanied by a slate of performance improvements aimed at breathing new life into older hardware. For a company often criticized for pushing users toward newer devices, supporting six generations of iPhones in a single OS release is a notable flex — and one that may help Apple maintain its active install base as it navigates a transitional period at the top and a tougher AI fight than Cook ever faced during his tenure.