Apple Intelligence 2.0 and Siri AI
Apple used the WWDC26 keynote to introduce a new generation of Apple Intelligence that expands on last year's generative features. The upgraded system runs on a privacy‑preserving architecture that uses on‑device models and Private Cloud Compute. The new Siri AI is deeply integrated across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro. Siri can now understand what's on screen and draw on personal context to search across messages, photos, emails and third‑party apps. When needed, it reaches out to the web to provide up‑to‑date answers. A dedicated Siri app lets users revisit past conversations and syncs history across devices via iCloud.
Apple Intelligence also powers new experiences across the system. Spatial Reframing in Photos lets users re‑compose pictures after they are taken. Image Playground can generate high‑quality images, and Messages and Mail offer AI‑driven suggestions for replies and reminders. The intelligence features support multiple languages, run on devices with A17 Pro or M‑series chips and will be available in the fall with iOS 27.
Foundation Models framework
For developers, the most transformative announcement is the Foundation Models framework in iOS 27. It is a native Swift API that gives apps direct access to the same on‑device language model powering Apple Intelligence. Developers can switch between Apple's model, cloud models (such as Claude or Google Gemini) or any provider that implements the new Language Model protocol. The framework supports multimodal prompts, allowing apps to pass images alongside text and use Vision tools like OCR and barcode readers. Dynamic Profiles let developers swap models, tools and instructions during a session so their app's behavior adapts to the user's needs.
Smaller teams benefit from cost‑free access: developers enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program and with fewer than 2 million first‑time downloads can use Apple's next‑generation models on Private Cloud Compute at no cloud API cost. A new Evaluations framework helps verify that AI features behave correctly across dynamic conditions.
Core AI
Where Foundation Models provides access to generative models, the new Core AI framework lets developers bring their own models on‑device. Core AI offers a memory‑safe Swift API and accompanying Python tools to load, specialize and run models entirely on Apple hardware. It delivers zero server dependencies and zero token costs while supporting everything from compact vision models on iPhone to multi‑billion‑parameter language models on Mac. Core AI integrates with ahead‑of‑time compilation, a visual tensor debugger and optimization tools to convert PyTorch models for the Core AI runtime. Apple noted that Core AI is optimized for Apple Silicon and also powers Apple Intelligence experiences across the system.
App Intents and System‑wide Intelligence
The App Intents framework has been expanded so Siri and Apple Intelligence can perform more actions with third‑party apps. Entity schemas allow an app's content to be indexed in the Spotlight semantic index, making it discoverable by Siri. Intent schemas define actions that users can take naturally without pre‑defined phrases. A new View Annotations API maps views to entities so users can reference on‑screen content conversationally. Apple also introduced an App Intents Testing framework to validate integrations without UI automation.
The Platforms State of the Union elaborated on how App Intents works with the System Orchestrator, Spotlight semantic index and the App Toolbox to route user requests across apps. Siri AI can now surface your app's content and actions through widgets, the Action button and voice interactions, and these integrations automatically improve as Siri learns new languages or dialects.
Liquid Glass refinements
Last year's Liquid Glass design language unified Apple's platforms. For 2026, Apple tuned it to improve readability and depth. Liquid Glass now diffuses complex content more effectively and adds a darkened edge with brighter specular highlights. Users can personalize the effect with a slider ranging from ultra‑clear to fully tinted. Apps already using Liquid Glass get these improvements automatically without recompiling. The design adapts to accessibility settings (e.g., reduced transparency and increased contrast) and introduces colored sidebars, refined toolbar behavior and improved icon rendering with refraction effects.
Resizability and SwiftUI
With iOS apps appearing on iPad and Mac via iPhone Mirroring, Apple introduced resizable iOS apps. Rebuilding with the latest SDK automatically opts an app into resizability. SwiftUI and auto layout provide basic support, while the new Resizable iOS Simulator and Previews let developers test across sizes. A built‑in agentic coding skill helps find and fix resizability issues.
SwiftUI itself gains richer interactions such as reorderable containers, allowing drag‑to‑reorder lists and grids with minimal code. SwiftUI's improvements target speed, dynamic interactions and new capabilities, making it easier for developers and encouraging migration from cross‑platform technologies.
Xcode 27: Enhanced Productivity with Agentic Coding
Apple’s flagship IDE saw major updates. The new Xcode 27 focuses on two pillars: intelligence and daily usability. Performance improvements make projects load faster, debug sessions more reliable and the console capable of handling heavy logging. Xcode 27 is 30 % smaller, now runs only on Apple Silicon and downloads agents and documentation in the background to stay up‑to‑date.
Personalization options now sync settings via iCloud. When setting up a new Mac, Xcode imports preferences and Git configuration automatically. Creating a new project jumps straight into the editor, deferring file names and bundle IDs until later. Developers can customize the toolbar and choose from new color themes such as Emerald, Neon Noir and Coral Reef. Xcode Cloud builds are up to twice as fast and require no App Store Connect setup, supporting Apple Vision Pro and Metal apps.
A Device Hub merges the simulator and physical device management into one interface. It supports pinch‑to‑zoom, two‑finger scrolling, dynamic resizing and testing of various system settings like dark mode and text size.
Agentic Coding
Xcode 27 weaves coding agents into every layer. Agents can plan, implement and test features. Developers start by describing their idea; the agent generates a plan, asks clarifying questions and produces code and UI previews. Agents can run tests in the simulator, localize strings, and even identify and fix crashes based on crash logs. Xcode 27 includes specialized skills—for SwiftUI, accessibility and performance—that help agents produce high‑quality code.
Platform improvements: The new SDK makes apps launch faster and adds enhancements across frameworks, media, search and accessibility.
Game Porting Toolkit 4: Features agentic coding skills for Metal and game development, speeding up ports to Apple platforms.
Music Understanding framework: Enables six‑dimensional audio analysis and works with NowPlaying to integrate playback with Lock Screen, Control Center, Dynamic Island and CarPlay.
Photo and camera APIs: Core Image RAW processing APIs (version 9) provide improved sharpness and color, and new APIs support high‑resolution photo capture and Center Stage front‑camera features