It's that time of year again: Apple just wrapped up its WWDC 2026 keynote, where it showed off what's coming to iOS, macOS and its other platforms over the next year.
WWDC, or the Worldwide Developer's Conference is typically where we see all the updates that'll be coming to iOS, macOS, tvOS and all the other disparate Apple operating systems for the next year or so. Just like any other year, the bulk of the show was focused on iOS 27, but after the divisive changes, like Liquid Glass, that came to iOS 26 last year, the company focused on refining its operating systems. There weren't many hot new features announced, but there just didn't need to be.
Where to Watch WWDC 2026
If you want to watch the WWDC keynote for yourself, you can stream it on Apple's event page, YouTube, or the Apple TV app. The stream should start right at 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT.
WWDC 2026 Live Blog: As it Happened
All times are in Eastern Standard Time (EST)
2:12PM: And that's the show. Rather than having the huge design changes that WWDC 2025 had, this year was more about refinement. It seems like Tim Cook is also using this as the opportunity to sign off saying "it's been the honor of a lifetime" to change people's lives. And now, to end things a music video about apps, which was of course shot on iPhone and edited on Mac.
2:07PM: Some of these AI features will have daily limits due to data bandwidth. But, of course, you can buy a higher-tier iCloud subscription to raise those limits.
2:05PM: With spatial reframing, you can use AI to, well, reframe the image. This feature uses spatial models generated by Apple Vision Pro, to change the angle you took an image from, without actually having to do a reshoot. It only generates new image data where it would otherwise be missing.
2:01PM: Image Playground is getting updates as well. Apple is implementing it across the entire platform, and it seems like it's a little bit more flexible than before.
2:00PM: Apple is also updating Shortcuts to make it more user-friendly. This will let you describe the kind of workflow you want to automate, and then will use AI to create it for you. Shortcuts has been one of the most complicated things you can do with a smartphone, and it does seem like this will make it more approachable.
1:58PM: Notifications from the same app will no longer stack on top of each other. So if you're waiting for a delivery or you're getting directions, you won't have a stack of 5 different notifications to go through, the one notification will just get updated.
1:55PM: Safari will also let you vibe code browser extensions! There's no way that will go wrong.
1:53PM: Safari will use AI to group browser tabs by subject, which actually sounds useful. I regularly have dozens of tabs open, and get lost. You can also have Siri monitor a webpage for a change, and it'll notify you when that change happens. It's Google alerts, but AI.
1:50PM: Apple is introducing Visual Intelligence across its devices. This is a feature that basically every AI model these days has, and will let you show an image to Siri and ask it questions. On Mac, there will even be a keyboard shortcut to bring it up, and I just hope Apple doesn't pull a Microsoft, replacing a keyboard shortcut I actually use.
1:48PM: Chats with Siri will carry over to different Apple devices. That means you can start a chat on your phone, then pick it up on your Mac. Apple is even building a new Siri app into Apple Vision Pro, which will have a sort of 3D visualizer for the LLM.
1:43PM: On macOS, the new Siri will be built into Spotlight. You'll be able to type questions into Spotlight and have Siri pull up an LLM to answer the question. Or you can just right click a file, or even a selection of files, and have the LLM reference those in its output. I'm not sure what exactly makes this "Apple Intelligence" but maybe Apple built a new model instead of just offloading it to ChatGPT like it used to?
1:39PM: You'll be able to use sliders to perfect Siri's voice. But I can't stop thinking of that one scene in Companion.
1:37PM: I'm going to be honest, I've lost count of the amount of times that Apple has demo'd Siri being able to pull up info from a text message and use it to plan something. But it has never worked for me. Maybe it'll be different now, but this new version of Siri is very much "I'll believe it when I see it.
1:35PM: Apple is announcing a new version of Siri, called Siri AI. This will work AI into the voice assistant, and only time will tell if it helps it be actually useful. Siri and other voice assistants built into smartphones have been struggling for years now, so hopefully these new AI tools will tighten things up again.
1:33PM: Apple insists data used for AI is not stored at all, and everything is deleted as soon as your request is executed. This should be non-negotiable, and at least Apple agrees.
1:30PM: It seems like Apple Intelligence is built more to enhance the Apple ecosystem than generate a bunch of text or images for you. Honestly, this is the kind of AI tool that's actually helpful, especially when you're trying to get some work done across different devices.
1:28PM: And here it is, we're going to talk about Apple Intelligence. But Craig Federighi bemoans company pursuing AI for the sake of AI, so at least it seems like Apple is trying to create AI features that are actually helpful and private.
1:24PM: There is also a time allowance feature, which will let parents control how much time their kids are using apps or playing games. Again, Apple will offer expert guidance, based on research, but the decision ultimately lies with the parents.
1:22PM: iOS and iPadOS will already alert parents when their kids are buying or downloading an app from the App Store, but now there will be an 'ask to browse' feature that'll control what websites kids use, too.
1:20PM: Parents can convert their kids' accounts to Child Accounts whenever they want, and Apple will provide parents with expert guidance about what to allow on these accounts. There will be a setup assistant, that'll let parents decide exactly what they want their kids to see, and over time, kids will be able to add apps to their account, with parents getting the final say.
1:18PM: Apple is expanding its child safety features, based on expert input, but ultimately leaving decisions up to parents. Apple also says that children under 13 should have limited access to smart devices.
1:16PM: Apple is improving photos, which happens every year, but what's actually cool is that Flyover on Apple Maps is getting a boost.
1:14PM: Apple has rebuilt its search index, which will optimize on-device search. This will apply to apps, messages, files and emails. Whenever I'm on iOS I rely almost entirely on search, so if Apple was able to speed that up, I'm a fan.
1:12PM: iOS 27 will be available on all the same phones as iOS 26! That's huge, and it means less people will be forced to upgrade for the latest features. These are my favorite iOS releases, when it's more about under-the-hood tweaks.
1:12PM: It also seems like Apple was able to find a way to make its apps more responsive, launching up to 30% faster on the next version of iOS. The company is also updating its CPU scheduler, which should help phones multitask a bit better. But whenever Apple talks about performance, I have to test it.
1:10PM: Apple is also updating app icons again, to add even more Liquid Glass to them. Honestly, it looks almost 3D, which is cool, but I'll have to wait to see how they look on an actual iPhone to decide whether or not I like it.
1:06PM: It seems like they know that Liquid Glass was divisive, and Apple is refining it. Apple is adding a slider, which will adjust transparency of the feature. I know there are times where Liquid Glass can make things harder to read, hopefully this helps!
1:05PM: The next version of macOS is Golden Gate. Less nature, and more big bridge.
1:04PM: Tim handed off the stream to Craig Federighi, the SVP of Software, who's talking about trust and safety, at the same time he's talking about Apple Intelligence. Out of Google and Apple, Apple has always had the better security, but there's a part of 'trust and safety' being mentioned in the same sentence as AI that is at least a little funny.
1:01PM: That answers that. Tim Cook is kicking off WWDC 2026, like he usually does.
1:00PM: And. Here. We. Go.
12:49PM: And now we have the obligatory pop music with fancy graphics, that's how you know WWDC is about to begin. At least whoever picks this music has a decent taste. That's more than can be said for a lot of tech companies.
12:38PM: AI is definitely going to play some kind of role in whatever software Apple is showing off today, but I can't help but wonder if Apple is going to be the tech company that can actually read the room on the subject. The technology is built into several of Apple's systems for sure, but I'd love it if the company at least downplayed it a little. Because yeah, I get it, AI is super cool or whatever, but I'm honestly a little tired of hearing it mentioned with every other word.
12:27PM: It seems like for the last five years, rumors about a foldable iPhone spin up around WWDC. I'm not sure it's ever happening, but if the rumors are right (via PhoneArena), we'd get a strong clue here. Foldables need strong software support, and while I don't think Apple would show the foldable on this stage, I could see it hinting at a foldable iPhone coming in September or something. I love foldables, but I just don't know if a foldable (and even more expensive) iPhone is something we still need in 2026 or 2027.
12:09PM: WWDC 2026 starts in less than an hour. This is going to be the first WWDC since Tim Cook stepped down as CEO. Will he be on stage? Or will he hand off the banner to his replacement John Ternus. The actual transition won't be happening until September 1, but that could be a good way to introduce him to Apple fans and developers.
Developing…
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
