At WWDC 2026 on Monday, Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior VP of Software Engineering, announced a suite of new updates to Apple Intelligence. It powers Siri AI, Apple's revamped AI assistant, which is more conversational, more expressive, and now available in its own standalone app. Apple Intelligence also adds new features to apps like Photos, Messages, and Mail, which some users can start trying today.
"Truly helpful AI must be centered on our users' needs, deeply integrated into the products they rely on every day, grounded in personal context, and built with privacy at every step," Federighi said. "That is our vision for Apple Intelligence."
During today's WWDC keynote, Federighi said that next-generation Apple Foundation Models would be at the heart of new Apple Intelligence tools. These models will run on private servers using cloud compute and will be powered by Google Gemini models.
The new models will deliver visual intelligence capabilities, improved language understanding, and enhanced transcription. In many respects, these Apple Intelligence tools bring Apple in line with its competitors, Google and Samsung, whose devices already offer similar AI tools.
Federighi emphasized the importance of privacy to Apple Intelligence: "Privacy in AI is non-negotiable," he said. The new Apple Intelligence tools will use a combination of on-device processing and cloud compute, and Federighi said that users' conversations would not be used for AI training.
Siri AI will be able to access the web and draw on real-world knowledge, as well as some of the apps on a user’s phone. It will even be able to analyze the screen to understand the app a user is currently using.
Apple originally announced a Siri overhaul powered by Apple Intelligence way back in 2024, but it hasn't delivered on that promise until now.
Here's the full list of all the Apple Intelligence features coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro. Members of the Apple Developer Program can test them starting today. They'll arrive in a public beta next month, before launching publicly as a free software update this fall.
Photos
Images edited with Apple Intelligence will have a hidden SynthID watermark. A new Spatial Reframing tool will let the user adjust a photo's composition after it's been taken. A new Extend tool will let the user expand a photo, then fill in the newly added space to match the rest of the image.
Additionally, the existing Clean Up tool is being improved.
Safari
Apple's web browser will be able to organize tabs on the same topics. A new Notify Me feature makes it capable of monitoring web pages for changes (like price drops). A new Describe an Extension tool can generate custom Safari extensions in its toolbar.
Passwords, Safari's built-in password manager, will be able to fix weak passwords with a tap.
Image Playground
Apple's AI image generator is getting a new photorealistic style option and an aspect ratio selection option. Users will soon be able to generate Lock Screen wallpapers and Contact Posters.
Once the new Apple Intelligence update launches, any images made with Image Playground will also have a hidden SynthID watermark.
New messaging and scheduling features
Apple Intelligence will be able to examine the context of users' conversations in Messages, then offer one-tap suggestions based on what it sees. (If someone asks you for a photo, it can help you find the right one, Apple said.) Suggestions in Mail will work with third-party apps. Smart Reply in both Messages and Mail will be able to produce responses in the user's writing style.
A new Call Context feature will pull up relevant information right in the Phone app when the user calls a business, such as reservation numbers. This will happen on-device for privacy.
In the Calendar app, users will be able to add and edit events just by describing them to Apple Intelligence.
Shortcuts
Apple's Shortcuts app will add a new Describe a Shortcut tool that can create automated tasks using natural language.
Home
The Home app will condense multiple related notifications from HomeKit Secure Video cameras into a single alert. It will also add generated video descriptions and make camera clips searchable.
For more WWDC 2026 news, follow our live blog to see all of the latest announcements and surprises from the annual Apple event.