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TechRadar

Axel Metz

Apple WWDC 2026 as it happened: Siri AI, iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, and everything announced at Apple Park

Apple Lance Ulanoff WWDC 2026 Siri (Organization) WWDC Future TechRadar Apple Park John Ternus Mark Gurman

Tim Cook waving alongside an image of the WWDC 2026 logo.

Apple's opening WWDC 2026 keynote has been and gone, and boy, did we hear a lot about iOS 27, macOS 27 (or more specifically, macOS Golden Gate), and the rest of Apple's upcoming software upgrades.

Leading the charge were announcements surrounding Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, which will seemingly make your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch as capable as rival products from Google and Samsung from an AI perspective.

Siri, specifically, will be more conversational, detailed, and engaging, and will no longer hand off your query to third-party AI providers like ChatGPT (that is, if you ignore the fact that Siri AI is powered by Google's Gemini model).

Elsewhere, Apple announced a host of productivity, security, and creativity upgrades coming to devices across its portfolio — even the Apple Vision Pro got a mention — and many of its new software packages are available to try in beta.

Below, I've rounded up the key news from WWDC 2026, and stay tuned to TechRadar for more analysis as the dust settles on Apple's major announcements.

Jump to the live updates here

WWDC 2026 — key news

WWDC 2026 — how to re-watch

You can re-watch Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote via Apple’s YouTube page or via the embedded video above.

Live updates

Welcome to our WWDC 2026 live blog! Stick with us throughout the day for our pre-event coverage of Apple's big software showcase.

A look back at WWDCs past

What better way to count down to WWDC 2026 than with a visual look back at the WWDCs that came before? TechRadar's Mark Wilson has put together a visual retrospective of the 25 biggest moments from previous WWDCs, including the announcement of Mac OS X, Apple's switch from Power PC to Intel, and the launch of the iPhone 4.

TechRadar's editor-at-large, Lance Ulanoff, has touched down in California and— wait a minute, is that Apple CEO-to-be John Ternus? If you're reading this, Lance, let us know if he gave you any pre-show hints about what to expect from WWDC 2026.

More than just Siri

Of course, Siri 2.0 will be just one part of iOS 27, so what else are we hoping to see in Apple's next iPhone-focused software package?

Elsewhere on TechRadar, we've detailed 5 things we want iOS 27 to fix at WWDC 2026, from the iOS keyboard to Liquid Glass glitches.

What can Siri tell us about WWDC 2026?

If you were to ask Siri right now what to expect from WWDC 2026, you'd be met with a response that sums up the whole issue with Apple's voice assistant.

"Do you want me to use ChatGPT to answer that?" No surprises there.

If Apple can cut out the middle man and deliver a Siri that doesn't so explicitly rely on external AI to function, it'll be a win for everyone involved. TechRadar's editor-at-large, Lance Ulanoff, dug into this topic in a separate article over the weekend.

What to expect for iPad at WWDC 2026

Will we see new hardware at WWDC 2026, and more specifically, new iPads? Well, we can’t say for sure, but we do have a fairly good idea of what to expect (and not expect).

Sadly, the answer to that question is probably 'no' — for two reasons. The first is obvious — WWDC is Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, with the key word there being ‘developers’, meaning that the focus is on software, not hardware.

Second, in recent years, Apple has tended to unveil its new tablets either early in the year, or towards the end of the year. Mid-year launches are rare. And this year, we did indeed see an early-year launch, with the iPad Air (2026) landing back in March. That was only a few months ago, so it would seem odd for Apple to launch another model so soon.

Still, we're expecting to hear plenty from Apple regarding iPadOS 27 today — here's the full breakdown on what to expect for iPad at WWDC 2026.

(Image credit: Apple / Shutterstock / mundissima)

As for how Siri 2.0 might actually work in iOS 27, rumors suggest Apple could roll out a dedicated chat app for its voice assistant, as well as integrate Siri into the Dynamic Island.

Specifically, when you activate Siri with a wake word or the side button, a Siri animation will reportedly appear in the Dynamic Island. Then, once you’ve asked it something, a transparent results card will be displayed. If you need to go deeper than those initial results, you can swipe on the card to bring up a chat interface that apparently looks similar to an iMessage chat.

Hopefully, we'll see this rumored Siri interface in action today at WWDC 2026.

Which Apple era do you belong in?

Are you a longtime Apple user? If so, which Apple era do you belong in? Take our quiz to find out.

Don't expect a Liquid Glass-level redesign

As for what we're expecting to see in iOS 27 besides a major Siri revamp, rumors suggest Apple could add the ability to use natural language to create shortcuts in the Shortcuts app, as well as a new ‘Create a Pass’ option for Apple Wallet.

Other leaks point to tweaks to the look of Apple’s controversial Liquid Glass interface, design changes for the Camera and Weather apps, and improvements to autocorrect.

Don't expect a Liquid Glass-level design overhaul this year, then, but as mentioned, we're expecting to see Apple make experience-improving tweaks to the iPhone's transparent UI.

It looks like TechRadar's editor-at-large, Lance Ulanoff, is waking up to a clear morning in Cupertino, California (by my calculations, the local time is 6am PT).

Hang on, here's an even better pic...

And we've had our first "Good morning!" from Tim Cook, too.

The Apple CEO just tweeted a video of himself — and friends of the company including Harrison Ford, Jimmy Fallon, and Whoopi Goldberg — saying those exact words. Might today be the last time we hear a Tim Cook "Good morning!" on an Apple stage? With John Ternus stepping into the role of Apple CEO in September, it's certainly possible.

Coming bright up

Let's take a look at the official event invite for WWDC 2026. The official tagline reads "Coming bright up," and Apple's developer website is awash with references to glowing light ("Glow all out" and "A glowing giveaway," for instance). You may remember that Apple added an edge-to-edge glow to Siri in iOS 18.1 — yes, almost two years ago — and we're pretty confident that this is what Apple is teasing again here (albeit for an updated, genuinely usable version of Siri).

One other thing that's worth mentioning: as much as we're expecting Apple to right the wrongs of Siri at WWDC 2026, rumors suggest the company will still add a 'beta' label to its new voice assistant, and there may even be a waitlist of some sort before you can actually try it. Apple did the same thing with the launch of Apple Intelligence in 2024, suggesting that Siri 2.0 might still not be a finished product (despite being much better than Siri as it exists now).

Lance has touched down in Apple Park, and things are looking 'bright'.

Annual 'Lance at WWDC' selfie just dropped:

What about MacOS?

Let's pivot to MacBook for a moment. With MacOS 27, Apple looks set to introduce a “slight redesign” to the Liquid Glass-based UI, bringing fixes for “shadows and transparency quirks,” according to Bloomberg's resident Apple expert Mark Gurman.

However, “Liquid Glass itself isn’t going away,” Gurman insists: “The goal is more of a cleanup and refinement effort aligned with the company’s wider push to polish its software this year.”

This fits with the design rumors we've heard about iOS 27 and iPadsOS 27, too — so, Siri notwithstanding, 2026 looks set to be a year of small tweaks, rather than big swings.

Media pass secured

Behold, the official Apple pins from WWDC 2026:

Lil’ Finder Guy is definitely the best of the four.

With less than two hours to go until kick-off, it looks like Lance is doing laps around Apple Par— oh no wait, he's just finding his seat.

Survey says... Siri!

Early results for our 'What are you most excited to see at WWDC 2026?' poll suggest Siri 2.0 is the most hotly anticipated announcement of the day, closely followed by iOS 27 more generally. That makes sense, since more people use iPhones than, say, iPads or MacBooks, and Apple hasn't been discreet about marketing today's event as a Siri-focused showcase.

To see the current results of our poll, simply cast your vote below.

Apple Park is starting to fill up.

A reminder that today's event is due to start at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (or 3am AEST on June 9), and you can tune in via the video link at the top of the page.

Here's what the TechRadar team is most excited to see at today's event:

Marc McLaren, Global Editor in Chief: I'm excited to see how Apple reclaims the narrative around AI. There are very few areas of tech where it's ever been so far behind its rivals and ended up looking a little out of touch, so if it has big things in store on this front, that's massive news. And if it doesn't… well, that's massive news too.

Jacob Krol, US Managing Editor, News: I'm really keen to see new Siri come to fruition after two years, but also how Apple positions it as helpful for everyday folks, and the features it decides to spotlight (will they be the same as originally promised?). It'll also be interesting to see whether Gemini or Google gets even a very tiny mention (I doubt it), and how Apple describes generative edit features for Photos.

Mark Wilson, UK Managing Editor, News: I’m looking forward to the new ‘Siri’ mode in the Camera app — I’ve been getting tired of Android getting all the cool visual search tricks like proper ‘Circle to Search’. And that sounds genuinely useful, assuming it’s not all smoke and mirrors again.

Matt Hanson, Managing Editor, Core Tech: I'd like Liquid Glass to look nicer in macOS 27.

Matt Evans, Senior Fitness & Wearables Editor: I'm excited to see how Tim Cook handles the baton-passing to John Ternus

Tim Coleman, Cameras Editor: More pics of Lance shaking hands with important people.

I'm with you there, Tim.

Interestingly, both the Apple Developer Portal and Apple Store website are still operating as normal, with just over half an hour to go until WWDC 2026 kicks off. Apple typically closes both sites for maintenance ahead of keynotes like WWDC, so we're expecting them to shutter imminently.

In other words, if you want to buy an iPhone from Apple directly, you've probably got about 30 seconds to do so...

We're ready and waiting (it looks like there are still some seats available, guys).

We're just about 30 minutes away from the start of WWDC 26, and I'm curious whether we'll see John Ternus join Tim Cook and Craig Federighi on stage at Apple Park before the pre-recorded presentation begins.

Typically, the latter two appear in front of the big screen at Apple Park to offer a few words before the event video kicks off, but considering Ternus was out mingling with attendees last night — including TechRadar's own Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff — it feels like perfect timing for the CEO-to-be to step into this emcee role.

Either way, we'll find out soon enough.

If you're wondering what Apple might call macOS 27, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman isn't convinced that Big Bear, Redwood, or Tiburon are the chosen monikers.

And just like that, Apple's beta page is down, teasing "We'll be back."

10 minutes to go. There's no music on Apple's live stream yet — at this point during Google I/O 2026, Google was torturing us with some AI-generated EDM — but the silence has got me wondering whether we'll see some sort of skit featuring Craig Federighi to kick things off.

The 'number of people in the waiting room' ticker is steadily heading north. It's now at 90,000...

The Apple stewards are wrangling the last few attendees...

Here's a quick prediction/hope/dream from TechRadar's Managing Editor, Social & Engagement, Josie Watson:

"I'm betting on this finally being the year Apple gets its act together and delivers a competitive smart home service. With competition hotting up from Google Home and Alexa, a newly bolstered Siri with widgets and better Shortcuts could be the missing ingredient. Except that'll probably mean we need all-new, more powerful HomePods, too..."

And we're off! There's the music...

Tim Cook walks onto the Apple Park green to Harry Styles' "Ready, Stready, Go!"

Was that the last "Good morning!" we'll ever hear from Tim Cook...

Confirmation that we'll be hearing about Siri today... surprise!

Craig Federighi teases upcoming announcements regarding platform improvements, trust and safety, and Apple Intelligence and Siri.

Side note: Federighi's hair really is magnificent, isn't it?

The first big reveal of the day: macOS 27 is... macOS Golden Gate!

Here's Stacey Ford to talk about upcoming macOS upgrades. She says Apple has made macOS "faster, smoother, and even easier to use."

Can yo count all the upgrades in the image above?

Liquid Glass will now diffuse content behind it much more effectively, and Apple is adding a new slider in Settings to adjust Liquid Glass. It's about time.

Every window on macOS will now have the same corner radius, and Apple has also added Liquid Glass effects to app icons.

I mean, that does look pretty cool actually.

Some more eye-catching stats: iPhone and iPad apps will launch up to 30% faster, new photos will appear 70% faster, photos will transfer over AirDrop 80% faster, and file browsing is up to 5x faster. Impressive stuff.

Hang on, did Apple just say... iPhone 11?!

iOS 27 will be available on every iPhone since Apple's 2019 flagship, which matches the minimum software requirements of iOS 26.

Finally, Search is getting some much-needed TLC.

Apple has rebuilt Search from the ground up; iOS 27 and macOS 27 will index your entire data library, so you can better search for photos and emails. Huzzah!

In case you missed it during that feature announcement flurry, iOS 27 will add a status slider for iMessages.

We're moving swiftly on to the Trust & Safety portion of Apple's briefing.

Starting this year, parents will be able to create upgraded Child accounts in iOS. They'll be able to approve which apps their children can download, which websites they can view, who their children can talk to, and how long they can spend on their iPhone or iPad.

In iOS 27, Time Allowances work like Screen Time limits, but are informed by paediatric research, and can be amended to suit different times of day.

Craig Federighi: "We're giving parents powerful, easy-to-use tools to help manage what kids can see and who they can talk to." This is good stuff from Apple.

And here we go with the AI portion of today's keynote.

"Today, we're taking a big step forward with Apple Intelligence."

Gemini mentioned!

Apple has acknowledged its partnership with Google; Gemini models will underpin Apple's upcoming Apple Intelligence features.

Apple believes that companies already investing heavily in AI should "turn the potential of advanced technology into helpful and intuitive products for everyone."

Is that a spot of shade-throwing?

Apple announces Siri AI.

"We've rebuilt Siri with powerful AI at the core," the company says. "Siri is a profoundly more capable assistant, and it's more conversational."

There's a dedicated Siri app, and it'll live predominantly within your iPhone's Dynamic Island.

Apple is showing off its new Siri AI platform by having a conversation about an upcoming Suki Waterhouse gig. This new voice assistant is contextually aware and capable of analysing what's appearing on your iPhone screen at any given time.

Essentially, Siri AI will reduce the need to jump between apps manually. It can search through core iPhone apps like Photos, Maps, and Mail to better answer your query.

Incidentally, Apple is also launching new Siri voices — you'll be able to adjust pace and expressivity based on your preferences.

An important side note there: these Siri AI upgrades extend to CarPlay and AirPods.

I'm not seeing much here that's downright groundbreaking versus comparable assistants like Gemini, but it does seem as if Apple has caught up to the competition with Siri AI.

Here's a look at Siri AI on macOS. Rather than being embedded in the Dynamic Island (which doesn't exist on MacBooks), it'll form part of Spotlight. You can expand Siri queries into dedicated macOS windows, and a new Siri field will appear when right-clicking on files.

We're now getting a look at the dedicated Siri app, which will store your (private) conversational history across your devices. In typical Apple fashion, you can start chatting to Siri on iPhone, move to iPad, and finish the conversation on Mac.

Siri mode in the iPhone's camera app looks like the Visual Intelligence feature that was promised two years ago. Touch the shutter button to let Siri see what you see, and you'll be able to ask contextual questions about your surroundings.

Automatic Proofreading! That's a useful new Apple Intelligence feature. Essentially, you won't have to take action when your iPhone, iPad, or Mac highlights a writing error.

Here's another look at that Siri assistant pop-up on Mac:

Oh, this is nice. Apple Intelligence can automatically organize your Safari tabs into categories.

I hope TechRadar's Global Editor in Chief, Marc McLaren, is watching...

Here's a major Passwords app update: now, you can automatically update eligible accounts to strong passwords, saving you the hassle of changing those passwords manually. Apple Intelligence will also go ahead and re-sign you into accounts with those changed passwords.

Ooo, this is good too: if you're on a phone call and are asked for details regarding a booking or reservation (say, if you're speaking to an airline regarding a flight), Apple Intelligence will surface those details into the phone call interface, so you don't have to navigate away from the call. If it works, that's huge.

Apple is now revealing a big Shortcuts app upgrade that we were hoping and praying for.

Essentially, you can now build Shortcuts with natural language prompts, so you don't have to wade through the complex process of building Shortcuts yourself.

Again, if it works, this could be huge for the accessibility of the feature, which launched way back in 2018.

In iOS 27, Image Playground really feels like what it should have been when it first launched.

For starters, you can now make an image in pretty much any style, including much more realistic ones. It's also being integrated across nearly all platforms, and you can make images in pretty much any size. We'll need to see how it stacks up, but this Apple Intelligence launch feature now looks genuinely usable.

An important note there: Siri AI won't be available in the EU on iOS and iPadOS. That's a lot of customers.

Behold, the (very) big list of Apple Intelligence features coming to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS Golden Gate:

It's interesting that we haven't heard from (or even seen!) CEO-to-be John Ternus during this WWDC 2026 keynote. He is a hardware man, I suppose.

iOS 27, iPad OS 27, macOS Golden Gate, and the rest of Apple's next major software packages will arrive in Fall this year — for those new to this, that means 'in September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro.'

And that's a wrap on Apple's opening keynote for WWDC 2026.

Stay tuned for our breakdown of all the announcements, and I'm working on a handy 'key announcements' list as I type this, so you don't have to wade through my previous 100 posts.

The WWDC 2026 compatibility conundrum

I've just published an explainer on the device requirements for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and Siri AI. To enjoy the full version of the latter — specifically, features like expressive voices and more advanced dictation — you'll need to own an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or an iPhone Air.

Frustratingly for many, Siri AI also won't be available in the European Union (EU) or China at launch.

Here's Apple's statement on the matter: "Unfortunately, due to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple will not be able to ship Siri AI in the European Union with the release of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27. Over the past several months, EU regulators did not accept any of Apple’s proposed solutions to bring Siri AI to the EU while safely supporting other virtual assistants."

Yikes.

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