Apple used its Worldwide Developers Conference to unveil what may be the company's most ambitious artificial-intelligence push yet, introducing a redesigned Siri powered by a new Apple Intelligence architecture and revealing a deeper integration of Google's Gemini models into its software ecosystem.
The announcements place artificial intelligence at the center of Apple's product strategy as the company races to compete with AI offerings from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Anthropic. At WWDC, Apple positioned the revamped Siri as a more capable digital assistant designed to understand personal context, interpret on-screen content and perform actions across applications with minimal user input.
The software overhaul extends across Apple's operating systems, including iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27 and visionOS 27. Rather than focusing primarily on visual redesigns, Apple devoted much of its keynote to automation, AI-powered workflows and system-wide intelligence features.
Central to the effort is a rebuilt version of Siri that Apple executives described as more aware of a user's digital environment. The assistant can reference information displayed on screen, understand ongoing conversations and execute tasks spanning multiple applications without requiring users to switch between programs.
Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, described the new capabilities in a company announcement.
"With access to broad world knowledge for up-to-date answers on virtually any topic, along with onscreen awareness and personal context understanding, Siri AI can help users take action across apps more naturally than ever," Federighi said.
The upgraded assistant represents a significant departure from previous generations of Siri, which largely relied on individual commands and predefined actions. Apple demonstrated scenarios in which the assistant could retrieve information from messages, summarize content, draft communications and coordinate calendar events based on contextual information already available on a device.
Another major change is the introduction of a dedicated Siri interface designed to maintain continuity across conversations. Users can review prior interactions, revisit unfinished requests and continue conversations across multiple Apple devices through iCloud synchronization.
Behind those features sits a new Apple Intelligence framework that Apple said combines on-device processing with cloud-based computing. The company confirmed that Google Gemini models will play a role within the broader architecture, marking one of the most significant collaborations between the two technology rivals in recent years.
According to Apple, the framework consists of multiple layers that work together to interpret requests and coordinate actions:
- Foundation models capable of processing text, images and voice input.
- Software orchestration systems that manage background tasks.
- Context-aware intelligence designed to analyze user behavior and screen activity.
- Cross-application tools that enable automation throughout Apple's ecosystem.
Google has aggressively expanded Gemini across its products, while OpenAI continues integrating ChatGPT into consumer and enterprise software. Apple, by contrast, has faced criticism for moving more slowly in generative AI despite its vast hardware ecosystem.
