At last year’s WWDC event, Apple made a big splash with its ambitious AI plans. This year, the focus shifted towards enhancing operating systems, services, and software, unveiling a fresh design called “Liquid Glass” and a new naming style. However, Apple didn’t completely sideline AI; they introduced a few intriguing AI-powered features.
Visual Intelligence is a standout. This AI-driven image analysis tool can identify plants, provide information about restaurants, or even recognize clothing from a photo. The feature now interacts with the content on your iPhone screen, conducting image searches with tools like Google Search and ChatGPT. You can access it through the Control Center or by customizing the Action button, available with iOS 26.
Image Playground has also seen an upgrade with ChatGPT integration. Users can now generate images in various styles, such as “anime,” “oil painting,” and “watercolor,” and can prompt ChatGPT to create additional images.
Apple’s AI hasn’t stopped there. The Workout Buddy is an AI-powered workout coach that motivates you during exercise, offering personal trainer-like encouragement. It tracks performance highlights, such as your fastest mile, and summarizes key stats post-workout.
The new live translation feature facilitates real-time language translation for Messages, FaceTime, and phone calls. It provides live captions during video calls and translates conversations during audio calls.
For phone calls, Apple introduced call screening and hold assist features. The first screens unknown numbers, allowing you to hear the caller’s name and intent before answering. The latter detects hold music and lets you multitask while waiting for a live person, notifying you once they’re available.
Messages now have a neat trick up their sleeve, too. AI-driven poll suggestions can help resolve group chat decisions, like picking a restaurant, making communication smoother.
The Shortcuts app benefits from AI enhancements, enabling features like AI summarization for more efficient workflows. Spotlight on Macs now incorporates contextual AI, offering user-tailored suggestions based on current tasks.
Developers now have access to Apple’s AI models offline through the Foundation Models framework, allowing the creation of advanced AI features in third-party apps, offering a competitive edge.
Despite these advancements, one area fell short: Siri. Attendees were eager for updates, but further developments for Apple’s voice assistant are delayed until next year, leaving some wondering about Apple’s direction in the competitive voice AI market.
Apple continues to blend AI into its offerings, setting the stage for exciting future potential even as some anticipated features remain just over the horizon.
