new AI-powered – Apple’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference kicks off Monday, June 8, with a keynote at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The big focus is an all-new, AI-powered Siri—now expected to run on Gemini models—along with previews of iOS 27 and other OS updates, refinement
On Monday, June 8, Apple’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference begins—and the stakes feel sharper than usual.
WWDC is built for developers, the people who design apps for Apple’s operating systems. But consumers watch too. because what gets previewed in early June turns into what runs on iPhones. iPads. Macs. and wearables later this year. This year, the attention is being pulled by a single promise: a dramatically smarter Siri.
The keynote starts at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. It’s also expected to be one of Apple’s most consequential developer conferences on record, largely because the company’s entire software roadmap is being bent around AI.
An all-new Siri AI
Apple is expected to lean hard into its latest artificial intelligence advancements. The centerpiece is widely expected to be a new AI-powered Siri.
The twist isn’t that Siri is changing—it’s how. For months, the groundwork has already been laid: Apple and Google announced a collaboration in January, with a version of Google’s Gemini expected to power the new Siri.
Still, don’t expect a “Gemini” branding splash on the iPhone. The foundational Gemini models are expected to power a revamped Siri and the overall Apple Intelligence experience.
Apple’s new Siri is also expected to look and behave more like the modern AI chatbot people have come to expect. Instead of treating the assistant like a strictly voice-first feature, Apple is expected to deliver it as a chatbot-style app.
Refined Liquid Glass
If AI is the headline grabber, design has been the daily tension point for much of the last year.
At WWDC25, Apple unveiled the most radical user interface redesign since iOS 7 in 2013. The changes brought Liquid Glass—a design language where user interface elements appear as transparent panes of glass that warp and refract light when users interact.
Not everyone loved the direction. The source of the friction has been visible in the months since: Apple has spent nearly every minor operating system update tweaking the look and feel of Liquid Glass, including giving users more control over how it appears.
With Monday’s new software previews, Apple is widely expected to push further adjustments to Liquid Glass, particularly on the Mac. The reason is already in the record: Bloomberg reported that Liquid Glass didn’t debut in macOS 26 as Apple’s software designers had intended.
The ’27 versions of Apple’s major operating systems
Apple’s developer week will also bring the next round of operating-system previews. Apple has six major operating systems, and all are expected to receive new versions previewed on Monday.
iOS 27 is expected to be the main focus. Alongside Siri AI upgrades, iOS 27 is expected to include additional AI editing tools in the Photos app, a revamped and more customizable Camera app, and improved Apple Intelligence writing tools. That includes an upgraded grammar checker.
Apple typically aims for feature parity across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. So the same tools are expected to show up across iPadOS 27 and macOS 27.
The schedule is less clear for the TV, Watch, and Vision ecosystem. Apple TV. Apple Watch. and Apple Vision Pro would roll into tvOS 27. watchOS 27. and visionOS 27 respectively. all expected to be announced on Monday. Beyond Siri AI landing on these devices, some reports suggest watchOS 27 could add more health features and new watch faces.
Beyond that, the exact shape of the rest of those updates remains uncertain.
A spotlight on incoming CEO John Ternus
WWDC may be mostly software, but leadership will still be part of the storyline.
In April, Apple announced the retirement of CEO Tim Cook, with John Ternus—the current hardware chief—set to succeed him in September.
Historically, Cook has delivered both the opening and closing remarks in Apple’s WWDC keynote. This will be Cook’s final WWDC with him at the helm, which makes his presence in the program a key signal.
It also raises a practical question: will Apple give Ternus more face time than usual? The source suggests it’s likely, even if it’s unclear whether the company will address the transition directly.
The iPhone Fold and new Apple TV?
Even though Apple usually keeps WWDC tightly focused on software, Monday could still carry hardware hints.
If Apple previews devices during the keynote, the iPhone Fold is the leading candidate. It’s also been referred to colloquially as the iPhone Ultra.
The timing logic is straightforward: Apple may want to show developers how a first foldable iPhone works. even if the company doesn’t plan to release it until later this year. Developers will need time to understand the behavior of the foldable screen and update their apps accordingly. A heads-up now could help ensure apps are ready for launch in the fall.
There’s also a smaller, more conditional possibility that Apple previews new Apple TV hardware, and perhaps new HomePods.
The Apple TV hasn’t been updated in nearly three and a half years, and it isn’t powerful enough to run Apple Intelligence. It’s also been long rumored that Apple has had the new Apple TV ready to ship for nearly a year but held it back—waiting for the new Siri AI to be available.
Launching an Apple TV at WWDC26 would give developers a chance to see how the new Siri AI runs there and gives them time to upgrade apps before tvOS 27 ships to the public in the fall.
Taken together. Monday’s keynote looks like a pivot point: Siri’s underlying foundation appears set. the operating-system lineup is heading into “27. ” Liquid Glass is set for another round of refinement. and Apple may still use the developer stage to prepare the ecosystem for what’s next in hardware.
And for consumers, that’s the real reason WWDC still feels personal—even when it’s meant for developers: the software preview becomes the experience they’ll carry in their pockets and on their desks later this year.
Apple WWDC 26 Siri AI Gemini Apple Intelligence iOS 27 Liquid Glass macOS 27 iPadOS 27 tvOS 27 watchOS 27 visionOS 27 John Ternus Tim Cook iPhone Fold Apple TV HomePods