Apple unveils Siri AI and iOS 27 at Tim Cook's final WWDC, but Europe is left waiting

Apple's 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) served as the backdrop for two significant milestones: the introduction of a completely overhauled, AI-driven Siri and the farewell keynote of CEO Tim Cook, who will hand over leadership to John Ternus in September. The event, held at Apple Park, saw the unveiling of next-generation operating systems—iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27—that pair a refined Liquid Glass design with deep performance optimizations.

The long-awaited Siri AI

After two years of unfulfilled promises in artificial intelligence, including a scrapped 2024 Siri upgrade and a $250 million class-action settlement, Apple presented Siri AI. Powered by the new Apple Intelligence ecosystem, the assistant is now deeply integrated across all systems. It can understand on-screen content, access personal data across messages, mail, and photos, and perform complex, multi-app tasks. Craig Federighi, Apple's vice president of software engineering, criticized the industry's "senseless" race in AI, stating the company's focus is on making advanced technology useful and intuitive while protecting user privacy.

Some seem to be rushing ahead, chasing AI for the sake of it, without really considering the people it is ultimately meant to serve.

Under the hood with Google

This new capability is built on a custom architecture developed in collaboration with Google, adapting the architecture of Google's Gemini models for Apple's own foundational models. The deal, rumored to be worth nearly $1 billion, is an uncomfortable one for a company that has made privacy a cornerstone of its brand. Apple emphasized that the system uses private cloud compute to protect user data.

Europe locked out

Despite being the headline feature, Siri AI will not be available in the European Union at launch. Apple directly blamed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), stating that the regulation's interoperability requirements would force the company to allow third-party assistants the same deep system access as Siri AI, a security risk it is unwilling to take. The EU has designated Apple as a 'gatekeeper' for iOS, iPadOS, and Safari, meaning the restriction applies to iPhones and iPads, though Siri AI may still function on macOS, watchOS, and visionOS in the region. Apple confirmed that interim proposals to the European Commission have already been rejected, and no timeline for a resolution exists.

We do not know how to open our ecosystem without compromising its security and that of our users.

Performance leap in iOS 27

While AI dominated the keynote, a significant under-the-hood improvement nearly went unnoticed. Apple has dramatically accelerated core system functions. App launches on iPhone and iPad are up to 30% faster. Newly taken photos load into the library 70% faster, and AirDrop transfers are accelerated by up to 80%. Federighi explained that the team found a way to preload key data applications need at launch. The CPU scheduler has also been reworked to make older iPhones, going back to the iPhone 11, feel more responsive.

It's hard to believe they could be even faster, but the team found a way to preload the key data that apps need when opening them, so they are ready to go.

A CEO's farewell

Tim Cook's emotional closing message marked the end of his 15-year tenure. He called leading Apple "the honor of a lifetime." His departure comes as the company bets heavily on this AI transition to close the gap with competitors who have moved faster in the space over the last two years.

Design continuity

All platforms receive a continuation of the Liquid Glass design language introduced last year. A new slider in Settings allows users to customize the transparency of the effect. Icons have been updated for sharper, more defined shapes, and macOS specifically gets a more uniform toolbar and edge-to-edge sidebars.