GoKawiilWWDC 2025 marked the beginning of Apple's biggest AI push to date. The last year has seen a steady rollout of Apple Intelligence features across iPhone, iPad and Mac, revamping Siri's capabilities, adding generative tools to core apps and giving developers new ways to build with AI.
As Apple prepares for WWDC 2026, kicking off on Monday, June 8, the company faces another major transition: its post-Tim Cook era. Cook's final day as Apple CEO will be August 31, after 15 years in the role. Hardware Engineering head John Ternus will take over the role from Cook, meaning the changing of the guard will come just in time for Apple's annual September hardware event.
Together, Apple's AI rollout and leadership changes will undoubtedly shape the next chapter of the company's strategy and ecosystem of devices and services. Until then, let's reflect on Apple's major AI launches since WWDC 2025 and what Tim Cook's departure means for the company.
Apple Intelligence becomes a core platform feature
Rather than launching as a standalone product, Apple Intelligence has evolved into a system-wide layer woven throughout iOS, iPadOS and macOS. The platform brings generative writing tools, smart summaries, contextual suggestions and more natural interactions with Siri directly into Apple's operating systems.
Apple's goal seems to be making everyday tasks faster while keeping much of the processing on-device and maintaining Apple's privacy-focused approach.
Siri gets smarter and more personalized
One of Apple's most significant AI upgrades over the last two years has been its work on Siri. The updated assistant can access information across apps such as Mail, Messages and supported third-party services to complete multi-step tasks. You can ask Siri to find information buried in conversations, draft responses or take actions that previously required navigating multiple apps.
To expand Siri's capabilities further, Apple introduced selective integrations with third-party AI models for requests that may benefit from external systems. The approach allows Apple to combine its own platform intelligence with broader AI capabilities while maintaining a familiar user experience.
Apple has been reportedly working on a Siri app, a new interface and deeper AI features, which could signal the rollout of its biggest overhaul to date at WWDC 2026.
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