"Apple's AI Takes Off at WWDC — But Siri Hits the Snooze Button"

Apple CEO Tim Cook greeted the audience at the Worldwide Developers Conference. (EPA-EFE)

June 11, 2025 – 01:22:06

Economic Daily News – International Desk / Compiled from Foreign News Sources

Apple Unveils AI Advancements at WWDC 2025: Opens Foundation Models to Developers, New OS Naming, and More

At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 9, Apple announced that its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models will now be available for developer use, accelerating the creation of AI-powered applications. The company also confirmed that it needs more time to develop a more personalized Siri that meets Apple's high internal standards, with more updates expected over the next year. Below are the key highlights from the event:

Operating Systems Now Named by Year

Apple is moving away from sequential version numbers for its operating systems and will instead adopt year-based naming. What would have been iOS 19 is now iOS 26. Other systems will follow suit, including iPadOS 26 and watchOS 26. The newly introduced macOS Tahoe 26 will be the final version to support Macs running Intel processors.

Foundation Models Now Open to Developers

Developers can now access Apple Intelligence's on-device foundation models, which are built with privacy in mind and operate offline—eliminating the need for cloud-based processing and associated costs. These features are available for testing starting today. For general users, the features will roll out publicly with the full release of iOS 26 this fall. However, iOS 26 will only be available on iPhone 11 and newer models, meaning older devices such as the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max (released in 2018) will not be eligible for the update.

Apple Intelligence to Support Traditional Chinese

Later this year, Apple Intelligence will add support for eight new languages through a software update: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese.

“Liquid Glass” User Interface Design

The new operating systems will adopt a sleek, translucent design language called “Liquid Glass,” incorporating dynamic visual elements. This design extends to even the smallest UI components—such as buttons, toggles, sliders, text, media controls, tab bars, and sidebars—providing a more unified and consistent user experience across Apple platforms.

Live Translation Feature

Apple's new Live Translation feature will be integrated into core apps such as Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, helping users communicate across different languages in real time. This update is Apple’s move to stay competitive with similar offerings from Google and Samsung.

“Visual Intelligence” Helps Search and Take Action

Built on Apple Intelligence, the Visual Intelligence feature extends to users’ iPhone screens. It allows contextual searches and actions based on on-screen content. Users can ask ChatGPT questions about what they see or use Google and other supported apps to search for similar images and products.

Other New Features

• Reminders can now automatically detect actionable items within emails, websites, notes, and other content, organizing them accordingly.

  
  

• Wallet will automatically identify and summarize order tracking information from merchant and shipping confirmation emails. This lets users view comprehensive order details and real-time updates in one centralized location.

Source of Information: Economic Daily News