Apple WWDC 2026 Keynote pretty much was about two topics: Child Safety features, especially the new Child Accounts, and Apple Intelligence as both architecture for developers to use and worked examples put into many Apple apps that will ship with xOS 27. To a certain extent I guess these are the sort of AI features people were expecting to see when Apple Intelligence was announced last year.

My notes:

macOS 27 Golden Gate

Liquid Glass
- rendering refinements when background is complex
- setting slider to adjust opacity
- sidebar has color for active app so easier to tell
- icons have more layers
- focus on UI performance

iOS 27 suports down to iPhone 11 (including my iPhone SE 3rd gen)

Search: rebuilt foundation for Spotlight, Photos, Mail
- more comprehensive indexing (with rankings in Mail)

Photos: share albums with Android friends and they can contribute too

Child Safety
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- 1. every child is unique and parents know what's best for their family
- 2. based on expert health research
- kids 14-18: age-based protections guided by adult supervision
- kids under 13: access should be limited

American Academy of Pediatrics - Family Media Plan

Child Accounts
- existing accounts can be converted to Child Account
- Setup Assistant to help parents
- Ask to Buy - existing way for parents to approve App Store downloads
- Ask to Browse Website - new feature
- Ask to Approve - for people who kid can interact with
- Communication Safety - detects nudity and gore
- Screen Time statistics. Parents can immediately pause use of an app
- Time Allowances - time for Entertainment, Games, Social Media categories
- Schedule apps based on time of day, schedule Time Allowances

Developer Tools and APIs
- Sensitive Content Analysis
- PermissionKit
- Declared Age Range API

Apple Intelligence
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Architecture
- Apple Foundation Models: run on device or on server with Apple Private Compute
- v2 of on-device model for latest Apple Silicon
++ iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPad M4 with 12 GB memory, Mac M3 with 12 GB memory
- Personal context understanding
- App actions: AI execute actions on an app
- On-screen awareness
++ tailor responses to app you're using
++ ask about something shown on-screen
- Image understanding
- Privacy First: on-device processing + Private Cloud Compute

Siri AI
- More conversational during multiple queries
- Dedicated Siri app to go back to conversations and continue them
- Brand new voice experience, sounds more natural, adjust pace and expressivity
- macOS: Siri AI context menu action

Siri App
- view conversations
- continue conversation as you switch devices
- iCloud sync, private

Siri mode in camera - point camera at something and ask Siri

Visual Intelligence - info/actions based on photo shown or on Mac based on selection

Safari - uses Apple Intelligence to organize tabs by topic
- Notify Me: Safari can monitor a page and wait for specific change
- Describe an Extension: Safari can create extensions just for you
- Automatically Fix Passwords: Safari will update weak/compromised PWs on web sites

Other Apps
- Home app summarizes multiple notifications
- Home app create descriptions from various cameras
- Shortcuts: describe a shortcut and it will assemble it for you
- Image Playground - more capabilities and Image Playground API for devs

Photos App
- Clean Up Tool upgrade
- Extend Tool to expand image (extends background so main subject is not cramped)
- Spatial Reframing
++ rotate subject and background adjusts as if you had moved camera
++ generative AI to fill in "extra" image

Apple Intelligence in English, more languages will be added quickly
iCloud+ subscription for Private Computing features

Siri AI Beta later this year. Initially not available in EU or China.

Core AI framework to use 3rd party AI models.