Apple Launches Powerful AI Features alongside iOS 26 at WWDC 2025
At WWDC 2025, Apple revealed a major update featuring new AI-powered tools under its Apple Intelligence system. These tools will enhance iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro devices, focusing on privacy and offline functionality by running AI models directly on devices. One notable feature is Live Translation, which provides real-time translation for Messages, FaceTime, and Phone calls, processing all data on-device to ensure conversations remain private.
Creative users will enjoy upgrades to Image Playground and Genmoji. They can combine emojis with descriptive prompts to create personalized Genmoji or generate images in various styles such as oil painting or vector art using ChatGPT-powered tools. Importantly, data sharing with ChatGPT requires explicit user permission, reinforcing privacy. These enhancements aim to empower users to create and communicate more expressively.
Enhanced Visual Intelligence and Developer Opportunities
Apple also improved its visual intelligence capabilities. Devices can now recognize objects through the camera or screen content and assist with everyday tasks, such as detecting event details and automatically creating calendar invites. Moreover, Apple is opening access to on-device foundation AI models for developers. This access allows third-party apps to incorporate advanced AI features that work without an internet connection, which could lead to broader AI integration across the Apple ecosystem.
The Apple Intelligence system will support eight additional languages by year-end, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese, making these AI features accessible to more users globally.
iOS 26 Brings Liquid Glass Redesign and New Functionalities
In addition to AI advancements, Apple announced iOS 26, showcasing a complete redesign with its new “Liquid Glass” design language. This update stretches the time display on the lock screen and introduces a cleaner Camera app interface with hidden controls. Safari now presents webpages edge-to-edge, with a floating tab bar that enhances browsing.
The Messages app adds custom backgrounds, polls, and group chat typing indicators, while the Phone app includes a call screening feature that can answer or hold calls on your behalf. Apple Music introduces AutoMix, which blends songs like a DJ, and adds lyrics translation and pronunciation. Apple Maps learns users’ preferred routes and sends delay alerts, while Apple Wallet gains digital ID support and refreshed boarding passes. Apple Pay will also use AI to track orders beyond its platform.
Apple launched a dedicated Games app, allowing users to browse their downloaded games and Apple Arcade titles, view friends’ gaming activities, and access leaderboards. Visual Intelligence also enables users to learn more about items on their screens, like identifying a jacket from a photo or creating calendar events from screenshots. Additionally, Visual Intelligence can answer questions about screen content using ChatGPT integration.
Together, these updates mark a significant leap in Apple’s AI capabilities and overall user experience, strengthening Apple Intelligence and setting the stage for a more connected, intelligent future.
