At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2026, held on June 9 in the United States, Apple continues to upgrade its operating system for its devices to version 27.
As has been customary for many years, Apple CEO Tim Cook was the first to appear on stage at the Steve Jobs Theater to kick off WWDC 2026. Amid the applause of thousands of developers and guests, he introduced the latest changes in the Apple ecosystem before handing the stage over to product teams.
This year’s WWDC holds special significance, occurring shortly after Apple announced plans to transfer leadership to the next generation. Many believe this could be Tim Cook’s last appearance on stage at Apple’s largest developer conference of the year as CEO.
Tim Cook opens WWDC 2026. Photo: Tuấn Hưng
Tim Cook maintained his familiar style, focusing on products and user experience. The highlight of this year’s event is the new “27” operating systems, particularly iOS 27 for the iPhone. This version of the operating system is described by Apple as faster, smarter, and more user-friendly.
One of the most notable announcements is that iOS 27 will continue to support the seven-year-old iPhone 11. According to Apple, this has been achieved thanks to deep changes in the CPU scheduler, which helps the operating system manage hardware resources more efficiently. The company stated that daily tasks and heavy applications can run more smoothly even on older devices.
Performance is a recurring theme throughout the iOS 27 presentation. Apple announced a 30% faster app launch speed, while new photos appear in the Photos library up to 70% faster. The speed of photo sharing via AirDrop has also improved by 80%.
Another significant upgrade is Apple Intelligence and a completely new version of Siri.
On stage, Apple confirmed that it has established a strategic partnership with Google to leverage foundational technologies behind the Gemini model ecosystem to build a new generation of Apple Foundation Models. Previously, the company had partnered with OpenAI for AI tasks, but the company behind ChatGPT was not mentioned at this event.
Apple’s introduction of the new Siri. Photo: Tuấn Hưng
According to Apple, the new AI model will operate on a hybrid architecture, capable of processing directly on the device or shifting to its own server system. The system has also been significantly upgraded for multimodal capabilities, allowing it to understand images, edit photos, answer questions related to visual content, and process natural language with greater accuracy. Apple also emphasized that privacy remains a core principle. User data is only used to fulfill requests at the time they occur and is not stored for training models.
The result of this collaboration is Siri AI, described by Apple as the most significant overhaul since Siri was launched. Instead of only responding to single commands, Siri can now understand personal context, remember the flow of conversations, and combine information from various applications to carry out tasks.
Additionally, the company has addressed several common inconveniences during use. For example, when sending multiple large photos via iMessage, the upload process will no longer disrupt the entire conversation. The system has also been improved to automatically decide when to maintain a Wi-Fi connection or switch to mobile data to ensure a continuous experience.
After introducing the Liquid Glass design language on iOS 26, Apple continues to refine this interface in the new version. Accordingly, application icons are enhanced with additional layers of liquid glass effects, creating more depth and a clearer reflective feel.
Users can also customize the transparency level of the interface through a new slider. The sidebar in many applications has been expanded to the edge of the screen, and light refraction effects have been added to the background while maintaining the original colors of the icons within.
Another major change lies in the search system. Apple has completely rebuilt the search infrastructure for Spotlight, Photos, and Mail. After the update, devices will automatically scan and re-index all data to improve speed and accuracy when searching for content.
The interface of some operating systems 27 on Apple devices presented on stage. Photo: Tuấn Hưng
The area where Apple has invested the most in new features is child safety. The company introduced the “Ask to Browse Website” feature, which allows children to send requests to access a specific website, and parents can approve directly through the Messages app.
Apple has also simplified the process of converting Apple IDs into children’s accounts while providing expert recommendations on managing device usage time, displayed content, and contact lists suitable for different age groups.
In addition to major changes, iOS 27 also includes many minor improvements. Android and Windows users can participate in Shared Albums and share photos in full resolution. The Cycle Tracking app has been expanded with tools for tracking perimenopause and menopause. AirPods now feature EQ customization tailored to each user’s hearing characteristics.
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