At WWDC26, Apple unveiled the next phase of its AI strategy with a significantly upgraded Siri, new Apple Intelligence features, expanded parental controls, and a long list of software improvements coming later this year across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple TV.The biggest announcement was Siri AI, an overhauled version of Apple's voice assistant that now relies on a new Apple Intelligence architecture designed around privacy. Siri can understand personal context across messages, emails, photos, and other content on a user's devices, perform actions across apps, answer questions about what's currently on screen, and pull information from the web when needed. Apple is also introducing a dedicated Siri app that stores conversation history and syncs it across devices through iCloud.Beyond Siri, Apple Intelligence is being integrated more deeply into first-party apps. The company showcased AI-powered features across Photos, Safari, Messages, Mail, and Image Playground, with a focus on helping users complete everyday tasks more efficiently.Apple also spent considerable time discussing child safety. New parental controls will allow parents to set up child accounts with age-appropriate protections, approve new contacts, manage app access, and receive alerts when explicit or violent content is detected. Screen Time is also being expanded with category-based daily limits for entertainment, gaming, and social media apps, alongside redesigned monitoring tools and recommendations based on guidance from child development experts.Across its software platforms, Apple is promising a number of performance improvements. According to the company, app launch times on iPhone and iPad are up to 30% faster, photo processing is quicker, AirDrop transfers are significantly faster, and switching between cellular and Wi-Fi networks should be more seamless. Apple has also rebuilt search experiences across Spotlight, Photos, and Mail, while introducing a new ranking system in Mail designed to surface more relevant results.The company is making a number of design refinements as well. Users will be able to customise the appearance of the Liquid Glass interface through a new slider, while macOS receives updates that bring back several familiar design elements, including more consistent toolbars and coloured sidebar icons.Other announcements include support for full-resolution cross-platform sharing in iCloud Shared Albums, new women's health tracking features in the Health app, updates to Find My on Apple Watch, custom EQ controls for AirPods, expanded GymKit functionality, faster Wi-Fi connectivity on Apple Vision Pro, and an AI-enhanced Flyover experience in Apple Maps.The new software releases are available to developers starting today, with public betas arriving next month. Apple says the updates will roll out as free software upgrades later this year.We'll have detailed coverage of the major announcements from WWDC26 on ET, including hands-on impressions, feature breakdowns, and video coverage from the event.