WWDC26: Everything Apple announced and what it means for founders, developers, and startups — TFN

Apple unveiled WWDC26 on 8 June — its most consequential developer conference in years, centred on a rebuilt Siri powered by a custom Google Gemini model costing Apple roughly $1 billion per year.

For founders and developers: App Intents is now mandatory for Siri integration, SiriKit is on a deprecation clock, and small app developers get free access to Apple’s Foundation Models AI via Private Cloud Compute.

Tim Cook’s final WWDC as CEO ended with a personal farewell — John Ternus takes over on 1 September 2026.

Apple held its Worldwide Developers Conference at Apple Park on 8 June 2026. The keynote ran 90 minutes. It was Tim Cook’s last as CEO before John Ternus takes over in September. And it was, by most measures, the most consequential WWDC in years — because Apple finally shipped the rebuilt Siri it first promised in 2024 and spent two years being embarrassed for not delivering. Here is everything that was announced and why it matters if you are building on Apple’s platform.

The big one: Siri AI, powered by Google Gemini