Club Benefits
WWDC 26’s opening keynote is done, but there’s something that doesn’t quite feel right. No, it’s not that my predictions of an M5 Mac Mini were off (my predictions are often askew), it’s more that I’m left looking at my collective Apple devices and wondering what’s new for them.
That’s not to say Apple didn’t show a lot: The new Siri AI, child safety options, and the performance enhancements across the board are very welcome, plus I enjoy just how much fun they’re having leaning into the marketing team’s exploits when it comes to naming macOS versions.
I think what I was missing from it all was a sense of structure.
What’s new? I’m not quite sure
For my sins, I have been covering Apple now for the best part of a decade. Those might be rookie numbers to some on the beat, but in any case, I look forward to WWDC every year even more than hardware announcements.
Seeing Apple reel off features I didn’t know I needed, filtered through its legendary “reality distortion field” to make me feel like I need them right now, is one of the highlights of the tech event calendar.
And, while I don’t always hop straight on the betas, I often find my next few weeks of pitching new stories afterward are set by what’s revealed on the stage, live and in-person or prerecorded.
This year, though, it was all about Siri (or should that be Siri AI). Apple was keen to stress how Siri’s new features connect a ton of elements of iOS, iPadOS, and more. Each section focused on how Siri is seemingly finally making strides towards that vaporware demo of 2024.
And while I acknowledge this release year is a little more focused on small tweaks and performance enhancements, it’s a strange feeling to come away from a WWDC keynote wondering what on Earth is coming in macOS Golden Gate, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or watchOS 27 (which I barely remember getting a mention at all).
It used to be that we’d see Apple reel off feature after feature and follow it up with a screen-filling display of all the new features, but we just got one at the end today, rather than one per platform.
Playing Siri’s advocate
Still, make no mistake, Apple needed to come out swinging with regard to Siri. The voice assistant has been a source of embarrassment for Apple that wasn’t stemmed by that seemingly less-than-truthful demo of 2024.
By teaming up with Google, it feels like Apple’s finally entered the AI age, for better or for worse — and I don’t doubt that stocks will be on the up as a result. One of the tech world’s biggest players has finally hopped off the bench and is doing things in its own way with its steadfast commitment to privacy.
There’s also a suggestion that running this Siri-focused WWDC while also focusing more on each platform in a more traditional sense would have led to a 3-hour keynote. And yet, I think I’d have preferred that.
In trying to respond to criticisms of its AI progress, Apple over-corrected and seemingly forgot about the developers and power users who use its products daily.
Yes, I’m very pleased my Mac will launch apps quickly, and that syncing will be quicker between devices in Photos, plus the mind-bending photo editing tools, and using natural language to create a Shortcut. But I barely caught what’s new on iPad or Apple Watch.
I enjoy covering Apple and using its products because of its unique philosophy around design, software, and tools. I don’t want Apple to just become an AI-first company, so here’s hoping WWDC 2027 brings back the familiar structure — even just for old time’s sake.
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