Apple News
Apple Photos finally gets a proper slideshow maker in iOS 27 – customizable, exportable, and long overdue
Apple announced a significant upgrade to its Photos app on Monday, introducing a dedicated slideshow maker that lets users turn any selection of photos and videos into polished, shareable presentations. After years of relying on limited native options or third-party tools, this feels like a welcome return to form for longtime Apple users.
What’s New in the Photos Slideshow Feature
According to the announcement, the updated Photos app now allows you to:
• Select any set of photos and videos from your library and instantly play them as a slideshow.
• Customize the experience with precise controls for slide duration, transition styles, and background music.
• Save as a video — New in iOS 27, users can now export the entire slideshow directly to their Photos library as a video file for easy playback, sharing, or archiving.
This goes beyond the more basic slideshow options available in earlier versions of iOS (such as iOS 18 and 19), giving users greater flexibility and permanence. While previous iterations often felt like an afterthought, this version positions slideshows as a first-class creative tool.
Broader Photos App Improvements
The slideshow maker is just one highlight from today’s announcements. Apple is also rolling out several other welcome enhancements to the Photos ecosystem:
• The ability to save individual frames from videos as standalone, still photos.
• More flexible and intuitive album organization tools.
• Emoji reactions and a “recent activity” view inside Shared Albums.
• Full-resolution access to photos and videos in Shared Albums, removing previous compression limits.
• New automatically generated smart collections, including “Captured by Me” and “Identity Documents.”
• Drastically improved, context-aware search results for people and pets.
These changes, combined with the broader Apple Intelligence-powered editing tools (such as Spatial Reframing, enhanced Cleanup, and Extend) unveiled alongside them, signal a strong focus on making Photos a more powerful, creative hub.
Why This Matters (and Why Users’ Reactions Are Mixed)
Longtime Apple users have been quick to point out that robust slideshow features existed in legacy apps like iPhoto and Aperture over a decade ago. Comments on developer and enthusiast forums reflect a predictable mix of excitement and eye-rolling: “iPhoto had this over 20 years ago,” one user noted. Others are already hoping for deeper ecosystem integration, such as the ability to export these custom slideshows directly to an Apple TV to use as screensavers.
Still, the ability to natively save custom slideshows as standard video files is a genuine step forward, especially for users who want to quickly create memorable recaps of vacations, family events, or milestones without needing to open a dedicated video editor.
Availability
The new features are expected to arrive with iOS 27, macOS 27 (Golden Gate), and related operating system updates later in 2026. Developer betas are rolling out this week following today’s announcements at WWDC, with a public release scheduled for the fall.
MacDailyNews Take: If you’ve been frustrated by the lack of easy, customizable slideshow tools in recent years, this update should feel refreshing. It’s not revolutionary, but for many users it’s exactly what Apple’s Photos app has been missing.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
The post Apple Photos finally gets a proper slideshow maker in iOS 27 – customizable, exportable, and long overdue appeared first on MacDailyNews.
iCloud+ subscribers gain higher daily limits for Apple Intelligence features like image generation
Apple is introducing daily usage limits on certain advanced Apple Intelligence capabilities in iOS 27, particularly those that depend on powerful cloud-based server models. However, iCloud+ subscribers will receive significantly higher allowances compared to users on the free tier, making premium storage plans more appealing for heavy AI users.
The limits primarily affect compute-intensive tasks such as AI image generation, which relies on Apple’s server infrastructure rather than on-device processing. This approach helps manage demand while ensuring reliable performance across millions of users.
Apple directly addressed the new policy in its recent announcements: “Some Apple Intelligence features, including image generation, have daily usage limits because they rely on powerful server models. Increased access is available with most iCloud+ subscription plans, which also include Apple Intelligence support for compatible Home cameras.”
This means that while basic access to these features will be available to everyone with a compatible device, iCloud+ subscribers on most paid tiers (likely excluding the entry-level $0.99/month plan) will enjoy expanded daily quotas. Apple One bundle subscribers are also expected to qualify for the higher limits.
In addition to the boosted AI usage, iCloud+ subscribers will receive enhanced Home app features, including improved support for HomeKit Secure Video on compatible cameras.
This move reflects Apple’s strategy to differentiate its subscription services as Apple Intelligence evolves. Users who rely heavily on generative tools may find upgrading to iCloud+ worthwhile not just for extra storage, but for a more unrestricted AI experience.
The changes are part of the broader iOS 27 rollout, with more details expected as the beta program progresses and the software launches later this year.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple has begun to monetize Apple Intelligence. This will be a very good thing for iCloud+ subscribers, Apple, and – when the market finally figures it out – AAPL investors.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post iCloud+ subscribers gain higher daily limits for Apple Intelligence features like image generation appeared first on MacDailyNews.
New Apple Foundation Models contain ‘none’ of Google’s Gemini Assistant
Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, held a post-keynote press briefing on Monday (reported by 9to5Mac) alongside AI VP Amar Subramanya, Siri lead Mike Rockwell, and software VP Sebastien Marineau-Mes. The group walked through the development of the third-generation AFM family and how it powers Apple Intelligence.
“The amount of Google Assistant we use is none,” Federighi said, emphasizing that Apple relies on none of the Gemini models Google deploys to its customers, none of Google’s client-side code, and no Google Search infrastructure as its knowledge backbone.
Of course, we don’t have the Gemini app as our app. In fact, none of that client code is part of how we run on iOS. For these models, we use none of the models that Google deploys to their customers, nor do we use the infrastructure and means by which they deploy models to their customers. And then, when it comes to the knowledge base, we of course don’t use Google Search or anything like that as the foundation of our system. — Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering
Hartley Charlton for MacRumors:
Subramanya outlined the new AFM family, which spans two on-device models and three server-side models. The on-device tier consists of AFM Core, a next-generation dense architecture model, and AFM Core Advanced, which uses a sparse architecture and is natively multimodal.
Subramanya said AFM Core Advanced is “unlike any on-device model we’ve run before,” enabling new features including invitation and expressive voices without any cloud requests. On the server side, AFM Cloud handles latency-optimized Private Cloud Compute requests, while AFM Cloud Image powers image generation and editing features including spatial reframing.
The key detail on the Google collaboration came in Subramanya’s description of how these four models were trained. “All of these are custom built for Apple Silicon, trained using proprietary data with reinforcement learning and refined using outputs from Gemini frontier models,” he said, making clear that Google’s contribution was distillation-based, not a wholesale adoption of Gemini.
The fifth and most capable model, AFM Cloud Pro, is designed for agentic tool use and complex reasoning tasks, with quality that Subramanya said is “similar to Gemini frontier models.” This model marks a departure from Apple’s standard Private Cloud Compute setup.
To run it, Apple worked with both Google and Nvidia to extend its private cloud infrastructure to Nvidia GPUs hosted in Google’s cloud. Marineau-Mes said Apple wanted to use Nvidia’s latest chips but required them to be configured so they couldn’t read the contents of Apple’s servers. A recent Nvidia technology called “ambiguous confidential compute” provided the solution.
MacDailyNews Note: Read more in the full article here and also see our own article posted yesterday: Apple’s Siri AI is not ‘Google Gemini with Apple branding’; here’s how it really works.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post New Apple Foundation Models contain ‘none’ of Google’s Gemini Assistant appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple’s iOS 27 just dropped major clues about its long-awaited foldable iPhone
Apple is no longer hiding its foldable plans. The latest beta code in iOS 27 is packed with explicit references to folding hardware and software optimizations designed for larger, flexible displays — offering the strongest public signal yet that a foldable iPhone is nearly here.
According to Bloomberg News’ Mark Gurman, the device — widely expected to be a book-style foldable — is on track for a September 2026 launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. It’s projected to start at around $2,000, positioning it as Apple’s most premium iPhone ever and a direct challenger to Samsung’s foldables.
What the Code Reveals
Developers digging into iOS 27 have spotted strings and frameworks hinting at:
• Dynamic app resizing and multitasking tailored for foldable form factors
• iPad-like interfaces when unfolded (sidebars, split-screen apps)
• New gestures and continuity features optimized for a device that can flip between phone and mini-tablet modes
This isn’t just speculation: Apple is actively building the software foundation now so the hardware feels polished from day one.
For years, Apple has watched the foldable market from the sidelines. With iOS 27, the company appears ready to leap in with its signature blend of refined hardware and thoughtful software. A ~7.8-inch inner display when open could finally bring true productivity to the iPhone without compromising its pocketable roots.
MacDailyNews Take: The foldable iPhone isn’t coming next year, it’s coming this September — less than 3 months away. And iOS 27 is already laying the groundwork for what could be Apple’s most exciting hardware leap in nearly two decades!
Stay tuned. The era of the folding iPhone is officially in beta.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple’s iOS 27 just dropped major clues about its long-awaited foldable iPhone appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple unveils innovative features and intelligence experiences across services
With the 2027 software releases coming this fall, Apple is bringing powerful new features to services users. New offerings include improved Flyover views and Local Lists in Apple Maps, flexible sharing options in Find My, the ability to use Visual Intelligence to split bills with Apple Cash, video podcast support across Mac and tvOS, revamped Shared Albums in iCloud, and a new program for Apple Fitness+.
“We’re excited to bring powerful new features and intelligence to hundreds of millions of users across Apple services, making their experiences even more useful and fun,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services. “From new exploration tools with Flyover and Local Lists in Maps, to more convenient ways to pay and get paid in Apple Wallet, to the continued expansion of video podcasts in Apple Podcasts on Mac and in tvOS, and so much more — these updates reflect our commitment to creating experiences that truly make a difference in people’s lives.”
Apple Maps Introduces Enhanced Flyover and Local Lists
Apple Maps brings an enhanced Flyover experience, which combines aerial imagery with AI to enable users to view imagery in stunning detail for select cities around the world like never before. Whether scouting a location before a trip or simply exploring a city from a new perspective, the enhanced experience gives users a sharper and more lifelike glimpse into destinations across the globe.
In Apple Maps, an enhanced Flyover experience for select cities around the world combines aerial imagery with AI to offer stunning detail like never before.With Local Lists, Apple Maps users in the U.S. can find the perfect spot for meeting friends, dining, and more. Using intelligent insights from what’s trending, Maps surfaces locally relevant collections of places — from trending restaurants to great spots to take kids — so it’s easy for users to find what they are looking for. All insights are derived with privacy in mind and never tied to individual users.
Maps also rolls out Local Lists in the U.S., using intelligent insights to surface locally relevant collections of places, from trending restaurants to great spots to take kids.Find My Gets Flexible Sharing Options and a Consolidated watchOS App
Coming this fall, users will have more control over how they share their location with friends and family using Find My, with new options to share for a custom duration — either for a number of minutes, hours, or days — or even set a date and time for when sharing will stop. This makes it easy for users to share their location while attending an event, or for a long weekend getaway with friends and family. Users can also pause location sharing until the end of the day for specific people, so a user can shop for an anniversary present or show up for a surprise party without spoiling the reveal.
With Find My, users get new options for sharing their location, including the ability to customize the duration, or even set a date and time for when sharing will stop.On Apple Watch, a new unified Find My app replaces the Find Devices, Find Items, and Find People apps. The new Apple Watch app’s map-centric user interface makes it even easier for users to locate their friends and family, devices, and items. The Find My app offers access to key actions, including getting directions, finding devices and items when nearby, prompting a device to play a sound, or viewing contact information. Users can now also use Precision Finding in the Find My app to help locate their paired iPhone, AirTag (2nd generation), and AirPods Pro 3.
Featuring a map-centric user interface, the new Find My app on Apple Watch makes it easier for users to locate their friends and family, devices, and items.Apple Wallet Makes It Easy to Split Bills, Manage Passes
This fall, everyday interactions in Apple Wallet become more seamless and intelligent. With iOS 27, users can split bills using Apple Cash and Apple Intelligence, making it easy to settle up after meals with friends.
Users can simply scan a receipt with their iPhone camera, or use a photo of a bill to split it with friends. This capability is available in Messages, in Apple Wallet, or by using Visual Intelligence onscreen and with the iPhone camera. For example, the new Siri mode in the Camera app lets users get information and take action on what’s in front of them. When users point their iPhone at a receipt using Siri mode, it can surface the relevant action to split a bill with Apple Cash and identify the items on the receipt. As users select their items, their total payment is calculated, including their share of tax and tip, so they can pay back exactly what they owe with Apple Cash.
Users can now utilize Visual Intelligence to split a bill with Apple Cash, all by scanning or using a photo of their receipt and tapping their items.iPhone and Apple Watch users will be able to create and store passes in Apple Wallet from physical cards, like loyalty or membership cards, eliminating the need to fumble through pockets and bags. With Siri mode in the Camera app, users simply point their iPhone at any physical card with a barcode or even screenshot a digital one, and they’ll be prompted to save it to Apple Wallet. Users can also create and add a pass directly from Apple Wallet. Once added, passes are ready to present as a barcode or QR code right from their iPhone or Apple Watch. For even faster access on the go, passes can be pinned to the Smart Stack on Apple Watch, keeping them just a raise of the wrist away.
iPhone and Apple Watch users can create passes from physical cards with barcodes, like loyalty or membership cards, and store them in Apple Wallet for easy on-the-go use.With iOS 27, Apple Wallet will offer an enhanced key experience for participating hotels and resorts. Today’s key experience allows guests to seamlessly unlock their rooms and hotel amenities using their iPhone or Apple Watch. And with the new enhanced key experience, they will also be able to view even more details about their trips, receive timely updates about booked activities, access services available during their stay, and more — all in one place in Apple Wallet.
More Seamless Checkout Experiences with Apple Pay and Tap to Pay on iPhone
This fall, Apple will introduce an updated design for users when they check out online and in-app with Apple Pay, so they can make more informed payment decisions and easily choose payment methods that best suit their purchases. The updated design allows users to seamlessly swipe to switch cards, and for those with an eligible card in Wallet, it also more conveniently surfaces important information, including rewards balances, debit account balances, pay later options, and more. And later this year, users will be able to use Apple Pay to seamlessly add funds to an eligible debit card directly in Apple Wallet or when checking out online.
The updated Apple Pay design allows users to seamlessly swipe to switch cards, and for those with an eligible card in Wallet, it also more conveniently surfaces important information, including rewards balances, debit account balances, pay later options, and more.Additionally, since introducing Tap to Pay on iPhone, Apple has enabled tens of millions of merchants of all sizes in over 50 countries and regions to accept contactless payments with just an iPhone, no additional hardware needed. In the fall, the in-store checkout experience with Tap to Pay on iPhone gets even further enhanced with Tap to Share. With just a tap, customers can connect to a participating merchant’s iPhone for a more personalized and faster in-store purchase experience that allows for secure sharing of information, such as email and other contact information, shipping address, loyalty rewards information, and more.
Tap to Share allows users to connect to a participating merchant’s iPhone for a more personalized and faster in-store purchase experience that enables easy, secure sharing of information, like shipping and email addresses or loyalty rewards.Customers will also be able to view the items in their basket in real time so they can keep track of what they’ve purchased and ensure all sales and discounts are properly applied. And when it’s time to pay, customers can pay right on their iPhone with Apple Pay using the updated design — without the need to tap again.
Apple Podcasts Expands Video to macOS and tvOS; Adds More Precise Searching
This fall, Mac users can watch video podcasts in a new enhanced experience on Apple Podcasts, with Picture in Picture support that lets them view episodes while multitasking. This brings the full podcast experience to Mac with audio and video content, complete with transcripts, timed links, and chapters all in one place.
Apple Podcasts in tvOS also features a complete redesign with video podcast playback, a new sidebar navigation for easier browsing, and support for podcast creators’ episode and show artwork. The update makes it simple to discover and enjoy video content on the big screen.
Additionally, a new search within show feature helps users across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and on podcasts.apple.com find the right episode faster by searching directly within a show from its See All Episodes view.
Apple Podcasts expands its video experience to tvOS and macOS, joining iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS.Revamped Shared Albums; More iCloud+ Benefits
iCloud Shared Albums add full-resolution sharing, support for more file types, emoji reactions, updated activity feeds with the ability to see activity per album, and new temporary albums that allow users to collaborate on short-term projects without taking up space in their iCloud. Anyone, including users without an Apple device, can join and contribute photos to albums on the web, making preserving group memories easier than ever.
Most iCloud+ subscription plans offer higher daily usage limits for Apple Intelligence features, including image generation, along with Apple Intelligence support for compatible Home cameras.
Lyrics Translation, Lyrics Pronunciation, and AutoMix Enhancements on Apple Music; Lossless Audio in tvOS
Lyrics Translation will expand to seven new language pairings, seamlessly translating the lyrics from users’ favorite tracks from English to French, English to German, English to Italian, English to Korean, English to Spanish, French to English, and Japanese to English. Using machine learning to translate the lyrics — with fine-tuning from language experts — Lyrics Translation ensures that the true emotion, cultural nuance, and original lyrical intent of every song is preserved.
Lyrics Pronunciation, which enables users to sing along when lyrics are in another language, will also expand to include five new pairings, including Arabic to Romanized Arabic, English to Hangul, English to Katakana, Japanese to Hangul, and Mandarin Chinese (simplified) to Katakana.
AutoMix has added a whole new layer of energy and excitement to the experience with even better transitions that feel more immersive and engaging for listeners. AutoMix will also be available on Apple Music in tvOS and on HomePod.
Apple Music is also bringing Hi-Res Lossless Audio to tvOS, in addition to standard Lossless Audio. Subscribers with compatible external speaker outputs will be able to enjoy their favorite songs in the highest audio quality and experience studio-quality sound directly through their Apple TV 4K.
Elevated Sports Experiences for Fans
Apple TV continues to elevate the fan experience across marquee sports leagues and moments, including “Friday Night Baseball,” Major League Soccer, and Formula 1® in the U.S. Fans can use the free Apple Sports app for iPhone to get real-time scores, stats, standings, and more — in over 170 countries and regions worldwide, including over 90 newly added markets.
On iPhone, the free Apple Sports app gives fans access to real-time scores, stats, standings, and more in over 170 countries and regions, including more than 90 newly added markets.Strong Through Menopause with Fitness+
Complementing support for perimenopause and menopause in Cycle Tracking introduced with iOS 27, Apple Fitness+ this week introduced Strong Through Menopause — a progressive three-week program featuring weekly Yoga and Strength workouts designed to help users navigating perimenopause and menopause build strength, improve balance and mobility, and reduce stress. A new episode of Time to Walk also features actor Busy Philipps sharing stories from her life, including her journey with perimenopause.
MacDailyNews Note: The new features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. New software features will be available as a free software update this fall. For more information, visit apple.com/ios, apple.com/ipados, apple.com/macos, apple.com/watchos, apple.com/tvos, and apple.com/visionos.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost t
The post Apple unveils innovative features and intelligence experiences across services appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple could be the biggest winner in AI. Here’s why.
Apple’s Secret AI Advantage: Your Entire Life in One Trusted Ecosystem
In a new Yahoo Finance interview, Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, made a compelling case: Apple stands poised to emerge as the biggest winner in the artificial intelligence revolution — not necessarily by developing cutting-edge foundational models, but by leveraging its unparalleled integration with users’ personal data and devices.
The conversation comes amid excitement over Apple’s “new and improved Siri,” but Gerber remains measured. “The proof is in the pudding,” he notes. While he appreciates the presentations, he’s waiting for Siri to actually deliver intelligent, actionable results in daily life. Yet he sees massive potential beyond just voice assistant upgrades.
Why Apple Has a Unique Edge
Apple’s strength lies in its deep knowledge of its users. Unlike competitors whose AI might scrape public web data, Apple’s devices already hold intimate details: contacts, photos, text messages, and even more private areas of your phone. This positions Apple to create truly personalized AI agents that don’t just provide information — they take real actions.
Gerber paints a vivid picture:
• “Book that restaurant at Baltaire for me… see if it’s available on Tuesday, but actually book it.”
• Apple could use the apps on your phone on your behalf.
• It unlocks productivity in ways no other device can, turning your iPhone from a passive tool into an active life assistant.
This “on-device” and ecosystem advantage could prove more valuable than raw model performance. Apple doesn’t need to win the foundational AI race (think OpenAI, xAI, Google, etc.) if it excels at applying AI intelligently within its walled garden.
The Upgrade Incentive
When asked how many users might upgrade for the enhanced Siri, Gerber’s response was emphatic: “If it works, 100% of the people.” He envisions scenarios like automatically creating personalized videos from family vacation photos — the kind of delightful, practical feature that makes older devices feel obsolete.
This could drive a major refresh cycle for iPhones and other Apple products, boosting hardware sales while deepening user lock-in.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s strategy isn’t about flashy new models — it’s about seamless integration and agency. By turning AI into a proactive partner that knows you intimately, but respects your privacy, and acts within your trusted apps, Apple could dominate consumer AI without bearing the full cost or risk of building everything from scratch.
The coming months will test whether Siri finally delivers on its promises. We believe it does, and analysts like Ross Gerber will be proven right: In the AI era, the company that best understands you could win it all.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple could be the biggest winner in AI. Here’s why. appeared first on MacDailyNews.
EU bureaucrats’ red tape blocks Apple’s advanced Siri AI for Europeans, leaving EU citizens behind
In a stark illustration of how excessive EU regulation is stifling technological progress, Apple has been forced to withhold its cutting-edge Siri AI upgrade from the European Union. The company cited insurmountable compliance hurdles imposed by Brussels’ heavy-handed Digital Markets Act (DMA) and related interoperability mandates, which prioritize bureaucratic checkboxes over user privacy, security, and timely access to innovation.
While users in the United States and other markets prepare to enjoy the new Siri AI — featuring enhanced personal context awareness, smarter on-device processing, and seamless integration powered by Apple Intelligence — EU citizens are once again sidelined by red tape. Apple reportedly spent months attempting to develop solutions that would satisfy the EU’s strict demands for interoperability with rival services, all while upholding essential privacy and security standards that protect users from data risks.
Instead of enabling innovation, EU officials rejected Apple’s proposed safeguards, such as a “Trusted System Agent” approach designed to allow controlled access for competitors without compromising the integrity of the system. The European Commission dismissed exemption requests and insisted on immediate, broad access that Apple warned could expose users to vulnerabilities. Rather than working collaboratively on practical solutions, bureaucrats doubled down on rigid rules.
“The decision not to roll out Siri AI in the EU is Apple’s and Apple’s only,” an EU Commission spokesperson claimed, shifting blame while ignoring the regulatory straitjacket that makes compliance nearly impossible without sacrificing core protections. Apple, for its part, has made clear that the DMA’s demands create unacceptable risks to user privacy and security — concerns that EU regulators appear willing to dismiss in pursuit of ideological goals around “openness.”
This episode highlights a broader pattern: EU over-regulation is handicapping European consumers and businesses. While China pours billions into AI development and the U.S. leads in deployment, Brussels’ endless rules are delaying or denying access to the latest tools for roughly 450 million people. Everyday citizens miss out on productivity gains, smarter assistants, and competitive features available elsewhere — all because bureaucrats prioritize control over progress.
Apple has stated it will continue seeking ways to bring these features safely to the EU, but with no timeline in sight due to regulators’ intransigence, Europeans are left waiting. This is not about one company failing to comply — it’s about a regulatory environment that actively discourages investment and innovation in the bloc.
MacDailyNews Take: When governments burden companies with unworkable mandates instead of fostering a competitive, innovation-friendly climate, it is ordinary citizens who pay the price through slower progress and reduced choices.
If you don’t like being deprived of innovations, EU citizens, stop electing inane bureaucrats.
The European Union arose because the Europeans couldn’t compete on their own with the rest of the world, so they each lined up to surrender their national sovereignty, unique cultures, and dignity for an undemocratic, opaque, wasteful, bloated, bureaucratic quasi-governmental blob – and, even with the EU’s thumbs all over the scale, they still can’t compete. – MacDailyNews, March 4, 2024
See also: Due to DMA, Siri AI delayed in EU for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 – MacDailyNews, June 8, 2026
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post EU bureaucrats’ red tape blocks Apple’s advanced Siri AI for Europeans, leaving EU citizens behind appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple Intelligence and Siri AI could add $75-$100 to Apple stock – Wedbush
Wedbush Securities’ top analyst Daniel Ives remains highly bullish on Apple following the company’s WWDC 2026 keynote. In a new note, Ives reiterated his “Outperform” (Buy) rating and $400 price target, arguing that Apple’s refreshed AI strategy — highlighted by the new Siri AI plus deeper and better Apple Intelligence features — could add $75 to $100 per share to AAPL over time, a catalyst he believes the market has yet to fully price in.
TipRanks:
Ives said Apple’s new AI strategy, which includes the launch of Siri AI and the deeper Apple Intelligence features, marks a turning point for the company as it works to close the gap with other AI leaders. In his view, the market is still undervaluing Apple’s AI monetization potential, especially through its services and future hardware cycles.
According to Ives, Apple’s AI push could ultimately add $75 to $100 per share to the stock over time. He called this year’s WWDC “a good step in the right direction” as Apple begins to show how AI will be built into the iPhone, Mac, and services ecosystem…
Interestingly, Ives ranks 416 out of more than 12,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks [in the 96.59th percentile]. He has an overall success rate of 93% on AAPL stock, with an average return per rating of 18.95% over a one-year timeframe.
MacDailyNews Take: The market doesn’t get it, yet, but it will soon enough.
See also: Apple’s Siri AI could spark a massive iPhone upgrade wave – MacDailyNews, June 9, 2026
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple Intelligence and Siri AI could add $75-$100 to Apple stock – Wedbush appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple’s Siri AI could spark a massive iPhone upgrade wave
At Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple finally unveiled its long-awaited overhaul of Siri, positioning the virtual assistant as a serious contender against ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, and Claude. The new Siri AI promises deeper on-device intelligence, better context awareness, and advanced features that could redefine how we interact with our iPhones.
There’s just one catch: a huge chunk of Apple’s installed base simply can’t run it.
According to a Morgan Stanley research note released Tuesday, more than 850 million iPhones are incapable of handling basic Apple Intelligence queries, while over 1.3 billion devices won’t support the most advanced Siri capabilities.
The bottleneck? Hardware — specifically chip architecture and memory. Advanced features require 12 GB of unified memory to manage the heavy on-device processing Apple Intelligence demands.
For millions of users rocking older iPhones, the shiny new Siri will feel more like a tease than a transformation.
The Upgrade Incentive in Disguise
Morgan Stanley analysts point out a key tension: selling hardware on the strength of software has always been challenging. Yet they also note that AI accessibility ranks among the leading drivers of smartphone upgrades.
In other words, the very limitations that frustrate current owners could become powerful motivation for the next purchase. Apple is betting that the promise of a truly intelligent Siri — one that runs smoothly, privately, and powerfully on-device — will convince users it’s finally time to trade in their aging devices.This strategy isn’t new for Apple. The company has long used generational leaps in performance, camera quality, and now AI as catalysts for refresh cycles. With iPhone sales facing pressure from longer replacement cycles in recent years, a compelling AI experience could be the spark needed to accelerate upgrades.
What This Means for Users and Apple
• For existing owners: Many will get a taste of the new Siri, but the full experience — especially the most impressive on-device AI features — will remain gated behind newer hardware (likely iPhone 16 series and beyond with sufficient RAM and neural engine power).
• For Apple: It reinforces the value of the premium ecosystem. While the company faces criticism for fragmenting the experience across its user base, the move could drive stronger hardware revenue in the coming quarters.
• For the AI race: Apple is playing catch-up in some areas but doubling down on privacy and on-device processing. Whether that’s enough to win users away from cloud-heavy rivals remains to be seen.
The long-delayed Siri overhaul was the centerpiece of WWDC26 for a reason. Apple isn’t just updating an assistant — it’s trying to future-proof its most important product line in the age of AI.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple has successfully used similar generational leaps before — from Retina displays to advanced cameras to 5G. Now, Siri AI is stepping into that role as the must-have reason to upgrade.
For hundreds of millions who’ve been holding onto an older iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the new Siri AI might be the biggest upgrade impetus yet.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple’s Siri AI could spark a massive iPhone upgrade wave appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple likely still has two-plus years to get Siri AI right – Gene Munster
The big question looming over this year’s WWDC was whether Apple has what it takes to deliver a truly compelling personalized AI, according to longtime Apple analyst Gene Munster. While the new Siri AI demo largely lived up to the hype around personalization, the vague rollout details — starting first in the US, followed by Europe and China — triggered a 4.9% intraday drop in shares. The reaction made it clear that Apple still has significant work ahead to master the AI challenge. The next milestone is a beta late this year, pushing a full public release to spring 2027 at the earliest. “The good news is, since no competitor can offer compelling personalized AI today, Apple likely has two-plus years to get it right,” Munster writes.
Gene Munster via GeneMunster.com:
The biggest positive takeaway from WWDC is that Apple has a winning vision for personalized AI. If the company delivers on what it showed, I believe the new Siri AI will be a home run, driving upgrades and market share gains.
The reason is that Apple has the context. Siri knows about your messages, calendar, photos, files, apps, and preferences to leverage AI to help you get things done faster. That is the core promise of personalized AI, and Apple is uniquely positioned to make it mainstream because of its control over hardware, software, privacy, and the consumer interface.
No one else has come close to showing a personalized AI experience that feels this useful. That matters. For all the frustration around Apple being late to AI, the demo reminded investors why Apple still has is most likely to win in consumer AI.
Much of the goodness around the look and feel of Siri AI was washed away when Apple opted out of giving definitive timing on when it will become available. Timing is everything, given investors have been waiting two years, since Apple Intelligence was announced in June 2024, to see something compelling in personalized AI…
Until Apple puts a stake in the ground and says when the new Siri features will be available, the debate remains: Does Apple actually have the chops in personalized AI? The demo suggests yes. The lack of timing suggests maybe.
Toward the end of the keynote, Craig Federighi said the new Siri features will be in beta later this year. That was the one timing detail investors could hold onto, and the stock actually ticked up about 0.5% after that comment… The reality is that a beta later this year likely means broad availability is pushed into early to mid-2027, or even fall 2027. That six-month-to-one-year additional delay is on top of the almost two-year delay investors have already waited through.
This all begs the question: Why is building these features so difficult? My take: AI at scale that meets Apple’s quality threshold is exceptionally difficult when factoring in all of the variables the company wants.
The good news is, long term, these delays don’t mean much. My sense is Apple has more time than investors realize to get it right, potentially two-plus years.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s iPhone and Mac both show that personalized AI isn’t yet important enough to negatively affect sales – not even close – so Munster is correct that Apple has time, although we’d peg it at about a year, given the rate that AI is improving. Siri AI in beta form is still Siri AI in users’ hand this year and that’s more than good enough for now. The beta being used by hundreds of millions of users will provide much opportunity for Apple to fine tune the product. By this time next year, we’ll all be wondering how we ever lived without Siri AI.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple likely still has two-plus years to get Siri AI right – Gene Munster appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple’s Siri AI is not ‘Google Gemini with Apple branding’; here’s how it really works
Apple’s new Siri AI (unveiled today at WWDC 2026) is powered by Google’s Gemini-based models under the hood, but it is not a simple “Siri calls Gemini” setup. It’s a deep, customized integration designed to keep Apple’s privacy standards intact.
Core Architecture
• Foundation: Apple uses Google’s Gemini (a large, capable model family, reportedly including custom versions on the scale of 1+ trillion parameters) as the base for its next-generation Apple Foundation Models.
• Hybrid Processing: On-device: Smaller, distilled versions of the models run locally on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac for simple/quick tasks (leveraging the Neural Engine).
• Private Cloud Compute (PCC): More complex reasoning, multi-step tasks, context understanding, or heavy queries route to Apple’s secure cloud servers.
Apple fine-tunes and adapts the Gemini-based models for its ecosystem. Siri retains Apple’s branding, voice, and deep integration with iOS/macOS apps and services — it doesn’t feel like “using Gemini.”
How a Typical Request Works
- You say “Hey Siri” or type in the new dedicated Siri app/chat interface.
-
On-device Apple Intelligence first handles what it can (privacy-first, no data leaves the device).
-
For advanced needs (natural conversation, context across apps, multi-step actions, image analysis, etc.), the request securely routes to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute.
-
Gemini-powered models process it there.
-
Results return to your device. Siri presents them in its familiar (but now much smarter) way.
Key Privacy Safeguards:
• Your data and queries stay within Apple’s infrastructure.
• Nothing is stored long-term, used for Google’s advertising, or fed back into Google’s training.
• Private Cloud Compute is designed with strict controls (e.g., no human access, automatic deletion, third-party verifiable privacy).
This is a multi-year, ~$1 billion/year deal where Google provides the models and cloud tech, but Apple controls the user experience.
Siri can still hand off to other models (like the existing ChatGPT option), and reports suggest future support for choosing Claude, Gemini, etc., directly.
The result is a far more conversational, context-aware, and capable Siri that finally competes with modern AI assistants while staying deeply tied to the Apple ecosystem.
At its core, Siri AI is powered by Google’s Gemini models — but Apple has engineered the entire system to maintain its uncompromising approach to user privacy and ecosystem control.
Key Architectural Highlights:
Data Stripping at the Private Cloud Compute (PCC) Layer
When a request requires advanced Gemini capabilities, it first passes through Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure. Here, Apple’s systems automatically scrub all personally identifiable information (PII) and account-linked data before the query ever reaches the Gemini model. As a result, Google never receives or sees any of your personal identity, Apple ID, location history, or other sensitive information. This “data stripping” step is a critical privacy safeguard that lets Apple tap into world-class AI performance without compromising the trust users place in the company.
Hybrid On-Device + Private Cloud Intelligence
Simple tasks and quick responses continue to run entirely on-device using distilled, Apple-optimized models on the Apple Neural Engine. More complex reasoning, multi-step tasks, deep contextual understanding, and rich interactions route securely to Private Cloud Compute. Even in the cloud, the processed data remains within Apple’s controlled environment and is not stored or used for training.
Apple emphasized that users will experience a dramatically more conversational, proactive, and capable Siri that deeply understands context across apps — all while the company retains full control over the user experience, branding, and privacy protections.
Siri AI will begin rolling out later this year in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 (Golden Gate) as an opt-in intelligent assistant, with additional features arriving over time as the models continue to improve.
MacDailyNews Take: This is exactly the kind of thoughtful, privacy-first engineering we’ve come to expect from Apple. By using Gemini as a powerful foundation while enforcing strict data stripping at the PCC layer and keeping the entire user-facing experience under Apple’s roof, the company has found a pragmatic way to leapfrog years of AI stagnation without selling out its principles.
A massive seismic shift just occurred on stage at WWDC 2026. It will take a bit for the market to figure it out and catch up.
When Apple finally delivers this promised conversational leap while actually protecting user data better than the pure-cloud competitors, Siri AI will finally restore to Cupertino the voice assistant crown that the company ceded over a decade ago.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple’s Siri AI is not ‘Google Gemini with Apple branding’; here’s how it really works appeared first on MacDailyNews.
WWDC26: Apple unveils next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI, powerful parental controls, and an expansive set of software improvements
Today, during the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple previewed its upcoming software releases that will deliver the next generation of Apple Intelligence and introduce Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri that is profoundly more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable. The releases also bring powerful and intuitive new features to help parents create safe digital experiences for kids, as well as improvements that further elevate the software design and performance of Apple products while making them more responsive, delightful, and easier to use with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27.
“Apple products are an essential part of people’s lives, and this year we’re bringing powerful new capabilities to empower our users in even more ways,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, in a statement. “We’re delivering the next generation of Apple Intelligence across our platforms; introducing Siri AI, a profoundly more intelligent, knowledgeable, and capable Siri; expanding child safety features with intuitive new tools for families; and making our software platforms faster, more reliable, and more delightful than ever before.”
Next Generation of Apple Intelligence and an Entirely New Siri Experience
Leveraging a bold new architecture uniquely designed to protect users’ privacy, the next generation of Apple Intelligence powers Siri AI and brings helpful new features to apps users rely on every day.
Siri AI is an entirely new version of Siri deeply integrated into iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. It can draw on personal context understanding to search across messages, emails, photos, and more, and get things done across apps with even more systemwide app actions. Additionally, Siri AI can answer questions related to the content on a user’s screen or go out to the web to get up-to-date information using broad world knowledge and generate a helpful answer. A dedicated Siri app allows users to revisit a past conversation or kick off a new one — all in one place — and uses iCloud to privately sync conversational history across a user’s products.
In addition to Siri AI, the next generation of Apple Intelligence powers tremendous new features in apps across the system to simplify the things users do every day, like editing images in Photos, browsing across multiple tabs in Safari, expressing creativity with Image Playground, communicating in Messages and Mail, and so much more.
New Parental Controls and Significant Updates to Screen Time
Powerful and intuitive new features that are easy to use help parents manage what their kids can see, who they can talk to, and when they have access to apps. By setting up a child account, parents can immediately enable age-appropriate protections across the system, and with Setup Assistant, parents can choose exactly which apps to make available and stay in control of what gets added over time. With communication safety features, parents can require approval for each new contact their kids connect with and enable automatic interventions if explicit or violent content is being shared.
By setting up a child account, required for children under age 13 and available for children up to 18, parents take the first and most important step toward creating an age-appropriate experience for their child.New tools aimed at building healthier screen time habits make it easy to set daily total time allowances across Entertainment, Games, and Social Media apps, with a daily time allowance recommendation based on guidance from leading clinical and child development experts that gives parents a helpful starting point. Schedules let parents manage which apps their children have access to at different points in the day, and Screen Time has been redesigned to be more intuitive for parents, offering an at-a-glance view of their kids’ average device usage and top apps.
To help parents stay informed and learn more, Apple has launched a dedicated website that features the latest tools, helpful resources, and answers to common questions — like how to get started.
With Time Allowances, parents can set boundaries for their kids around app categories, and Schedules help them manage which apps their children can access, when, and for how long.More Responsive, Reliable, and Delightful Experiences Across Software Platforms
The 2027 releases make Apple products even more responsive, reliable, and delightful to use through design refinements, performance improvements, and enhancements to the ways users work, communicate, share memories, enjoy music with AirPods, track their health, and more.
Improvements across platforms push key system capabilities forward so everyday tasks feel faster, smoother, and more enjoyable. For example, iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30 percent faster, photos load up to 70 percent faster after being taken, and AirDrop transfers are up to 80 percent faster. During network transitions, moving between cellular and Wi-Fi networks is more seamless than ever, and browsing and transferring files between external drives and iPad is up to 5x faster — making it just as fast as Finder on Mac. In Spotlight, Photos, and Mail, the search experience has been rebuilt to make it more stable and efficient to help users find exactly what they are looking for. And in Mail, a completely new ranking system surfaces even more relevant results in Top Hits.
Refinements to the software design deliver an even more focused and approachable experience across apps and platforms. A new slider in Settings gives users the option to personalize Liquid Glass, adjusting it anywhere from ultra-clear to fully tinted to match their preference, and app icons have been updated to be sharper and more defined. On Mac, updates reincorporate cornerstones of the macOS design that users have always loved, including a more uniform toolbar across the top of apps, edge-to-edge sidebars, colored sidebar icons, and more.
Additional features coming this fall:
• iCloud Shared Albums introduce cross-platform photo sharing with full-resolution support.
• The Health app brings support for perimenopause and menopause in Cycle Tracking, including notifications about cycle deviations inclusive of perimenopause.
• On Apple Watch, a new dynamic app grid features the icons for five Siri-suggested apps, users can open a widget in the Smart Stack with a new tap gesture, and a new Find My app consolidates Find Devices, Find Items, and Find People.
• AirPods users can now enjoy custom EQ to further personalize how their AirPods sound. And with expanded Apple GymKit functionality, users with AirPods Pro 3 can sync their heart rate data through iPhone while enjoying incredible audio quality.
• Apple Vision Pro users can now turn panoramas into spatial scenes and use them as personal Environments, and connecting to Wi-Fi is up to 3x faster.
• Apple Maps brings an enhanced Flyover experience, which combines aerial imagery with AI, allowing users to enjoy even more detailed visuals.
Availability
• The new features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com. New software features will be available as a free software update this fall. For more information, visit apple.com/ios, apple.com/ipados, apple.com/macos, apple.com/watchos, apple.com/tvos, and apple.com/visionos.
• Users who enable Apple Intelligence on supported products set to a supported language will have access this fall with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.
• Apple Intelligence is available with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see apple.com/apple-intelligence.
• Apple Intelligence and Siri AI in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 are available on iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 or later, Mac with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch Series 10 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, and Apple Watch SE 3 when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone nearby.
• Some Apple Intelligence features, including image generation, have daily usage limits because they rely on powerful server models. Increased access is available with most iCloud+ subscription plans, which also include Apple Intelligence support for compatible Home cameras.
• New Siri AI features are available for developer testing starting today across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27. Siri AI will be available for developer testing in a future watchOS 27 beta.
• Siri AI will be available as a beta later this year for users with a supported device set to English, and Apple will quickly expand support for more languages.
• Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when set to a supported language. Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU in iOS and iPadOS.
• Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features will not be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements.
Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all languages or regions, and availability may vary due to local laws and regulations. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post WWDC26: Apple unveils next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI, powerful parental controls, and an expansive set of software improvements appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple previews new child safety features
Apple today previewed a new suite of powerful, intuitive, and easy-to-use features designed to allow parents to more easily manage the content their children can see, who they can communicate with, and when they have access to apps. With software updates this fall, parents will be able to access new child safety features, including a simpler setup experience with a recommended set of essential apps, Ask to Browse, Time Allowances, and a redesigned Screen Time. These updates enhance Apple’s already industry-leading parental controls and underscore its commitment to building a safe and trusted platform for kids.
“At Apple, our mission has always been to create technology that empowers people and enriches their lives, while helping keep them safe,” said Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple’s vice president of Health and Fitness, in a statement. “Our approach to helping families create safer digital experiences is grounded in the belief that every child is unique. That’s why we build simple and intuitive tools, based on expert guidance, to let parents tailor their kids’ digital journey. Today, we’re introducing major updates to help families thoughtfully establish age-based protections and develop healthy digital habits.”
Getting Kids Started with a Child Account
The first and most important step parents can take to create age-appropriate experiences for their child is to set up a child account. It enables safeguards across the system, tailored to the child’s age, like limiting adult websites, only allowing age-appropriate media, and setting age-based restrictions in the App Store. Parents are guided through creating a child account when setting up a new device for their child. A child account is required for children under 13 and available for children up to 18.
By setting up a child account, required for children under age 13 and available for children up to 18, parents take the first and most important step toward creating an age-appropriate experience for their child.What Content Kids Can See
Once a child account is created, parents can help their kids get a focused start by choosing exactly which apps they can access on their device. Parents have the option to start with just a few essential apps, a curated set, or choose just the apps they feel are appropriate for their child. Parents can then gradually add more apps over time, while staying in control at every step.
Parents have been able to easily expand access to additional apps over time with Ask to Buy, which enables parents to require that their child get their approval before downloading an app from the App Store — whether free or paid — or making an in-app purchase. With the new Ask to Browse, parents can also require that kids ask permission to access a new website in Safari. This feature works seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
With Whom Kids Can Communicate
From the start, parents are able to manage who their children can connect with over Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. As kids look to communicate with new contacts, parents can require their kids to ask for approval before connecting with anyone new.
Communication Safety already blurs nudity when detected in Messages and FaceTime calls, and is turned on by default for users under 18, and now it will also intervene to block gore or violent content when detected in shared images or videos.
When Kids Can Access Apps
Time Allowances give parents more flexible ways to manage the time their kids spend in apps across categories, including Entertainment, Games, and Social Media. When setting Time Allowances, parents are provided with guidance, based on expert research, that’s tailored to a child’s age. This serves as a helpful starting point for parents, who can easily adjust these settings based on what they determine is best for their child.
Parents can also set daily Schedules to manage which apps their children have access to at different times of the day and across the week. This helps parents ensure their kids can stay focused when it matters, like during school.
With Time Allowances, parents can set boundaries for their kids around app categories, and Schedules help them manage which apps their children can access, when, and for how long.How Parents Can Guide Their Kids’ Digital Journey
Screen Time is now redesigned and gives parents an at-a-glance view of their kids’ average device usage and most used apps. Parents can easily make adjustments to their kids’ access to apps and the web in the moment, with just a tap. For example, to help protect important family moments, parents can quickly limit access during meals, outdoor play, and other times that deserve full attention. If kids need a little extra time to finish something in an app, parents can also easily extend access.
Empowering Families with Expert Guidance and Resources
For years, Apple has integrated guidance from leading clinical and child development research, as well as online safety experts, into its products and services, and continues to help advance research into children’s digital wellbeing. Apple is working with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to adapt its Family Media Plan into a guide parents can reference when using Apple products. Apple also continues to collaborate with researchers to understand the impact of technology on children’s wellbeing, and is committed to advancing the science in this area.
A Dedicated Website for Parents
To help parents stay informed and learn more, Apple has launched a dedicated Child Safety website that features the latest tools, helpful resources, and answers to common questions — like how to get started.
Parents can also learn more online about existing trusted tools to help them protect their children, including:
• Screen Time Passcode Notifications alert parents when their Screen Time passcode has been entered on their child’s device.
• User Reporting Tools, available in certain countries and regions, report harmful content directly to Apple, and will be expanded globally.
• Apple Watch For Your Kids brings the connectivity, fitness, health, and safety features of Apple Watch to children who do not have their own iPhone, so parents can have peace of mind while their kids gain more independence. Apple Watch For Your Kids makes it possible for parents to reach their child and identify their location via Find My, while kids can also connect with family and friends through phone calls and messages, stay motivated to reach personalized Activity goals, express themselves through Memoji, and enjoy features that give them more independence, like Apple Maps, Apple Music, and Apple Cash. Schooltime mode helps kids stay focused by blocking notifications and disabling apps.
Supporting Developers in Creating Age-Appropriate App Experiences
While Apple’s powerful controls help parents manage which apps their child can access and when, developers also play an important role in making sure kids are getting age-based experiences inside apps.
To help developers get started, Apple offers a suite of tools that can help protect kids from seeing inappropriate content like violence or nudity and help ensure parents approve any new in-app contacts, via SensitiveContentAnalysis and PermissionKit, respectively. Developers can also integrate the Declared Age Range API, which allows them to request a child’s age range and tailor their app experience accordingly. This is done in a privacy-protective way, without sharing a child’s birthday.
Availability
New features will be available after installing the Screen Time update in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27. Features are subject to change. For more information about availability, visit apple.com.
MacDailyNews Take: Clearly, with these new child safety features, Apple is trying to stay out front of the regulators who would destroy user privacy and security if given half the chance.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple previews new child safety features appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple expands App Store capabilities to help developers grow and reach new users
Apple continuously invests in new features and services to help developers succeed and users discover their next favorite app. New App Store capabilities rolling out this year will give developers more flexibility to market their apps, acquire new users, and offer brand-new business models for Apple In-App Purchase.
New Ways to Market Apps and Games
This year, developers will have more ways to showcase their apps on the App Store with Creative Assets, rich images and videos that appear in the product page header and search results. In addition to standard screenshots and previews, these assets can be used to highlight a brand, promote seasonal offerings, or showcase new content. They also work with custom product pages and product page optimization, so developers can test and learn what resonates best. App Store Connect also supports a product page preview so developers can see how their Creative Assets, descriptions, and screenshots appear on iPhone and iPad across languages, in Dark Mode, and in portrait or landscape.
The new Asset Library helps developers move faster across marketing workflows, with one place in App Store Connect to manage all Creative Assets, app preview videos, and screenshots. Developers can reuse assets across custom product pages and In-App Events, eliminating redundant uploads and streamlining their promotional campaigns across the App Store. Developers can also submit assets for App Review approval independent of an app update, ideal for rolling out seasonal imagery or coordinating with an Apple Ads campaign without delay.
Enhanced Discovery and Engagement
To complement these new marketing capabilities, the App Store is getting new ways to connect users with experiences they are looking for. To help more people find apps and games they will love, the App Store will introduce new Personalized Collections based on user interests, along with App Notes that explain why specific apps are recommended. These tailored recommendations can appear on the Apps, Games, and Search tabs, evolving over time based on a user’s app usage and downloads. Personalized Collections and App Notes start rolling out this week in English in the U.S., with additional languages and regions coming soon.
To further boost discovery and monetization, game developers will also be able to showcase special offers to attract and engage players on the Apple Games app, using Featuring Nominations to propose plans for an in-game offer or a limited-time discount to the App Store editorial team.
Scaling Businesses with New Subscription Capabilities
The App Store is a powerful engine for economic growth, and Apple is continuously investing in new ways to help developers scale their businesses and reach new audiences. This year, the App Store will enhance Apple In-App Purchase, providing developers with new ways to offer subscriptions at scale. Powered by StoreKit 2, developers will be able to enable subscriptions for groups and organizations within their app using two new configuration options to easily build multi-user in-app purchase experiences.
Volume purchasing through Apple Business and Apple School Manager allows developers to offer subscriptions to enterprise and education buyers who already procure apps at scale. Seat assignments are managed seamlessly through existing device management workflows, which means apps and subscriptions can be deployed across an organization on infrastructure IT already trusts.
Developers will be able to use group purchases to offer their subscriptions to a range of users, from independent creators working together to full production companies. Group purchases let a subscriber buy seats as a single purchase and then invite others to access the subscription. With Apple-provided invite functionality, it’s seamless for people to invite, accept, and join a subscription. Because each subscriber joins from their own account, it’s easy to see and manage who’s in their group. Developers can conveniently set up both options from one place in App Store Connect. Volume purchasing will be available this fall, with group purchases coming this winter.
To help build long-term value and increase subscriber retention, new App Store Bundles will give developers the ability to partner together and offer users more for less. By expanding beyond a single-developer catalog, these new bundles will allow users to subscribe to multiple favorite apps from different developers at a better price. Developers will also be able to create Suites, offering subscription packages that aren’t available as standalone purchases.
Retention Messaging is rolling out to all developers in App Store Connect. These new tools let developers engage subscribers by allowing them to provide additional value during the cancellation process with tailored communications or special offers.
Streamlined Submissions
App Review plays a vital role in keeping the App Store a safe and trusted place for users, and Apple continuously works to make the submission process more efficient for developers. Updates to Apple In-App Purchase submissions will further simplify app management and boost developer productivity, allowing developers to group multiple In-App Purchases and related items into a single, unified App Review submission.
To further simplify the development and submission process, apps and games on the Mac App Store no longer require Intel support. This allows developers to ship Apple silicon-only binaries, eliminating the need to maintain multiple builds.
Supporting New Time Allowance Features
Once apps and games on the App Store are downloaded to a child’s device, parents can use powerful and intuitive tools, like Screen Time, to help manage when a child can use those apps. New Time Allowances in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 give parents more flexible ways to manage the time their kids and teens spend in apps across categories, including Entertainment, Games, and Social Media. Time Allowances are developed based on expert research and tailored to a child’s age range to give parents a helpful starting point. Parents can adjust these settings based on what they determine is best for their child. And new Schedules let parents choose which apps kids and teens have access to at different times of day, making it easier to help keep them focused when it matters.
Developers will also have new ways to ensure their apps are properly categorized for these features within App Store Connect. To support Time Allowances, the age rating questionnaire will be updated in July, allowing developers to indicate if their app includes social media capabilities, such as interacting with user-generated content through a social feed. Apps will automatically be sorted into the appropriate Time Allowance category: Social Media, Entertainment, Games, or Other. This helps ensure that apps with social media features are accurately categorized and age-rated, providing parents with tools they can use to make informed decisions for their families.
The App Store continues to evolve to support a growing developer community while maintaining high standards for user safety and trust. With these updates, Apple is providing developers with the capabilities and flexibility to connect with a global audience, deliver safe experiences, and build sustainable businesses.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple just keeps making the App Store an even better place for developers to build thriving businesses and for users to discover great apps and games.
In today’s update, Cupertino is rolling out a smart slate of new capabilities: eye-catching Creative Assets and an Asset Library for more effective marketing, Personalized Collections with helpful App Notes for better discovery, expanded subscription tools including group and volume purchases, App Store Bundles and Suites for cross-developer value, Retention Messaging, streamlined submissions, Apple silicon-only Mac apps, and thoughtful new parental Time Allowance tools.
This is classic Apple: continuously investing in the ecosystem to help developers grow while keeping the App Store safe, trusted, and user-friendly. No surprise that the world’s most valuable company continues to strengthen the platform that powers millions of successful businesses and delivers the best experiences to billions of happy customers!
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple expands App Store capabilities to help developers grow and reach new users appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple reveals next-gen Apple Intelligence, delivering powerful AI capabilities into everyday experiences
Apple today introduced the next generation of Apple Intelligence, powered by a bold new architecture that integrates the latest Apple Foundation Models deep into Apple’s platforms and is uniquely designed to protect users’ privacy. This makes the apps and experiences users rely on every day across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro more personal and helpful than ever. Apps become smarter and more useful with powerful editing capabilities in Photos, intelligent tools to tailor browsing in Safari, the ability to upgrade security protections with Passwords, an all-new Image Playground that creates photorealistic imagery, and more. Across many of these features, users have the ability to simply describe what they’re looking for, so they can do the things that matter most to them even more easily. These features are available for developer testing starting today, and will be available to users this fall.
“At Apple, our mission has always been to turn the potential of advanced technology into helpful and intuitive products for everyone, and that has never been more important than today,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Truly helpful AI must be centered on our users’ needs, deeply integrated into the products they rely on every day, grounded in personal context, and built with privacy at every step. That is our vision for Apple Intelligence. With useful features for browsing the web, expressing creativity, editing photos, and so much more, today marks a big step forward on our journey to integrate powerful AI into the core of our platforms and make our products even more personal and useful.”
The next generation of Apple Intelligence also helps power Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri. Siri AI is a profoundly more personal, capable, and conversational assistant that also offers a new dedicated app, along with integrated tools for writing and Visual Intelligence across platforms. Siri can help users search for information across their messages, emails, photos, and more; answer questions about virtually any topic; and take action in apps. New Siri AI features are available for developer testing starting today, and will be available as a beta to users later this year.
Frame-Worthy Compositions with New Ways to Edit Photos
The Photos app taps into more powerful image models so users can make incredible edits, while respecting the original moment as it was captured. Photos adjusted with Apple Intelligence will automatically include a hidden SynthID watermark to identify those that have been edited with AI.
With Spatial Reframing, users can improve the composition of a photo after it’s been taken. Spatial Reframing builds on Apple’s deep understanding of spatial models thanks to Apple Vision Pro, so users can touch and drag a photo and preview in real time how the perspective shifts — as if they’d repositioned the camera in the original scene. Using powerful image models, Spatial Reframing will only generate new content where the perspective has been shifted, ensuring the reframed photo stays consistent with the original scene.
Users can also expand images with the Extend tool to give their subjects more breathing room. For example, they can straighten a crooked horizon without cropping out anything important, or adjust the aspect ratio, and Extend will fill in the missing pieces. Additionally, the popular Clean Up tool gets a major upgrade, so users can remove distractions with better quality and more realistic infill, even when the scene is complex.
Clean Up is even more powerful, allowing users to remove distractions with better quality and more natural-looking infill.Intelligent New Tools to Browse in Safari and Upgrade Passwords
With the power of Apple Intelligence, new tools transform how users can browse the web in Safari. The intelligence in Safari is built with privacy in mind, delivering powerful capabilities without exposing personal browsing data to anyone, including Apple.
Safari can now simplify multi-tab browsing by automatically organizing a user’s tabs into relevant topics. For example, if a user is planning a weekend trip, Safari can bring together all of their travel-planning tabs into one topic. As users browse, Safari will continue to organize new tabs into existing topics or create new ones.
With Notify Me, users can ask Safari to monitor a web page for changes, like product restocks or price drops, so they can stay on top of updates they care about. Users can tell Safari what they’re looking for, and when Safari detects a change on that web page, they’ll get a notification so they can take action.
Building on its ability to alert users about weak and compromised passwords, Passwords can now automatically fix these for users with just a tap. Using Apple Intelligence and Safari to agentically take action on a user’s behalf, Passwords securely navigates through websites to sign in and upgrade their accounts to strong passwords.
The Passwords app can now automatically update eligible accounts to strong passwords.With Describe an Extension, users can create custom Safari extensions simply by describing what they want. Safari will then generate the custom extension right in the toolbar — like adding a button to save and rate recipes a user has tried.
Describe an Extension allows users to create a custom Safari extension just by describing what they want.Photorealistic Images with an All-New Image Playground
Image Playground offers new powerful ways for users to bring their imagination to life. They can create high-quality images in virtually any style, now including photorealistic, thanks to a new generative model that runs on Private Cloud Compute. This is a major transformation for image generation across platforms. And generated images will automatically include a hidden SynthID watermark to identify them as AI-generated.
Image Playground makes it easy and intuitive to modify images. Users can describe the changes they want to make — or simply tap, circle, or brush to highlight an object to move or resize it.
Users also have new ways to utilize the images they create. In addition to places like Messages, Image Playground can now be used to generate Lock Screen wallpapers and Contact Posters. Users are also able to choose the aspect ratio for what they’re working on, such as a landscape image for a website or a portrait image for a flyer.
Powerful Features for Staying on Top of Communication and Scheduling
New Apple Intelligence features help users manage their communication, surfacing relevant information when they need it.
Now Messages offers one-tap suggestions based on the context of users’ conversations, making it easier than ever to get things done, such as creating a reminder or a note. For example, if someone asks for photos, Messages can also help users find the right ones, recognizing keywords, locations, and people in their library to find the best options. Additionally, suggestions in Mail become even more capable with the ability to take action with third-party apps. And Smart Reply in Mail and Messages can now draw on a user’s personalized writing style.
Messages surfaces relevant one-tap suggestions based on the context of users’ conversations, and these even more capable suggestions also come to Mail.When users call a business, Call Context proactively surfaces relevant information — like a confirmation code or reservation number — directly in the Phone app. For example, if a user calls an airline to change a flight, the Phone app can automatically find their confirmation code in Mail. Call Context looks at who the user is calling, not what they’re saying, to surface helpful information; it runs entirely on device, so nothing is shared with Apple or anyone else.
Apple Intelligence also makes it possible to add or modify events in Calendar just by describing the event. As users type, Calendar will identify contacts and locations, and create a title for the event.
Easier Ways to Build Powerful Shortcuts
Shortcuts help users get things done faster by automating a wide range of tasks, and now with Describe a Shortcut, it’s more approachable than ever. Leveraging the power of Apple Intelligence, Shortcuts can now take a user’s description and assemble the required steps on their behalf. If a user sees something they need to tweak or add, they can simply describe their change, and the Shortcuts app makes adjustments.
For example, a user can describe a shortcut to automate things like setting their morning alarm each evening based on their first event in Calendar the next day, automatically opening their favorite productivity apps with a specific window arrangement when they connect their iPad to their Magic Keyboard, or turning on their porch lights at night when they get a notification that their food delivery is arriving.
Smart Capabilities in the Home App
Apple Intelligence makes it easier to stay on top of things at home, with updates to accessory notifications and new capabilities for HomeKit Secure Video cameras.
The Home app draws on Apple Intelligence to understand related notifications as a single activity, so users receive one notification that updates as the activity happens.
With generated video descriptions, users can quickly understand what happened across a sequence of video clips, even without watching them. They can also search through camera clips so they can easily find what they’re looking for, like a package delivery. At the top of the Search page, the Home app elevates noteworthy clips that users may want to review, so they can quickly see important moments.
The Home app now includes generated video descriptions, allows users to search through camera clips, and elevates noteworthy clips to the top of Search.Even More Powerful Accessibility Features
Apple Intelligence powers accessibility updates that bring new capabilities to the tools many users rely on every day.
VoiceOver is more powerful than ever in helping users who are blind or have low vision explore their surroundings and onscreen images. Users can receive richer descriptions of images, and with updates to Live Recognition, they can press the Action button on iPhone to quickly ask questions about their surroundings and get detailed responses. In Magnifier, Apple Intelligence brings the same assistive exploration to a high-contrast interface designed for users who have low vision.
Voice Control, which lets users navigate iPhone and iPad entirely by voice, becomes more intuitive than ever. Users can simply describe onscreen buttons and controls instead of memorizing exact labels or numbers. And Accessibility Reader, which offers a customized reading experience for users with a wide range of disabilities, now works on more complex source material and can provide on-demand summaries and translation.
Additional New Features
Apple Intelligence powers even more enhancements across operating systems. With automatic proofreading, users receive improved suggestions for spelling and grammar as they type across the system. They can also now get intelligent suggestions for names of files and folders, based on their contents. Workout Buddy is now available in Spanish, and it can be used on Apple Watch even when users don’t have their iPhone nearby. Workout Buddy also incorporates even more fitness data when delivering motivational insights. Additionally, Genmoji quality is even better and allows users to describe the changes they want to make.
A Bold New Architecture, Built Privacy-First
These new capabilities are powered by the next generation of Apple Foundation Models, custom-built in collaboration with Google and its Gemini models for deeply integrated Apple Intelligence experiences. These latest models run on device and on servers using Private Cloud Compute.
Every facet of the new Apple Intelligence architecture is built privacy-first, from the latest Apple Foundation Models to the core operating system technologies that integrate these models deep into Apple’s platforms. Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute to help protect users’ privacy. Private Cloud Compute gives users access to frontier-level intelligence, while extending the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud.
Siri AI takes full advantage of the bold new architecture for Apple Intelligence, including the next generation of Apple Foundation Models that run on device and on servers using Private Cloud Compute.When Private Cloud Compute is handling users’ requests, their personal data is not stored nor made accessible to Apple or anyone else. Outside experts can continue to verify this privacy promise at any time.
Availability
• These new features are available for testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, and a public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month at beta.apple.com.
• Users who enable Apple Intelligence on supported products set to a supported language will have access this fall with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27.
• Apple Intelligence is available with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For more details, visit apple.com/apple-intelligence.
• Apple Intelligence in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 is available on iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 or later, MacBook Neo (A18 Pro), Mac models with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch Series 10 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, and Apple Watch SE 3 when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone nearby.
• Some features, including image generation, have daily usage limits because they rely on powerful server models. Increased access is available with most iCloud+ subscription plans, which also include Apple Intelligence support for compatible Home cameras.
MacDailyNews Take: Myriad, meaningful improvements and additions throughout the experience! Importantly, especially for Wall Street, Apple has begin to monetize AI by limiting image generation to those not subscribing to iCloud+.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple reveals next-gen Apple Intelligence, delivering powerful AI capabilities into everyday experiences appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Due to DMA, Siri AI delayed in EU for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27
Apple today introduced Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence. Unfortunately, due to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple will not be able to ship Siri AI in the European Union with the release of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27. Over the past several months, EU regulators did not accept any of Apple’s proposed solutions to bring Siri AI to the EU while safely supporting other virtual assistants.
“We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, in a statement. “Our hope is to eventually bring Siri AI to the EU, and we will continue to engage with EU regulators on a path forward. However, their refusal to engage constructively on solutions that preserve privacy and security means we do not currently have a timeline for Siri AI’s availability on iOS and iPadOS in the EU.”
When iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 launch later this year, users in the EU will not have access to Siri AI and its advanced capabilities — including the new dedicated app to revisit conversations, an expanded Visual Intelligence experience, integrated tools for writing, Siri mode in Camera on iOS, and other Siri AI capabilities announced at WWDC26. EU users will be able to access Siri AI on macOS 27, visionOS 27, and watchOS 27. Developers located in the EU will not be able to test or use the new Siri AI features for their apps on iOS and iPadOS.
Siri AI is private by design and deeply integrated across Apple’s platforms using on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute, which extends the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud. However, under EU regulators’ extreme interpretation of the DMA, Apple would have to give any virtual assistant direct access to users’ private data — and the ability to directly control other installed applications — as soon as Siri AI is made available in the EU, without the essential protections necessary to keep users and their data safe.
According to EU regulators, the DMA requires Apple to give any AI system nearly unlimited access to a user’s device, as well as the ability to act on that access autonomously without a user’s ongoing visibility and control. That includes the ability to read and send messages, make purchases, access files, and execute actions across any app. Security researchers have already shown that AI systems can be hijacked to steal personal data — like passwords and photos — and to permanently alter files and account settings without a user’s consent. As AI systems gain more capabilities, these risks are quickly increasing in frequency and scope.
Given the serious risks to users, Apple designed a solution called Trusted System Agent — an intermediary that would allow virtual assistants to safely access the same features and capabilities as Siri AI for devices in the EU. Apple also shared a plan to launch Siri AI in the EU while gradually rolling out this new solution over an 18-month period. The European Commission said no. In fact, the European Commission did not agree to any of Apple’s proposals.
Apple will continue working to bring these features to the European Union as safely as possible. However, given the clear dangers to EU users and the regulators’ failure to acknowledge these risks, there is currently no timeline for Siri AI’s availability in the EU on iOS and iPadOS.
MacDailyNews Take: In classic Brussels fashion, the European Commission has once again proven that it would rather kneecap innovation, privacy, and its own citizens’ user experience than admit that its vaunted DMA is a disastrous, overreaching mess. Apple’s announcement today is crystal clear: the deeply personal, privacy-first Siri AI — with its on-device processing, Private Cloud Compute, new dedicated app, expanded Visual Intelligence, writing tools, Camera integration, and more — will launch on iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, but not in the EU. EU users get it on Mac, Vision Pro, and Watch, but their iPhones and iPads? Sorry, not yet.
Why? Because under the EU’s extreme interpretation of its overreaching DMA, rolling out Siri AI would require Apple to hand any third-party virtual assistant nearly unlimited, direct access to users’ private data and the ability to autonomously control apps — reading messages, making purchases, altering files, the works — without the safeguards that keep Apple’s own implementation secure. Security researchers have already demonstrated how easily AI systems can be hijacked for data theft and mischief. Apple proposed a sensible “Trusted System Agent” intermediary and an 18-month phased rollout to balance competition with actual user safety. The European Commission’s response? A flat “no” to every proposal.
This is exactly what we’ve warned about for years. The DMA isn’t “pro-competition” — it’s a regulatory cudgel designed to punish success and force Apple to compromise the very things that make its products superior: tight integration, ironclad privacy, and security. EU users already suffer from sideloading risks, broken continuity features, delayed rollouts, and a general second-class experience. Now they’re being denied cutting-edge AI because Brussels regulators refuse to acknowledge basic realities about how dangerous unchecked AI access can be.
Craig Federighi put it perfectly: “We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad…” Apple wants to bring it. They’re willing to work with regulators. But when the goalposts keep moving and every compromise is rejected in favor of ideological purity, this is the predictable result. EU residents pay the price with inferior products while Apple ships the good stuff to the rest of the world.
The EU deserves this self-inflicted wound. They crafted a law that prioritizes punishing big tech over delivering real benefits to consumers. They ignored warnings about privacy and security. They’ve turned Europe into a cautionary tale of what happens when bureaucrats try to design consumer electronics by regulatory fiat. Congratulations, Brussels. Your users get yesterday’s AI while everyone else moves forward. Maybe someday the EU will realize that protecting users means respecting the companies that actually build things worth using — instead of hobbling them at every turn. Until then, enjoy your delayed, degraded iPhone experience. You voted for it. (Or at least, you let your regulators deliver it.)
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Due to DMA, Siri AI delayed in EU for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple introduces Siri AI, a remarkably more capable and personal assistant powered by next-gen Apple Intelligence
Apple today introduced Siri AI, an entirely new version of Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence. A profoundly more capable and conversational assistant with personal context understanding, broad world knowledge, and onscreen awareness, Siri AI can help users find what they need in the moment, from answering questions from the web on virtually any topic, to surfacing relevant information from a user’s personal messages, emails, photos, and more. Siri AI also includes a dedicated app for users to revisit conversations across their products, an expanded Visual Intelligence experience, and integrated tools for writing. With a bold new architecture uniquely designed to protect users’ privacy, Siri AI leverages the next generation of Apple Intelligence to bring state-of-the-art understanding and reasoning, along with powerful systemwide capabilities, to Apple’s operating systems. These features are available for developer testing starting today, and will be available as a beta to users later this year.
“We’re excited to introduce Siri AI, a dramatically more capable and conversational assistant designed to help users find information and get things done throughout the day,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, in a statement. “With access to broad world knowledge for up-to-date answers on virtually any topic, along with onscreen awareness and personal context understanding, Siri AI can help users take action across apps more naturally than ever.”
An Entirely New, Deeply Integrated Siri
Powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI is a completely reimagined version of Siri that is more helpful, more capable, and more intelligent. With detailed, engaging responses and natural back-and-forth conversation, Siri AI helps users get more done than ever.
This new version of Siri is built on Apple Intelligence, allowing Siri to draw on personal context understanding and help users find what they need in the moment across messages, emails, photos, and more. For example, users can ask Siri to find a restaurant recommendation a friend messaged them about, surface a hotel confirmation number from an old email, or pull up photos with friends and family from a recent trip. And personal context understanding extends to third-party apps when developers integrate with Spotlight.
With even more systemwide app actions, Siri AI lets users get things done across apps, like drafting an email from scratch, or editing and sharing a set of photos. Using onscreen awareness, Siri AI can answer questions related to the content on a user’s screen. For example, if a user gets a text about a potluck with friends, they can brainstorm with Siri on what to bring and then add a recipe to the Notes app.
In addition, Siri AI can use broad world knowledge to get up-to-date information from the web on virtually any topic and generate a helpful answer, such as when and where to see the next solar eclipse, or when a musician is coming to town. Users can extend almost any response from Siri into a rich conversation and ask follow-up questions.
Users can take advantage of this new version of Siri from anywhere across the system. In addition to saying “Hey Siri,” iPhone users can invoke Siri with the side button, or swipe down from the Dynamic Island to start a conversation and get an in-depth answer. On iPad and Mac, Siri AI is integrated into Spotlight so users can search for answers to almost any question. It is also integrated into systemwide context menus, allowing users to control-click to ask about images, files, or text on their screen. On Apple Vision Pro, Siri AI leverages spatial computing with a 3D visualization that users can place anywhere in their space, and they can invoke Siri by simply looking at it and starting to speak.
Users can also tap into Siri AI across their products when they’re on the go with iPhone, Apple Watch, CarPlay, and AirPods. Apple Watch users can conveniently start a conversation with Siri right from the wrist, or a new Smart Stack suggestion can automatically appear to help users continue a recent conversation.
Rebuilt from the Ground Up with a Powerful New Architecture
Siri has been rebuilt from the ground up with powerful AI at its core. It takes full advantage of the bold new architecture for Apple Intelligence, including the next generation of Apple Foundation Models that run on device and on servers using Private Cloud Compute. When Private Cloud Compute is handling users’ requests, their personal data is not stored nor made accessible to Apple or anyone else. Outside experts can continue to verify this privacy promise at any time. Additionally, Siri AI uses the system orchestrator to tap into core capabilities like the Spotlight index and App Toolbox, which work entirely on device to keep users in control of their data.
With powerful new features and unrivaled privacy protections, Siri remains the world’s most private digital assistant.
Siri AI takes full advantage of the bold new architecture for Apple Intelligence, including the next generation of Apple Foundation Models that run on device and on servers using Private Cloud Compute.A Powerful On-Device Model Brings New Capabilities
For products that support Apple’s most advanced on-device model ever, Siri AI offers even more expressive voices, as well as a major boost in accuracy with systemwide dictation. Users have the ability to customize the expressiveness and pace of Siri’s voice so it’s just right for them. Dictation now captures what users say as polished text with greater precision, automatically handling capitalization, punctuation, and formatting as they speak. With improved speech understanding, users can speak naturally and trust that their words will appear clearly, accurately, and as intended.
A Dedicated Siri App to Revisit Conversations
When users want to revisit a past conversation or kick off a new one, they can open the all-new dedicated Siri app. The Siri app uses iCloud to privately sync conversational history across a user’s products, so they can start chatting with Siri on Mac and continue the conversation on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro, bringing together rich conversations in one place.
The all-new dedicated Siri app brings together rich conversations from across a user’s products.Siri with Visual Intelligence Now Across iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro
Siri now offers powerful image understanding and multimodal capabilities, so users can ask questions about visual content.
On iPhone, Siri’s multimodal capabilities are integrated right into the Camera app with a brand-new Siri mode, allowing users to get information and take action on what’s in front of them. Users can simply tap the shutter button to let Siri see what they see and receive useful responses. Siri mode in Camera also includes a rich new set of actions, including the ability to split a bill with friends using Apple Cash, get nutritional insights about a plate of food, and more.
Siri mode in Camera includes new actions for users, including the ability to split a bill with friends using Apple Cash or get nutritional insights about a plate of food. Siri mode in Camera includes new actions for users, including the ability to get nutritional insights about a plate of food.For the first time, Visual Intelligence with Siri also comes to iPad and Mac, allowing users to search visually, ask questions, and take action on their screen seamlessly. On iPad, Visual Intelligence is integrated right into the screenshot experience. On Mac, users can tap into it with a dedicated keyboard shortcut, allowing them to select something on their Mac display and type directly to Siri to get a helpful answer.
Visual Intelligence also expands to Apple Vision Pro, allowing users to ask Siri about things just by looking at them, from the content inside app windows to physical objects around them.
A Smarter Way to Write and Edit Virtually Anywhere with Siri AI
Siri now offers integrated Writing Tools that are more powerful than ever, allowing users to write with Siri AI virtually anywhere they type. Users can describe what they need and Siri can generate a draft from scratch to get the ball rolling. If a user wants to refine what they’ve written, they can describe the change they want to make and Siri can quickly update it.
When writing in Mail and Messages, Siri can reflect how users usually communicate with each recipient, including the punctuation and tone they typically use. For example, if users normally send their manager short bullet points, that’s what will populate when they draft an email with Siri. Siri can also give users tips and suggestions to improve their written work. Plus, Siri now automatically proofreads for users as they type across the system, including within most third-party apps.
Siri AI can give users tips and suggestions to improve their writing.Additional Apple Intelligence Capabilities Make Everyday Apps Smarter
The next generation of Apple Intelligence also brings exciting new features to the apps users rely on every day, including incredible editing capabilities in Photos, tools that can transform the way users browse the web in Safari, new ways for users to bring their imagination to life in Image Playground, and more.
Availability
• New Siri AI features are available for developer testing starting today through the Apple Developer Program at developer.apple.com, across iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and visionOS 27. Siri AI will be available for developer testing in a future watchOS 27 beta.
• Siri AI will be available as a beta later this year for users with a supported device set to English, and Apple will quickly expand support for more languages.
• Apple Intelligence is available with support for these languages: English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For more details, visit apple.com/apple-intelligence.
• Apple Intelligence and Siri AI in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 are available on iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad models with M1 or later, Mac with M1 or later, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch Series 10 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, and Apple Watch SE 3 when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone nearby.
• Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when set to a supported language. Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU in iOS and iPadOS. Apple is working hard to find a path forward that preserves its users’ privacy and security.
• Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features will not be available in China while Apple works through regulatory requirements.
MacDailyNews Take: Based on the demos, Siri works like it ought to work in 2026! Let’s just forget the last 15+ years, shall we?
See also: Apple’s Siri AI is not ‘Google Gemini with Apple branding’; here’s how it really works – MacDailyNews, June 8. 2026
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple introduces Siri AI, a remarkably more capable and personal assistant powered by next-gen Apple Intelligence appeared first on MacDailyNews.
MacDailyNews presents live coverage of Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote address
Get ready for the WWDC 2026 keynote address video streaming to you from Apple Park in Cupertino, California on Monday, June 8th at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT. You can watch Apple’s keynote address live, right on this page, below.
We will add our live notes on this page as the event unfolds.
The 2026 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off with what’s expected to be an in-depth look at the future of Apple platforms — macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS, and more — directly from Apple Park.
The keynote address will be available via apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app, and YouTube, with on-demand playback available after the conclusion of the stream.
Watch Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote address right here:
Open the video in another browser window or tab (video link), so that you can follow our live notes of Apple’s keynote address and comment on today’s news in real time below!
MacDailyNews WWDC 2026 Live Notes (in reverse chronological order):
• AAPL: $304.52, -2.82 (-0.92%) @ 2:15:22 PM EDT
• End of WWDC26 keynote video
• Apple now playing some horrid rap video about apps or some such —-
• Thank you for joining us and let’s have a great WWDC
• Cook: It’s been the honor of a lifetime to help advance Apple’s mission
• Cook: The best is still ahead at Apple
• Cook: New OSes – devs get them today; public betas next month; public release this fall
• Tim Cook: We are excited about this wide range of improvements to all of our platforms
• Xcode gets ability to use model and agent of the dev’s choice
• Core AI framework lets developers use other models
• Foundation Model framework gets images, not just text input
• Siri AI will not be available in the EU or China as Apple works thru regulatory issues
• Siri AI to launch in beta later this year
• Spatial Reframing will make for a great iPhone ad
• AAPL: $305.87, -1.47 (-0.48%) @ 2:06:33 PM EDT
• Spatial Reframing: Fix mistakes (framing, eye contact, etc.) after you captured them; real-time perspective changes (daily usage limits)
• Remove objects with Clean Up even in complex images; expand images with AI to give subject more room to breathe
• Apple Intelligence can be applied to photos you capture making incredible editing
• Developers get Image Playground API
• Image Playground looks powerful; no longer a joke as it is currently
• Image Playground – entirely new version with powerful image models at its core – any style you want; a major upgrade across platforms
• Shortcuts gets AI: Just describe a Shortcut and Apple Intelligence will create it for you (people might actually use Shortcuts now)
• Home app uses AI to understand activities; can analyze camera footage and tell you what’s been happening; elevates the most important clips (like a package delivery)
• Phone app looks at who you’re calling, not what you’re saying – stays entirely on-device
• Calendar, Messages, and Phone apps get Apple Intelligence
• Passwords with agenticly take action on your behalf
• Describe an Extension: Safari will crate a custom extension for you
• Open tabs get Notify me: Safari auto monitors open tabs and notifies you of changes
• Safari ads new related tabs to your topic as you browse
• Safari gets Apple Intelligence tab organization into topics
• Safari, Password, Message and more
• Beth Dakin: Apple Intelligence in apps
• AAPL: $308.01, +0.67 (+0.22%) @ 1:52:09 PM EDT
• Siri can help improve your writing; also: auto proofreading systemwide
• Write with Siri virtually anywhere you can type on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
• Visual Intelligence works on iPadOS and visionOS
• Point iPhone at restaurant bill to automatically split the bill
• Apple Foundation Models run in Private Cloud Compute
• Visual Intelligence integrated into Camera app on iPhone; Siri can see what you see
• On visionOS, Siri AI works spatially
• Siri AI is being tailored for watchOS
• Dedicated Siri app works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• Siri AI lets you get much more accomplished across iPad, iPhone, and Mac
• AAPL: $308.98, +1.64 (+0.53%) @ 1:45:21 PM EDT
• Siri can compare multiple files chosen in Finder and answer questions about them
• Apple is clearly using actual Siri in these videos – showing the actual time Siri takes to do various things
• In the demos, Siri actually works as you’d expect it to work in 2026
• Conversational Siri experiences (like Grok, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.)
• New Siri also in CarPlay and AirPods
• Systemwide dictation gets much more accurate and its built right into the keyboard
• Siri voices sound a lot more natural and expressive; customizable speed and expressivity
• Personal context allows Siri to execute complex actions
• Screen awareness – Siri understands what’s on your screen
• Demo of new Siri
• You can write and edit with Siri anywhere you can type
• Visual Intelligence across platforms
• Dedicated Siri app
• Siri AI uses new Apple Intelligence capability; personal context, screen awareness
• Mike Rockwell: All-new Siri, rebuilt with powerful AI at its core
• Apple believes Privacy in AI in non-negotiable; your data is not stored or accessible to Apple or anyone else
• Built privacy-first
• On-screen awareness
• Private Cloud Compute delivers answers while maintaining privacy
• Apple Intelligence uses Spotlight to quickly surface what you need in a moment’s notice
• Models are system-wide: Personal context understanding
• Second even more powerful on-device model for Appel’s most capable devices
• Powerful image understanding and image generation
• Huge upgrade for Apple Intelligence
• New architecture: Next-gen Apple Foundation Models, Google Gemini
• An entirely new Siri
• The next generation of Apple Intelligence
• Privacy for Apple Intelligence at every step
• Federighi: Now we’ll look at AI
• New Child Safety website from Apple
• Parents can manage which apps kids can use, developers get a full suite of APIs for child safety
• Screen Time app is completely redesigned for parents ease of use
• Screen Time Schedules – which apps are available at different times and days (weekdays vs. weekend)
• Parents can adjust any of the Time Allowances
• Apple works with American Academy of Pediatrics for guidelines
• Screen Time gets Time Allowances for games, entertainment, and social media
• Nudity blocked via communication safety; now gore also blocked
• Parents can decide who kids can interact with in Messages
• Parents can approve – or block – individual websites
• Ann Thai: App Store offers an age rating for each app; children have to ask parents for permission
• As kids grow, content can be added over time by parents
• Kids with child accounts are limited to what they can see by parents
• Raja Bose: Child accounts feature content blockers
• Make sure kids experience only what parents want them to experience
• Apple to provide guide for parents
• Kids under 18 benefit from age-based protection and guidance from parents and caregivers
• Sumbul Desai: Child safety features shaped on child development experts
• Hair Force One: Trust and Safety for Kids and Teens greatly expanded
• Apple Maps get incredible detail improvements for cities
• visionOS pano improvements
• Custom EQ for AirPods
• Search index rearchitected in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27; you’ll find what you’re looking for; also improved in Mail app
• iPhone transitions between cellular and WiFi transfers greatly improved
• iPhone CPU scheduler gets improves all the way back to iPhone 11; iOS 27 works on iPhone 11 and later (more users than any iOS release ever)
• Files app xfers up to 5X faster
• AirDrop now up to 80% faster
• Photos now appear up to 70% faster
• Responsiveness improvements: system animations, entering Mission Control on Mac, iPhone and iPad apps launch up to 30% faster
• App icons get additional Liquid Glass elements and refractions
• Uniform corner radius
• Sidebars extend fully
• More uniform toolbar across the top of apps on Mac
• Design: (Shubham Kedia) Liquid Glass user feedback has led to refinements, better readability – new slider
• Stacey Ford on platform improvements: Faster, smoother, even easier to use
• macOS 27 name: Golden Gate
• Craig Federighi: Today we’ll talk about platform improvements, Trust and Safety, Apple Intelligence & Siri
• Latest advancements in Apple Intelligence and Siri to be discussed today
• Cook highlights tight integration of Apple’s hardware and software
• Cook explains that WWDC is for developers
• Outgoing CEO Tim Cook: “Good morning.”
• WWDC26 Keynote presentation begins
• AAPL: $313.60, +6.26 (+2.04%) @ 12:58:06 PM EDT
• AAPL: $313.67, +6.33 (+2.06%) @ 12:50:30 PM EDT
• AAPL: $314.52, +7.18 (+2.34%) @ 12:25:26 PM EDT
The post MacDailyNews presents live coverage of Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote address appeared first on MacDailyNews.
The Guardian reviews Apple TV’s ‘Cape Fear’ series: ‘Amy Adams and Javier Bardem’s immaculate update is a wild, wild ride’
Apple TV’s “Cape Fear” series is inspired by the 1991 remake directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Steven Spielberg. A storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna (Amy Adams) and Tom Bowden (Patrick Wilson) when Max Cady (Javier Bardem), the notorious killer they are responsible for putting behind bars, is let out of prison — and he wants vengeance.
Lucy Mangan for The Guardian:
“Ever look around and wonder if we deserve all this?” a woman asks, standing by their sprawling mansion’s swimming pool with her handsome, ripped, fellow lawyer husband.
“No,” he replies.
Ah me. Ah my. Welcome to the latest screen incarnation of John D MacDonald’s taut psychological thriller, published in 1957 as The Executioners and now adapted for the third time under the title Cape Fear. Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck starred in the first, in 1962 – the former as the villain Max Cady, nursing an incandescent rage and obsessive desire for vengeance against the latter, as lawyer Sam Bowden, for for his role as key witness in a rape prosecution. Martin Scorsese directed a remake that had Nick Nolte as Bowden and a truly terrifying Robert De Niro as Cady in 1991. It introduced a few more moral grey areas but the battle remained between good and very, very evil as Cady sought to destroy Bowden’s life and family in every conceivable way.
But we have all got a lot more complex since then and here to match our new sophistications and probe every single modern weakness, fear and pressure point is Nick Antosca’s 10-part series of the same name. It is a wild ride…
Bardem turns in what will surely become the definitive take on the role; genuinely charming, convincing, momentarily even sympathetic and then terrifying, in a way that makes De Niro look like Danny DeVito but somehow never quite becomes pantomimic or preposterous.
MacDailyNews Take: Yet another winner for Apple TV!
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post The Guardian reviews Apple TV’s ‘Cape Fear’ series: ‘Amy Adams and Javier Bardem’s immaculate update is a wild, wild ride’ appeared first on MacDailyNews.
U.S. labor market powers ahead: 172,000 jobs added in May, far surpassing expectations in strong show of American economic resilience
The U.S. economy delivered another impressive performance in May, with nonfarm payrolls surging by a robust 172,000 jobs — more than double the Dow Jones consensus estimate of just 80,000. This marks continued solid expansion in the labor market, underscoring the strength and momentum of the American workforce under current policies.
Unemployment held steady at a healthy 4.3%, exactly in line with forecasts, while upward revisions to prior months painted an even brighter picture: April was revised higher to 179,000 (up 64,000 from the initial reading), and March climbed to 214,000. These adjustments highlight a more consistent and vigorous job creation trend than initially reported.
Economists and policymakers (including the Federal Reserve) generally view 4% to 5% as the full-employment range for the U.S.
Key highlights from the May report include:
• Broad-based gains: Leisure and hospitality led the way with a strong 70,000 jobs added — well above its recent monthly average. Local government contributed 55,000, health care added 35,000, and social assistance grew by 12,000.
• Wage growth: Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in May and are up 3.4% over the past year, providing workers with steady income gains that align with economic expectations.
• Household survey strength: Employment rose by 149,000, with the broader unemployment measure (including discouraged workers and part-timers) improving to 8.1%. Labor force participation remained stable at 61.8%.
This report comes amid a backdrop of solid broader economic growth, with GDP tracking at a strong annualized pace in Q2 according to the Atlanta Fed. The resilient labor market — characterized by moderate layoffs and improving breadth of job gains — signals confidence among employers and a stable foundation for continued expansion.
While some sectors continue to adapt to technological shifts like AI, the overall data reflects a low-hire, low-fire environment that has evolved into more widespread hiring in May. This strength is likely to support consumer spending and business investment moving forward.
MacDailyNews Take: A clear win for the U.S. economy: better-than-expected growth, upward revisions, steady unemployment, and healthy wage increases. The American macroeconomy’s momentum is real — and that’s very good news indeed, especially for Apple’s business which is heavily driven by premium consumer purchases (iPhones, Macs, Watches, AirPods, services). Healthy employment, steady wage growth (up 3.4% YoY), and low unemployment in Apple’s No.1 market mean more people with jobs and disposable income to spend on Apple products. This is especially supportive for iPhone upgrade cycles and Services revenue.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post U.S. labor market powers ahead: 172,000 jobs added in May, far surpassing expectations in strong show of American economic resilience appeared first on MacDailyNews.