Apple unveils an upgraded Siri voice assistant with new AI features at its annual conference

Apple unveiled new AI advancements at its annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino, California, focusing on upgrades to its Siri voice assistant. The company emphasized a privacy-centered approach to AI, integrating tools into everyday devices and apps without adopting trends like chatbots or superintelligence. Siri’s new capabilities include creating menus from recipes or messages, identifying objects in photos or on-screen items like luggage, and providing nutritional details for food. The updates center on Apple Intelligence, which now uses Google’s Gemini AI model to process requests on-device or privately in the cloud. A standalone Siri AI app will launch later this year but will exclude Europe and China due to regulatory challenges. Apple also improved its AI photo editing tools, adding spatial reframing to adjust photo composition after capture. CEO Tim Cook delivered his final WWDC keynote before retiring in September, marking the end of a 15-year tenure that saw Apple’s market value rise by over $4 trillion. Succeeding him is John Ternus, who has led Apple’s hardware engineering for five years. Ternus did not take the stage but will oversee the company’s transition amid Apple’s push to strengthen its AI offerings. The conference attracted developers from 65 countries, focusing on software rather than hardware, which Apple typically unveils in fall events. Apple’s strategy contrasts with competitors by prioritizing user-centric AI that aligns with its privacy-focused ecosystem. The company’s approach avoids speculative AI features, instead highlighting practical applications like organizing events or analyzing visual content.