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Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 is around the corner, and all eyes are on what the company might present, especially Apple iOS 26. Scheduled to commence on June 10, 2025, this year’s WWDC will be an exhilarating showcase for software innovation, with platform updates ringing through the corridors. But this year, however, attention strays toward the AI-powered wave of new features and experience improvements promised by iOS 26.

To delve in: the entire list of everything Apple is expected to announce during the iOS 26 keynote and what it means to the future of iPhones.

Apple iOS 26: An AI-Centric Upgrade

Apple is reportedly going all-in on AI with iOS 26. Riding on the waves of generative AI in the technology landscape, iOS 26 is predicted to incorporate Apple Intelligence — a new collection of AI tools leveraging on-device processing coupled with secure cloud computing.

Key AI features might include

• Smart Reply & AI-Powered Summaries: Mail, Messages, and Safari may gain AI summarization and reply suggestions.
• AI-Enhanced Siri: Siri will be yanked out of its quiet corner of introversion and into the limelight, imbued with the powers of natural conversation flow, contextual memory, real-time app control like editing photos, or setting complex reminders via voice.AI Science for Writing: System-wide suggestions for grammar, style, and tone from the AI will pour forth into Notes, Pages, and even third-party apps.
• On-Device LLM: Apple is said to introduce an in-house LLM optimized for iPhones and, possibly, on Apple Silicon, to run AI processing locally and share a minimum amount of data.

Siri 2.0: More Intelligent, Contextual, and Personal

Almost half of iOS 26 will consist of the reinvention of Siri. Apple’s assistant is an afterthought compared to Alexa, Google Assistant, and ChatGPT-powered tools. iOS 26 will allegedly bring:

• Context Awareness: Siri will grasp what you see on the screen and perform actions accordingly.
• Deeper App Integration: Control third-party apps with Siri with no developer workarounds.
• Offline Functionality: Aided by on-device AI models, Siri shall perform numerous core functions without any Internet access.

Lock Screen Widgets & Customization Tools

Given the early success with lock screen widgets in iOS 16 and 17, customization will probably be carried a step further in iOS 26:

• Interactive Lock Screen Widgets: Control your music, check your tasks, or reply to messages directly from the lock screen.
• Custom Lock Screen Modes: It may be possible to have different lock screens for work, sleep, or travel depending on your Focus Mode, with AI suggesting the layouts based on your usage patterns.

Redesigned Control Center and Settings UI

The Control Center, which has not had a major design change since iOS 11, will likely see a facelift both visually and functionally:

• Modular Layouts: Finally, users might be able to move and resize tiles.
• Control Center API for Developers: Third-party apps may be allowed to publish custom toggles or mini-widgets.
• The Settings app is due for a relook, with a better layout, a search-powered UI, and intelligent suggestions.

Photos App with AI Editing

Smart features like those in Google Photos are to come to the Photos app in iOS 26:

• AI-Powered Editing: Remove background objects, auto-enhance portraits, or color-correct a scene with one tap.
• Scene Detection: Using AI, iOS 26 might auto-organize albums according to moments, objects, pets, or locations.
• Live Memories: AI-powered slideshow stories with music and narration, generated from recent albums.

Privacy Enhancements, Safety Improvements, and Screen Time Changes

Keeping users’ privacy intact remains at the core of Apple’s approach. Privacy enhancements in iOS 26 may include:

• Private AI Processing: The system for keeping all AI requests anonymous and encrypted.
• Granular App Permissions: Gaining more transparency and control as to how an app is using location, photos, or microphone data.
• Parental Controls Over AI Use: Screen Time could get the ability to restrict children from using AI features or content summarization tools.

Apple Passwords App

The other major rumor is a standalone app for Passwords based on iCloud Keychain. The app was supposed to:

• Manage passwords across devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows browser extension).
• Support passkeys, one-time codes, and Wi-Fi credentials.
• Go head-to-head with name brands such as 1Password and LastPass, but being fully integrated with the Apple ecosystem.

Enhanced Accessibility Features

Accessibility has been in Apple’s favor so far. For iOS, 26 will potentially bring:

• Eye Tracking for iPhone: Use just your eyes to control your device with front camera AI.
• Voice Shortcuts: Construct app or system commands through custom phrases.
• Live Captions in FaceTime: Enable auto-captioning of FaceTime calls for users with hearing impairment.

Eligible Devices for iOS 26

While Apple has yet to confirm the list, the leaks suggest that the support for iOS 26 would be dropped for:

• iPhone X (2017)
• iPhone 8 and 8 Plus
• Devices expected to be supported by iOS 26 include:
• iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, and newer
• iPhone SE (2nd gen and later)

Final Thoughts: With WWDC 2025, The AI-Powered Apple Era Is Set

Other updates for iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS will also be unveiled, but all eyes will be on iOS 26. Entering the AI race on a set of terms favorable to privacy and on-device operation, and thereby tightly integrated, the Apple updates this year may spell a fundamental change in the way we use our iPhones.

Smarter-siri, more customization, high-powered AI tools, and new apps…All of this and so much more that iOS 26 will do to fill in some gaps that Apple has had with AI-forward competitors. Despite being “just another software update,” the keynote may signal the dawn of the next major Apple technological era.

WWDC 2025 kicks off on June 10, and iOS 26 should launch the same-day developer beta, with public beta following in July and the final release sometime in September, together with the iPhone 17 series.