WWDC 2026: Siri rebuilt on Google's Gemini, and Tim Cook's goodbye
Apple's June keynote delivered the conversational Siri it had promised for two years, with a rival's models underneath, and closed with a change of chief executive.
Kivorent News desk, published , 1 min read
This is a look back at an event from . We wrote it on November 11, 2026, from the sources listed at the end.
What to know
- Apple held its developer keynote on June 8, 2026, and introduced a more conversational Siri that runs on Google's Gemini models.
- iOS 27 supports every iPhone from the iPhone 11 onward.
- It was Tim Cook's last WWDC as chief executive. John Ternus took over on September 1.
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8, 2026, answered a question that had hung over the company since 2024: when would Siri catch up with the chatbots? The answer came with an admission built in.
Siri, with Gemini inside
Apple showed a Siri that holds a conversation, understands what is on screen and works across apps. It also gets its own app. TechCrunch reported that the new Siri runs on Google's Gemini models, and that Apple's next generation of its own models was developed with the Gemini family.
For a company that prefers to own every important part of its products, relying on a competitor for the core of its assistant was a notable choice. Craig Federighi, Apple's software chief, used the keynote to stress that privacy in AI was not negotiable.
What else was in iOS 27
- Controls to tone down or emphasize the Liquid Glass look introduced the year before.
- Dictation built into the keyboard across the system.
- Photo tools that reframe and extend images.
- Shortcuts that can be created by describing them in plain language.
- Perimenopause and menopause tracking in the Health app.
- Reply suggestions in Messages and context from Mail and Messages during phone calls.
Apple said iOS 27 would run on every iPhone back to the iPhone 11 and claimed faster photo loading and AirDrop transfers.
The handover
Tim Cook closed the keynote with a farewell. It was his last as chief executive after nearly 15 years in the role. John Ternus, who ran hardware engineering, took over on September 1 and presented the iPhone Duo eight days later.
Why it mattered
The keynote settled how Apple would compete in AI for now: its own software and privacy rules on top, another company's models underneath. Whether an assistant runs on your phone or in a data center changes what it can see, a trade-off we explain in on-device AI versus cloud AI.
Sources
- WWDC 2026: Everything announced on Siri, iOS 27, Apple Intelligence and more, TechCrunch, June 8, 2026
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