By Nicole Nguyen

A spam call screener, live text translation, an AI workout coach and more. At Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple announced enhancements throughout its system apps and a new software look called "Liquid Glass," coming soon to compatible iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macs and other devices.

The bad news: iPhone XS and XR owners will need to upgrade this fall to get the latest software.

The current iOS 18 will graduate to... iOS 26. The numbers attached to iOS, iPadOS and MacOS will now represent years. Like carmakers, Apple is using the coming year, not the one we're currently in. (I guess that makes sense?) What really matters is, as usual, free software upgrades are coming to most of your Apple devices around the time the new iPhones appear.

The biggest change is the redesign to all of Apple's operating systems. Buttons are rounder. Menus are more transparent. The glass effect means text and other interface elements reflect as you tilt your phone. The idea is to make the software look the same across devices. The reality is, many people will have to relearn how to use some parts of their phone. We can help with that when the time comes!

And as for the elephant in the room, Apple Intelligence: The company announced AI features throughout the keynote, tucked into various apps and services, as you'll see below. But we didn't hear any details on the delayed Siri overhaul announced last year.

The exciting features

Messages gets WhatsApp tricks: Typing indicators in group chats! At last! You can also add backgrounds for your text threads, and create polls -- so your group of friends can easily vote on the best destination for an outing. Apple Intelligence can even suggest polls based on the conversation, for instance, if someone asks, "Where should we stay this weekend?"

Though iPhone-Android conversations improved last year, these upgrades apply only to blue-bubble, iPhone-only threads.

Live translation: Apple now does on-device live translation, taking a page from Google and Samsung. In Messages, this means texts will be delivered in the recipient's preferred language.

In FaceTime, the translations will appear as subtitles above the video call. And on a phone call, you'll hear the translations live as you speak with the other person. It may require the patience of both participants, though. In the demo, there was a delay, as the software worked on captioning the live speech.

Unwanted calls and texts: Spam is so prevalent, I now have a burner number to deal with the onslaught. Apple has new tricks to help manage these pesky reach-outs. When you receive a call from an unknown number, iOS 26 can automatically answer the call. Once the caller shares their name and reason for the call, the phone will start to ring and you'll see a summary of the screened call on the lock screen.

Messages from most unknown senders will be silenced and tucked away in a separate inbox automatically. But urgent texts, such as verification codes or restaurant wait-list updates, will still go to your main list.

Hold Assist: Finally, an Android-favorite feature is coming to save you from waiting for your airline or insurance customer service. If the software detects hold music, you can tap a new hold option and the call will stay connected, but you can do other things. Once the agent is available, your phone will ring and the software will tell the agent you'll be there shortly. Hopefully the agent won't mind waiting on hold a few seconds.

On-screen Visual Intelligence: This image-interpreting AI was limited to camera captures on compatible devices. Now, when you take a screenshot, you get a new set of options around the frame. You can look up a lamp that is shown in the image and even get a link to buy it in a shopping site like Etsy or Anthropologie. You can create a calendar event based on information from an online concert poster. You can also ask ChatGPT about a celebrity that appears in a shot on your social-media app.

More powerful Mac search: The Mac's best-kept secret is Spotlight -- aka that floating search bar that appears when you hit Command+Space. You can now do more things right inside the search environment, such as create a calendar event or start an audio recording. You can also use shortcuts, like "sm" for "send message" and "ar" for "add reminder."

More iPhone on the Mac: As part of Apple's move to keep you buying its products, the Mac can now mirror more iPhone features. Waiting for an Uber Eats delivery? You can now see the same live phone updates on your laptop screen. And the redesigned phone app is also coming to the Mac, so you can manage calls from the larger screen -- as long as you enable the right settings.

iPad gets more Mac-like: Apple has been touting the iPad as a Mac replacement for years, but the tablet never quite measured up. With a menu bar up top and the ability to open and resize more windows, it may now be a lot closer. The Preview app, previously exclusive to the Mac, is also coming to iPad for PDF editing.

AI workout buddy: On the Apple Watch, you can launch a generative-AI coach, trained on voice data from Fitness+ trainers and informed with your own workout history. It can pepper your workout with encouragement ("Second run this week. You're crushing it!") and update you on pace, distance and heart rate.

Workout Buddy will be an option for popular exercise types, such as runs, rides and strength training. I am looking forward to seeing how this AI coach responds to...my slowest jog ever.

MIA? AI Siri

One year ago, Apple used this same occasion to announce a slew of AI-powered features. But Siri was hardly mentioned Monday. In March, the company said the voice assistant upgrade is taking longer than expected, and it pulled an ad showing a more personalized Siri capability.

Apple will, however, let app makers tap in to its on-device large language models. Executives say the AI technology will be "fast, private and offline."

One example is a new chat experience in the hiking app AllTrails. You can type what kind of experience you're looking for, and the app will tap in to Apple's AI models to generate a route suggestion, even if you're off the grid.

We won't get the full scope of possible applications until developers have time to build them, but it's one way Apple is incorporating more AI into its devices. Meanwhile, Apple's competitors won't shut up about AI search, agentic operators, video generation or deep research.

Maybe Apple will be all over that...next year?

Write to Nicole Nguyen at nicole.nguyen@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 09, 2025 16:42 ET (20:42 GMT)

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