Ai? What ai? WWDC did not scream about Apple Intelligence and I am relieved.
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I have treated artificial intelligence, or at least topics that touch it, for the majority of my technology journalism career, and long before generative AI was something that the audience could open with relatively ease. But it likes whether it is fun, AI is very much the buzz of the moment in and outside the technology world. So it was surprising that at WWDC 2025, Apple Played the subject.
Certainly, Apple Intelligence Was present and would seem to be more integrated in the various software platforms of Cupertino than before. But many of these functions seem to increase existing tools instead of making completely new ones; AI can choose the regular routes that you have in the iOS 26 Cards -app for example.
I would also claim that Apple has added smart functions, such as live translation in the messages and Facetime apps, almost as a way to google’s and Samsung‘s AI efforts in their flagship -smartphones, instead of pointing out the way or to sharpen existing technology into something special.
Instead, Apple played the redesign of iOS, macOS and more with the use of his ‘Liquid glass’ Material design. And Apple Intelligence seemed to take a rear seat; As my colleague Matt Bolton noted, Siri was correctly absent at WWDC and indicative of failure for the virtual assistant.
Now I will not argue against Mr. Bolton, because he calls on some good points, but I am also deducted WWDC.
User experience first, AI Smarts Second
I have always had the feeling that the power of Apple comes from the user experience. Locked as a part of the Cupertino software can be, and the walled garden approach of his ecosystem, once you are in the aforementioned garden, everything works very well. From simple, secure payments and authentication to fast file transfer between Apple devices and users, and much more.
Aside, I have argued before that I want AI to be used for real transformational things that benefit societyDo not generate images of a dog on the moon or write my e -mails for me. I think humanity is better off to learn the challenges of learning how to better string or wait for sentences to frame the perfect camera photo than to let AI do everything for them, because that can bring us a dark path (check out Mirror on Netflix).
If I bring things back to Apple and WWDC, I feel that a redesign and the neat addition of useful functions to iOS and macOS resonate more with Apple Device users than some smart AI tools that can feel a bit stuck on a core phone or laptop experience.
As a user of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and one MacBook Air M2I have access to various Apple Intelligence tools. But apart from a little sporadic flirt with them and an occasional nod from appreciation to AI-generated summaries of voicemails, Apple Intelligence did not come close to changing the way I use my iPhone.
I said that in the past I think the recent iPhones are boring but brilliant; They miss the do-allthing atmosphere of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or the intriguing AI-Lead experience of the Google Pixel 9 Family, but simply serve as smartphones that do things quickly and well.
I treat my iPhone like a tool instead of a gadget, making it not exciting, but one of the of the Best phones I used because there is a small small in the way or distracting from doing what I have to do.
I think many other Apple users share the same mindset. There has been a huge amount of people who have viewed our How to download the iOS 26 developer beta Article, which for me demonstrates that there is a great interest in redesigning the liquid glass.
Further, in an article I wrote about want Samsung to add more AI to the foldable phone of the next generation to make them really more effectiveA commentator said that they do not find AI useful on phones at all and wants options to disable such tools.
So although tech luminaires are lyrical about AI and some people use it to do many things for them, I get the feeling that others prefer to just have technology that indeed ‘just’ works with every improvement, incrementally or otherwise, about users, no technological expertise.
As such, I think Apple may have been smart to concentrate WWDC more on visual and slick functional changes in its core software than putting them in the spotlight. After all, I still think that AI has not become sufficiently watertight and accurate to make it a must-have.
I think, as it looks now, if you are looking for an AI telephone, then the Best Google Pixel -Phones Are those to look at, since they are made up of the hardware to go all the way over AI. And Google’s phones have always been the devices to push more esoteric functions, whether it is the radar sensors in the Pixel 4 Phones or the AI focus of the past generations of pixels.
On the other hand, I have always seen Apple as the brand that completely embraces Emergent Technology, only when it has reached a point of adulthood and understanding of consumers.
Given the rocky launch of Apple Intelligence, AI is still for enthusiasts than everyone (although that could change quickly), and how iOS and macOS are fine -assembled platforms, I think the AI on this year’s WWDC will prove to have been the smart move for Apple, even if different technical commentators and analysis. Now on to the iPhone 17…
Do you want more AI in iPhones? Let me know in the comments below.
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