Apple’s AI Vision: Quiet Upgrades, Not Quantum Leaps

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Apple kicked off WWDC 2025, its annual developer conference, this week. We expected it to be less AI-centric than Microsoft Build and Google I/O (and we weren’t invited, sniff), so we tuned in remotely. The vibe so far: beautiful, restrained… and actively steering away from frontier AI? Apple shipped plenty of features, and executives talked up Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI layer (though not as much as last year). But in an AI-dominated era, Apple’s approach to the technology is remarkably understated. The company clearly isn’t gunning to build the biggest, baddest models. Instead, it’s banking on cleverly integrating capable (if unsexy) AI into their ecosystem, while carefully preserving the product sheen it’s known for.

What’s new

Here’s the product news Apple dropped, and why it matters:

Live call translation: Real-time multilingual translations during calls. Looked and felt slow in the demo, but expected to improve.
macOS 26 Tahoe: A total redesign leaning into skeuomorphism and Vision Pro-style visuals. Liquid glass everywhere.
iOS 26 and iPadOS upgrades: Better multitasking, Mac-style menu bars, expanded CarPlay, and a Spotlight overhaul.
Vision Pro updates: Support for multiplayer experiences, refined Personas, and the early seeds of Apple’s next augmented reality (AR) glasses.
Workout buddy: Adaptive, AI-generated coaching—a voice in your ear pushing you to finish your sets. Think “AI podcast for fitness.”
Wallet identity verification: Apple Wallet IDs are now accepted at TSA checkpoints (U.S. only).
Safari changes: Subtle but potentially design-shifting updates to how the browser handles and renders sites.
Code assist in Xcode: AI pair programmer inside Apple’s development environment.

What everyone at Every thinks

What we liked…

Quietly skipping the AI hype

"They’re deepening integration with ChatGPT, now also used in image generation. But they figured the previous AI integration was pretty bad, so they remade some features they promised in a much simpler way."—Andrey Galko, staff engineer at Every

Apple’s on-device AI is free for apps

“The FoundationModels framework Apple announced is really interesting; it’s going to change the way new apps use AI. It allows developers to tap into Apple’s local models directly and use them for free. And because it’s all on device, it will have built-in privacy.”—Naveen Naidu Mummana, entrepreneur in residence at Every

It’s all just ChatGPT wrappers anyway

"At the end of the day, what’s the difference between where to run ChatGPT or the Claude app? I think they’re realizing that they built a foundation for the ChatGPT app, and that their users don’t actually care about models."—Andrey

A fresh coat of 2025 skeuomorphism

"They really made it glass. It’s beautiful—skeuomorphism is back, but 2025 edition. I’m actually very excited about the Mac redesign. MacOS needs a lot of refreshment."—Andrey