At WWDC 2026, Apple Introduces New Architecture for Apple Intelligence: Co-developed Models with Google

At WWDC 2026, Apple announced the next generation of Apple Intelligence, describing a deeply renewed architecture that centers around the new Apple Foundation Models. The basis of this update is a collaboration started this year with Google, built on the technologies underlying the Gemini family of models.

From this collaboration, new Foundation Models have emerged that power the integrated experiences of Apple Intelligence. The models have been adapted to work both on-device and on servers through private cloud compute. Apple describes them as capable of advanced understanding and reasoning, supporting multiple modalities: comprehension and generation of images, creation of realistic images, photo editing, and answering questions about visual content.

Apple also stated that it has pushed beyond optimization, developing a second version of the on-device model, characterized as even more powerful, designed for the more capable Apple Silicon systems. This version adds speech understanding and generation to the already existing text and image capabilities, and brings, as announced, greater accuracy for dictation throughout the system, improved natural language understanding, and more expressive voices.

System Orchestration and Personal Context

The new models have been deeply integrated into Apple platforms via a new system orchestrator, which securely coordinates the functionalities available across the operating system. The announced capabilities range from understanding the user’s personal context, allowing users to find photos or notes simply by describing what they are looking for through Spotlight and its semantic index, to connecting to the web for obtaining updated information through private cloud compute. Additionally, there are App Actions, which allow Apple Intelligence to leverage the functions of installed apps to fulfill complex requests, and screen awareness, which adapts the assistance based on the app in use and the current activity.

Privacy as a Non-negotiable Requirement

Apple dedicated part of the stage to its stance on privacy, distinguishing its approach from that of other AI providers. It was stated on stage that most AI providers retain users’ personal interactions by default, placing the burden on users to defend their own privacy. Apple reiterated that Apple Intelligence utilizes on-device processing and private cloud compute, with the guarantee that data is not stored nor is it accessible to Apple or third parties: it is used solely to fulfill the request. It was also clarified that external experts can continue to verify this promise at any time.