WWDC 2026: What I’m Hoping Apple Finally Gets Right

It’s that time of year again… are we all ready for another year of development updates from Apple? Here’s everything we can expect, and what I’m hoping most for.

WWDC 2026: What I’m Hoping Apple Finally Gets Right

There’s something about WWDC season that always makes me feel like a child again. Every year around this time, my social feeds become flooded with concept renders, impossible wishlist features and blurry “leaks” from supply chain analysts who somehow always know a guy who knows a guy. And every year, without fail, I convince myself this will be the year Apple completely changes my life through software updates I’ll mostly use to rearrange widgets and customise Control Centre.

But to be honest? WWDC 2026 feels a little different this year.

Last year’s introduction of Liquid Glass was one of the boldest visual shifts Apple has made in years. Predictably, the internet reacted normally and calmly: by acting as though translucent menus were personally ruining civilisation. Meanwhile, I absolutely loved it. I still do. When Apple leans into playful, expressive design instead of cold corporate minimalism, their software feels far more alive to me. Technology should feel fun sometimes. I actually miss the more significant glass effect we had at the start, they’ve really “dumbed it down” to appease people as they developed onwards and I find it considerably less exciting.

That said, even I can admit Liquid Glass needs refining. There’s still many improvements they can make.

Coming Bright Up.

We all know Apple loves their punny titles that point towards something specific they’re planning. I have no idea personally what the focus could be on with the “brightness” branding, but I am interested nonetheless. Ironic though, given one of the changes that they are supposedly planning that is not one I am excited about. More on that later.

iOS 27: Less Chaos, More Consistency

The biggest thing I’m hoping to see from iOS 27 is consistency. Liquid Glass looked gorgeous in many places throughout iOS 26, but there were also moments where readability took a noticeable hit. Interestingly enough, my most noticeable example of this was actually in macOS 26, where I couldn’t read my wifi networks in a list against my white desktop background because the text completely disappeared into it due to not having a shadowed or frosted background. This issue has since been fixed, but does surprise me that it wasn’t found before the production build released. Certain menus on both macOS and iOS became harder to distinguish, transparency occasionally felt excessive and some apps looked like they belonged to entirely different operating systems.

The rumours suggest Apple is planning a refinement-focused year for the design language rather than abandoning it entirely, which I think is absolutely the correct move. 

Please, Apple, do not panic and flatten everything again.

I genuinely enjoy the glassy aesthetic. I like the depth. I like the reflections. I like that Apple software has personality again. As long as text remains readable and UI elements become more coherent system-wide, I’ll happily continue defending Liquid Glass against the angry forum warriors demanding we return to sterile grey rectangles. Though I admit I don’t feel all icons on macOS need to be held in squircle jail, but that’s a story for another day.

Another rumoured feature I absolutely love the sound of is the ability to save virtually any QR code directly into Wallet. 

This sounds incredibly small until you think about how many random screenshots currently exist in everyone’s camera roll solely because they contain tickets, memberships, parking passes or café loyalty QR codes. At least, people who go outside often. Yuck, right?

If Apple fixes that alone, macOS 27 and iOS 27 will already improve daily life significantly for some.

Siri Needs To Stop Being Embarrassing

Now for the elephant in the room.

Siri.

Look, I have defended Apple through many questionable decisions over the years. FineWoven? I tried. Removing the headphone jack? I adapted. Refusal to switch to USB C? I defended Lightning. The butterfly keyboard? We don’t discuss that.

But Siri in 2026 still regularly feels like using a voice assistant from 2014.

The amount of times I ask Siri to complete an incredibly basic task only for her to either misunderstand me entirely or open a random web search is honestly impressive. Meanwhile, tools like Claude and ChatGPT have completely changed expectations surrounding AI assistants.

Siri, what year did Modern Family begin airing? Sorry, you’ll have to unlock your iPhone first.

Siri, set a reminder to take out the trash in half an hour. I’ve found some web results, I can show you if you ask again from your iPhone.

What?

Thankfully, this appears to be the area Apple is finally prioritising most heavily at WWDC. Multiple reports suggest iOS 27 will introduce a dramatically smarter Siri experience, complete with conversational memory, deeper app integration and a standalone Siri app more similar to modern chatbot interfaces. 

Interestingly, rumours also suggest Apple may allow users to choose different AI models behind certain Apple Intelligence features, with Claude reportedly among the possibilities. 

As someone personally very partial to Claude’s memory capabilities and how much more effectively it learns from me, I would be extremely happy with this approach. Apple doesn’t necessarily need to build the absolute best AI model themselves if they can integrate existing models elegantly into their ecosystem. Apple’s strength has always been experience and integration rather than being first. So long as their keep their classic Apple privacy focus at heart.

That said… there is one rumour I’m not entirely sold on.

Don’t Dim Siri’s Glow

Reports suggest Apple may move Siri more heavily into the Dynamic Island interface with the current edge glow removed.

I’ll miss the glow. Ironic given the event’s focus on being bright, perhaps?

I know this is not remotely important in the grand scheme of life. I fully recognise this is the most “Apple fan” complaint imaginable. But I genuinely love the current colourful edge illumination effect. It feels futuristic. It feels distinctly Apple. It makes the phone feel alive in a way that a simple Dynamic Island animation just… doesn’t.

Of course, if the new interface genuinely improves usability, I’ll get over it within approximately six minutes. But emotionally? I’m attached to the rainbow glow.

macOS 27 Sounds Quietly Excellent

While iOS naturally gets most of the attention, I’m actually very intrigued by what Apple appears to be doing with macOS 27.

Rumours suggest this may end up being more of a refinement and productivity-focused release rather than a huge redesign year, which sounds perfect to me. 

I’m especially excited about the reported Calendar improvements. Admittedly, I only use Apple Calendar in my personal life because my workplace forces us into Microsoft’s ecosystem for scheduling, but Apple Calendar has always felt so much nicer to use visually. If Apple can make it more intelligent and proactive with AI integration, I’d happily lean into it even more outside work.

New MacBook Neo Colours?

Now for truly important journalism…

Apple may be considering new, additional, MacBook Neo colours to make up for the rumours that they are planning to dump the base model as a result of the rising storage and memory costs during the AI crisis.

The Citrus Neo already lives in my brain rent free. I absolutely do not need one. I already own a ridiculously overpowered MacBook Pro that could probably launch a small satellite if required. Yet every single time I see the Neo in that soft green finish, my financial self-control weakens considerably. I’m sure additional colours will be well-received, but I’m not confident it’ll help soften the blow for people like myself who would only justify buying the base model if my financial control does finally lapse. Not to mention, one of the most exciting things about the Neo is that it opens up a previously untouched market for Apple. A $700 laptop doesn’t have the same accessibility as one that is $500 with education discount.

So naturally, what I’m asking for at WWDC is, if they’re going to do it, at least add several additional colours specifically designed to make my purchasing decisions even worse. But still keep the base model.

Thank you in advance.

Apple has something to prove this year.

And if they happen to announce a Citrus-themed Lil’ Finder Guy plushie during the keynote?

My bank account may never recover.