Apple announced a new AI-powered Siri and the AFM 3 Core Advanced chip during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on June 8, 2026 [3].

The updates signal a shift in Apple's strategy to integrate artificial intelligence deeply across its hardware and software ecosystem. By moving complex AI processing to the device, the company aims to maintain its competitive edge in the AI-driven device market while providing a more personal assistant experience.

CEO Tim Cook led the presentation at WWDC26, which was held in San Jose, California, and streamed online [1, 5]. The centerpiece of the announcement is Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI features integrated across iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Vision Pro [2]. This system is designed to transform Siri into a personal assistant capable of interacting more naturally with users [2].

To support these capabilities, Apple introduced the AFM 3 Core Advanced chip. This hardware is engineered specifically for on-device AI and contains 20 billion parameters [1, 4]. To optimize performance and energy efficiency, the chip activates only one to four billion parameters per prompt [4].

Beyond the hardware, the new Siri AI is positioned as more than a smarter assistant. According to industry analysis, the update serves as a new enterprise app layer [3]. This allows the AI to interact with a broader range of applications, and data points, to execute complex tasks.

Industry coverage highlighted five top announcements during the event [5]. These updates focus on creating a seamless bridge between the user's intent and the device's execution, ensuring that AI is a core component of the user experience rather than a separate tool.

“Apple announced a new AI-powered Siri and the AFM 3 Core Advanced chip.”

Apple's move toward high-parameter on-device AI reduces reliance on cloud processing, which typically enhances user privacy and reduces latency. By embedding the AFM 3 Core Advanced chip into its ecosystem, Apple is attempting to lock users into its hardware through AI capabilities that cannot be replicated by software-only competitors.