Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi used the WWDC 2026 keynote to jab at rivals he says are chasing AI “for the sake of AI.” He singled out OpenAI, Google and Meta, accusing them of pushing products without considering the people who must ultimately use them. Federighi framed Apple’s slower, context‑aware approach as a safeguard for users.

Alongside the critique, Apple unveiled Siri AI, a ground‑up rebuild powered by the next generation of Apple Intelligence. The company introduced a second version of its Apple Foundation Models, capable of processing speech, text and images, coordinated by a new system orchestrator that spans iOS, macOS and watchOS. Federighi emphasized the assistant’s conversational utility rather than a standalone chatbot today.

Federighi also warned that privacy remains “non‑negotiable,” with data used solely to fulfill a request. The remarks came after Apple’s two‑year slog to revamp Siri and the recent departure of former AI chief John Giannandrea, underscoring internal turbulence. By positioning Siri AI as an integrated, privacy‑first tool, Apple hopes to differentiate itself in a crowded generative‑AI market for consumers worldwide today.