CNET
Tech Editors React to Apple’s WWDC 2026: Lackluster or Exciting? We Break It Down
In this special live edition of One More Thing, tech editors from CNET, PCMag and Mashable break down Tim Cook’s final Worldwide Developers Conference and ponder whether or not there was enough meat on the bones to satisfy Apple fans and developers. Read more about WWDC 2026 on CNET.com Apple’s WWDC 2026 Developer Event Is…
@Actualvomit
June 8, 2026 at 3:46 pm
Massive fail.
Apple sold people the iPhone 16 on the promise of Apple Intelligence, then spent the next year proving that “Apple Intelligence” mostly meant waiting around while they worked out how to make Siri slightly less useless.
Then at WWDC, the actual future Siri AI features people thought they were buying into were basically pushed toward newer hardware. Everyone who spent $1000+ on an iPhone 16 because Apple marketed it as the Apple Intelligence phone has been left with a watered-down Gemini and another reason to upgrade.
I smell another class action coming Apple’s way.
The Apple Watch situation is ridiculous too. If Series 9 or earlier is already being left out, that is insane. Some of these devices are less than three years old. Apple talks about sustainability while making people treat expensive hardware like disposable junk.
The whole keynote felt like a clusterfk dumpster fire.
They were already miles behind every major LLM, and their big answer is that some people might get a restricted Apple-approved taste of AI later this year, depending on device, region, language, blood type and astrological sign.
No one needs iPhone AI photo editing when almost any decent current model can do a better job in about four seconds.
If you don’t have children, the first half of the keynote was basically a good excuse to go outside and touch grass. The parental controls TED Talk felt like a massive dodge from the fact that Siri has been publicly embarrassing for years.
A mate took a photo of my cat on her Android last week and it looked better than what my supposedly premium Apple ecosystem is giving me. I’m seriously running out of loyalty to this walled garden if the yearly pitch is just more AI slop that may or may not arrive this year, locked behind the newest hardware, plus a few features for parents.
@tokacetik
June 8, 2026 at 3:50 pm
Pathetic is probably the one-word summary that captures it the best.
@Zephyrdynamics
June 8, 2026 at 5:23 pm
Dude, this entire WWDC is what everybody’s been asking for. Refinements, improvements to detail, design changes, and an actually smart Siri, and now you’re complaining about it. Never ceases to amaze me on how hypocritical people are. People complained that Apple didn’t do enough and was boring, so they changed the whole UI, people complained about it, so now they’re reverting/improving on some of it, while on top of that literally increasing software reliability in every way, and you’re still gonna complain?
@NightimeSuperhero
June 8, 2026 at 3:59 pm
This was for devs. Not consumers. Of course it will be a bit dull.
@housepianist
June 8, 2026 at 5:18 pm
Good point. Too often, tech heads are looking for pizzazz or some kind of “movie-level” production. It’s no wonder CNET and others are so consistently “disappointed” at these events.
Seriously, all the whining about how this could have been an email would end up being a 3-hour presentation if it could have been presented in the way they wanted to see it.
CNET, you’re pathetic with your false pretenses and crybaby analogies.
@BigFourHead
June 8, 2026 at 4:18 pm
watched like 2 mins and left.. this was painful to watch!
@TechnotMe
June 8, 2026 at 4:22 pm
Bye Tim
@kg6sxy
June 8, 2026 at 4:23 pm
It is frustrating that they didn’t share anything about voice control. I rely on voice control to operate my iphone.
@tiagomaqz
June 8, 2026 at 5:18 pm
They literally had a pre release focused solely on new accessibility features.
@jcophotoATX
June 8, 2026 at 4:29 pm
I thought they said the Beta is available in July but might have gotten that wrong.
@Zephyrdynamics
June 8, 2026 at 5:22 pm
The public beta will be available in June. Developer betas are available today.
@jcophotoATX
June 8, 2026 at 7:47 pm
@Zephyrdynamics Thanks…that’s faster than I thought.
@David-ft7xz
June 8, 2026 at 4:32 pm
Compared to the likes of OpenAI, Apple comes across as a company run by middle-aged people for middle aged people. It’s like Facebook when you realised your gran was on it.
@tiagomaqz
June 8, 2026 at 5:19 pm
How exactly? Because everyone copies their designs and tech.
@TechnologyWizard82
June 8, 2026 at 5:14 pm
It is so frustrating that Apple plans to ditch the old Siri screen glow when u summon Siri and instead let it live in Dynamic Island!!! So sucky of an update Siri wise!!! Makes me not wanna update just because of the new Siri animations or lack of old Siri screen glow with new Siri interface!!
@tiagomaqz
June 8, 2026 at 5:17 pm
It’s actually prettier than I thought and I think it makes more sense than the glow. Once you try it you’ll understand.
@TechnologyWizard82
June 8, 2026 at 5:22 pm
@tiagomaqzur wrong everyone make is political!!!! Its about the disabled and the visual aspects to things we enjoy swing rainbow personal communicator like style not som dumb pill glass glow!!!
@tiagomaqz
June 8, 2026 at 5:16 pm
You guys spent all year complaining about bugs and stability and Siri. They delivered EVERYTHING tech YouTubers spent all year complaining about and now you guys are complaining they didn’t do enough. Make it make sense.
@TheDindings
June 8, 2026 at 5:39 pm
Bootlicker
@krmparysee5958
June 8, 2026 at 6:46 pm
For real ! “Tech journalists” are actually so useless nowadays.
@JosefTorkelsen
June 8, 2026 at 9:04 pm
100%. This episode mad me so mad. Stability and speed is so important and YouTubers complain and apple gets no credit for it. The child safety is a huge problem solved. The AI was as good as could have been. The liquid slider is amazing that Apple allows us to have that customization.
@housepianist
June 8, 2026 at 5:19 pm
CNET, you’re pathetic with your false pretenses and crybaby analogies about this event. And you’re feeding all the haters here that subscribe to that narrative.
Every tech channel is doing this unfortunately.
@TheDindings
June 8, 2026 at 5:39 pm
Apple is washed
@Grifomaquia
June 8, 2026 at 5:42 pm
Siri is going to get smarter … because it just can’t get any dumber !
@Jeffmwknight
June 8, 2026 at 5:59 pm
It will be interesting to see what version of Google Gemini they gave Apple to use or are they giving them the latest version(s). Are they only getting a foundation model and Apple has integrate their own model around it and then fork their own versions moving forward?
@lunathewatcher
June 8, 2026 at 6:02 pm
This is the most I heard the word “vibe” in a single video
@dallasmiddleton7694
June 8, 2026 at 6:12 pm
I fell asleep watching it and when I woke up they were still talking about how AI works like on every other platform. Making shortcuts is annoying so I am glad Siri can make them now
@jaredweb
June 8, 2026 at 6:37 pm
We got Cooked yet again.
@jaredweb
June 8, 2026 at 6:46 pm
On the bright side, people with older bones can always get Gemini😅
@RodQTNZ
June 8, 2026 at 7:01 pm
As a Gmail user keen to understand if Personal Intelligence can be hydrated from the server of if this is forcing you to download email into the Apple Clients? on each device? Can WhatsApp data feed in?
@mappleafrag
June 8, 2026 at 7:12 pm
Boring and underwhelming keynote 🥱
@troyredway6427
June 8, 2026 at 7:14 pm
Mind you, google put gemini on a pixel 4
@jon_1006
June 8, 2026 at 8:32 pm
No surprise CNET Apple haters not impressed.
@afsalmoosa7881
June 8, 2026 at 9:14 pm
1 hour and 40 minutes got wasted, most boring event ever
@nelsonpun
June 8, 2026 at 9:18 pm
You guys are cnet, yall really cant get some nice dedicated mics for videos like this? The earbud mics sound horrible. Cant be a tech publication and have bad sound. At the very least turn off the earbud mics and use the mic in the laptop.