Most of the hype surrounding iOS 19—I mean, iOS 26—focuses on the big redesign that’s rumored. But looking past design changes to actual functional upgrades, three of the best iOS 26 features are, perhaps surprisingly, powered by Apple Intelligence. Here’s what’s coming.
#1: Battery life improvements
Most of the time when people think of AI, they think about chatbots like ChatGPT, or image generation like Genmoji and Image Playground.
In iOS 26, Apple plans to launch a new AI feature that’s far simpler, but also extremely practical.
Mark Gurman writes at Bloomberg:
The company is planning an AI-powered battery management mode…The enhancement will analyze how a person uses their device and make adjustments to conserve energy…
To create the technology — part of the Apple Intelligence platform — the company is using battery data it has collected from users’ devices to understand trends and make predictions for when it should lower the power draw of certain applications or features.
Based on Gurman’s report, it sounds like this feature could work entirely in the background.
You might be able to disable it if you choose, but in theory, you won’t need to because AI will only “conserve energy” in areas that will go unnoticed. All you’ll know is that your iPhone’s battery is lasting longer than ever.
What better way to spur quick upgrades than the promise of better battery life?
#2: Siri’s AI overhaul
Siri received a number of changes in iOS 18, but it says a lot about the assistant’s struggles that its best change involved punting questions to ChatGPT.
In iOS 26, Apple Intelligence is expected to power a variety of new Siri advancements.
Features delayed out of iOS 18 are chief among them, like personal context knowledge, on-screen awareness, and hundreds of new app actions.
But there’s even more coming, like multiple new integrations with third-party assistants, and the first version of ‘LLM Siri.’
Apple called last year the start of a new era for Siri, but it’s in iOS 26 where the assistant should make much bigger gains.
#3: Health app upgrades
Tim Cook has long said that health will prove Apple’s overall biggest contribution to the world.
The Health app changes coming in iOS 26, powered by AI, could be a major part of that.
Mark Gurman has reported that Apple Intelligence will power several new features in Health, some of which will likely be part of a paid service called Apple Health+.
Some highlights, per Gurman:
- “a new AI agent…would replicate — at least to some extent — a real doctor.”
- “AI coach will use [your health data] to offer tailor-made recommendations about ways to improve health”
- “Food tracking will be a particularly big part of the revamped app.”
- “Apple is also looking to bring in outside doctors, including experts in sleep, nutrition, physical therapy, mental health and cardiology, to create videos.”
Apple’s Health app has been around a long time. But until now, it’s mostly been a data hub. Apple has shied away from actually interpreting your health data and offering helpful suggestions.
But using AI to encourage key lifestyle changes—assuming it works as intended—could have a major impact on millions of users for years to come.
iOS 26 Apple Intelligence features: wrap-up
Less than two weeks out from WWDC, there’s still a lot we don’t know about what’s coming in Apple’s new software versions. Though there have been plenty of iOS 26 leaks, I suspect many more features have still been kept secret so far.
But from what we’ve heard to this point, better battery life, a truly supercharged Siri, and potentially transformative Health changes all seem like top highlights to me. And after iOS 18 offered Apple Intelligence features that were a bit of a mixed bag, the strength of this iOS 26 trio is exciting to see.
Would it surprise you if Apple Intelligence features end up being the highlights of iOS 26? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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