Apple launch LIVE: The big free upgrades coming to your iPhone, iPad and Mac

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Thanks to the comment from Jaybee, Grays, who said, "I wish Apple would give you the choice of turning off AI".

If I understand correctly, you are actually able to turn off Apple Intelligence specifically on compatible Apple devices. I have it switched off right now on my iPhone 16.

Head to the Settings app to toggle it on or off.

Though of course, some other features in iOS and other Apple software could be considered AI even if they aren't labelled thus. I guess you can't turn it all off.

Apple says it has also improved the look of your Persona, the 3D render of you that can be used in apps such as FaceTime to have calls with other Vision Pro users.

Futuristic or dystopian? Maybe both?

It's time for visionOS, the software for Apple's £3,499 headset, the Vision Pro.

Apple Intelligence and other features are getting the nod.

Widgets have been updated as part of the Vision Pro's UI. You can place widgets anywhere in the view of your set up. So you can put the Weather widget on the windowsill. The Photos app on the mantle. Lovely.

This all looks cool, even though some of these updates won't be noticed by millions of Apple device owners when they get them.

We mustn't forget there's quite a lot of pressure on Apple here today. Expecations are high for the firm to deliver all these features when they say they will after last year, where Apple demoed a lot of Apple Intelligence features that have still not shipped.

That's not to say Apple is playing it safe today, but this feels more like WWDCs of old, with incremental updates to existing apps and tools, rather than a new frontier update like Apple Intelligence was presented as last year.

I wish I used the Shortcuts app more, but it's a little over my head.

The app is on all Apple products and is there for you to automate processes. A simple one could be to turn off your smart home lights when you leave the house.

On Mac, you can do more advanced things such as run AI models, transcribe your notes automatically, or compare your notes to other files.

I'll have to delve back in later this year.

macOS 26 is a-coming later this year, and it's called macOS Tahoe.

As you might have gathered by now, the Mac is getting a Liquid Glass look, in line with all of Apple's other devices.

Hold up, small note, but you will be able to change folder colours. Unexpected!

Or even add emojis to folders. A bit of customisation is very welcome for the Mac. It also looks like you'll be able to theme the OS more flexibly, too, like you can on the iPhone and iPad

The Apple TV might quietly be my favourite Apple product. It's a genuinely excellent TV streamer, and it doesn't need many updates. Which is why being told the design has changed here doesn't ring true. It looks the same!

There's also a trailer for new Apple TV+ series, including Foundations, Slow Horses, Loot, and The Morning Show, which is my guilty pleasure watch.

A good additon is Profiles, which will now appear Netflix-style when you turn it on, if you want.

The Apple Music app will also be updated for singalong karaoke abilities, where you can use your iPhone as a mic. Pretty cool to be fair, but that won't stop me going to Rowan's in Finsbury Park.

iOS 26 is coming later this year but some iPhones won't be compatible. "New software features will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 11 and later." That means devices such as the iPhone XS will miss out.

The Apple Watch is a handy gadget and I do like wearing one, but what I really want Apple to say is the new iOS is doubling the battery life. Though that would only make it two days.

Whenever Apple nails better battery tech for the watch, I'll be there. For some reason I don't mind charging my phone every night, but it's far more annoying that my watch can run out of battery every 24 hours.

If you have an Apple Watch, here is the lowdown for watchOS 26.

It will get Liquid Glass design to glass it up in the looks department.

A new feature is here called Workout Buddy. Apple says it can give you insights "in real time" during your workout, and creates a live voice using AI that you can beam into your ears if you have your AirPods in (other earbuds are also available, etc.).

The updates here sound a lot like the audio training you get in apps like Nike Run Club. That app is heavily integrated into iPhones, and Apple has a tight partnership with Nike.

Wonder how Nike feels about this little update...

This is all coming to the Workout app.

Here's a demo that is definitely using AI.

Visual Intelligence is part of Apple Intelligence, and in a demo, we see you're able to screenshot and either select an image or object and web search it, or scan a poster or social media post and and the information to your calendar.

You can also ask questions. This is Apple's version of Google's Circle to Search for Android phones.

Apple says "half a billion people play games on their iPhone". It does not say how many people are signed up to paid service Apple Arcade.

In a change, Apple is introducing a new Gaming app, which includes an Apple Arcade tab and lets you do all things video games on iOS 26.

Answers on a postcard. Seems mad. But scores of car owners are supporting it in iOS 26.

US iPhone users will also get the chance to put their IDs in the Wallet app, if allowed in their state. Might be a while before that becomes a thing in Britain.

As predicted, the pace on this presentation is unforgiving. I am the cat typing GIF right now.

Apple Music and Apple Maps are getting new perks, such as album pinning and lyrics translation to the former, and time sensitive alerts for predicted routes if there is traffic for the latter.

Playing keep up perhaps, but handy nonetheless, Apple is introducing Live Translation that will work "entirely on-device", a boon for privacy and security.

Languages can be delivered in different languages after you type them in your own, and incoming messages can be translated similarly.

On phone calls and FaceTime, Apple showed a demo that translates your voice live for the recipient, and vice versa.

I hope this is coming to the UK. It's currently available on Samsung phones with Galaxy AI, and has been since 2024.

Speaking of features you could get somewhere else already, the Messages app is getting a polls function, just like we've had on WhatsApp for years.

You'll also be able to silence messages from unknown senders, in an optional setting, or add custom backgrounds to individual chats.

Remember, these features are coming to compatible iPhones later in the year.

Apple is updating the layout of the iPhone's phone app because, hey, it's a telephone too, remember!

I've always thought the Phone app has been a little left behind, so making it more intuitive is good news.

Call Screening tech will now answer calls for unknown numbers for you. The caller can start talking while the text appears on your screen to see if it's worth to pick up or if it is the spam call you expect.

Another new feature, Hold Assist, will keep you on hold with a service and call you back when the person is ready to talk to you.

This is great - and features you could get on a Google Pixel for years (just saying).

If you are a fan of Apple CarPlay, the in-car heads up display tech that connects to your iPhone, Apple is adding Live Activities widgets and other visual updates to improve the software.

My Toyota Aygo could never...

Here are some of the customisation options you will be able to dive into in iOS 26.

Looks pretty similar to the current iOS to me, but those icons are certainly more glassy.

Big one! iOS 18 will not update to iOS 19.

Apple is now setting the iOS version numbers to line up with the year - though the version coming later this year, presumably with the next generation of iPhones, will be called iOS 26, not 25.

Looks as though Apple is setting up the version numbers to correspond to the year they will be in use the longest. iOS 26 will be available later, likely in September, but won't become iOS 27 until the following September.

All the other product software will also get the 26 moniker.

Dye is now talking through the design changes Apple is making to iOS, iPadOS and macOS.

Where some design elements of older iOS versions were designed for rectangular screens, Apple is now rounding everything off - the firm no longer sells iPhones with rectangular screens, all are rounded.

The 'glass' element of Liquid Glass means a lot of icons and elements in iOS will be opaque.

Here we go - Federighi is setting up the rumoured change coming to Apple's software design.

"The stage is set for something new," he says.

Here comes Alan Dye, Apple's VP of Human Interface, to explain.

He directly references iOS 7 and its design.

"We have the opportunity to lay the foundation for the next chapter of our software."

The new iOS will have a "unified design language" across products.

Federighi is up now, recapping what Apple announced last year around its AI services under the Apple Intelligence name.

"This work needed more time to reach our high quality bar", Federighi says, adding Apple will have updates later in the year.

He says during the presentation we'll see Apple Intelligence features being used.

And we're off! In true Apple style, we have a flashy pre-recorded event coming up. Tim Cook features in the pre-show video, with Apple SVP of software and engineering Craig Federighi driving an F1 car.

Cook is now hyping the F1 movie, about to come out. It is, of course, an Apple-financed film for its TV+ service.

Tim Cook has just come on stage to welcome everyone and says big news is coming today.

Apple rarely opens its doors to Apple Park but WWDC is a time when developers and media are allowed inside the Cupertino HQ.

Along with news about AI and Apple Intelligence, rumours point towards a relatively big change to iOS, the software that runs on iPhones.

Reports have suggested Apple is set to overhaul the look and feel of iOS in a design it could call 'Liquid Glass' according to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg.

This change to how app icons, menus and software elements look on your iPhone is said to be similar to the look of the software on Apple's virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro.

If the rumours are true, it could be as big a change as when iOS 7 launched in 2013, replacing the original skeuomophic design of the early iPhones.

iOS 7 created the flat icon look that is still seen on iPhones today in place of the first generation software design that copied the look of physical items. Who remembers the Notes app looking like a yellow legal pad?

Over the next two hours we are likely to see new iPhone, iPad, MacBook and Apple Watch software updates. Many are predicting a major revamp this year with Apple calling its new operating systems iOS 26, macOS 26, iPadOS 26 and watchOS 26.

The main event kicks off at 6pm and is expected to last around two hours. We'll keep updating out live blog throughout the event so watch this space.

Reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has had his say over on X, predicting what Apple is about to announce.

He reckon AI strategy and Apple Intelligence will be the focus, though he claims, "No major breakthroughs in Apple's AI technology are expected."

We will have to see if Apple addresses the criticism it has received after many Apple Intelligence features shown off this time last year at WWDC have failed to ship to consumers.

We've just taken our seat at Apple Park. There are still 20 minutes to go and it's already packed with developers, media and analysts.

We are live in California and have our badge in hand for access to the Apple Park HQ in Cupertino. The show starts at 6pm and we'll bring you all the latest news, views and updates.