Talk about jumping major leaps and bounds. At the annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC 2025) on June 9, Apple unveiled new Apple Intelligence (AI) and other design heavy features coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods.
New iOS
Apple is renaming its iPhone software system going forward as part of a platform-wide update. From now on, the updates will be named after the year they are launched in and not in serial order. This means that the next iOS update will go from iOS 18 to iOS 26.
However, this begs the question as to why the update is a year ahead when it will be launched this year. The new operating system will not be released to the public till September 2025 alongside the launch of the next iPhone, which means iPhone users will use the latest version in 2026, mostly.
The new iPadOS 26 makes multitasking easier with windowing capabilities allowing the resizing of app windows, easy placement on display and the opening of more windows at once. It will also add a more precise mouse pointer and a new menu bar, which looks a lot like the Mac interface. iPadOS 26 is also getting a version of the Mac’s preview app.
Design updates
The company also launched a new sleek design refresh, as well as new features for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods and more.
Known as the Liquid Glass theme, the new design across all its devices, will add more transparency to buttons, switches, sliders, text and media controls throughout the interfaces. Notification previews on iOS 26’s lockscreen, including date and time, will also adopt the new look, allowing users to get a clear view of the wallpaper behind all the text.
With Liquid Glass, the San Francisco typeface has been uniquely crafted to dynamically scale the weight, width and height of each numeral in order to nestle into the scene.
Revamps are also coming to a few of the core apps in the new iOS. Safari will make use of the entire screen, the camera app will show users two options, photo and video, and a new tool bar that will contain other modes like the slow-mo or cinematic.
The phone app will have a layout that combines favourites, recents and voicemails into one panel, while calls, contacts and keypad will remain at the bottom.
Messages will let users change their background of chats and create polls in group conversations. Messages from unknown senders will appear in a separate folder, making it easier to screen spam.
New Games app
The new Games app will let users access all of Apple Arcade games and discover new ones from a single spot. The library tab will allow the viewing of downloaded games from the App Store, with a Play Together option for friends.
New AI
New AI features that elevate the user experience across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro.
“Last year, we took the first steps to bring users intelligence that’s helpful, relevant, easy to use and where users need it, all while protecting their privacy. The models that power Apple Intelligence are becoming more capable and efficient, and we’re integrating features in more places across each of our operating systems,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice-president of software engineering. “We’re also taking the huge step of giving developers direct access to the on-device foundation model powering Apple Intelligence, allowing them to tap into intelligence that is powerful, fast, built with privacy and available even when users are offline. We think this will ignite a whole new wave of intelligent experiences in the apps users rely on every day. We can’t wait to see what developers create.”
AI unlocks new ways for users to communicate with features like live translation, do more with what’s on their screen with updates to visual intelligence and express themselves with enhancements to Image Playground and Genmoji.
Shortcuts can now tap into AI directly and developers will be able to access the on-device large language model even when users are offline. These features are already available for testing and will be available to users with supported devices set to a supported language this autumn. AI features will be coming to Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional) and Vietnamese languages.
watchOS 26
Apple has skipped a few version numbers since last year’s watchOS 11 and watchOS 26, the latest version of its Apple Watch operating system.
It’s been updated with Liquid Glass, Apple’s new transparent design language, a new wrist flick gesture to dismiss notifications and an AI-powered “Workout Buddy” that gives users pep talks as they exercise. The new transparent aesthetic will apply to widgets, notifications, the Control Center, in-app controls and more. It’s also coming to the Photos watch face, which will display transparent numerals that won’t block the photos’ view.
AirPods
AirPods will offer new camera controls and let users take a photo with their iPhone or iPad by tapping the stem of their AirPods. Another new feature will let users record “studio-quality” vocals in noisy areas with voice isolation.
macOS 26
The macOS Tahoe software update delivers better ways of searching for and organising files. The shortcuts app will get a boost and taps into AI for creating routines, while spotlight will become more context aware of the apps being used.
The developer betas are available, with the public beta coming in July. The full releases will come in the autumn.
