The unveiling at Apple’s WWDC 2025 dictated an ethereal vision for iPhone, iPad, and Mac this fall, all thanks to the unprecedented “Liquid Glass” design language. Prepare for the onset of semi-translucent interfaces that would make streamline productivity an oxymoron. Beyond gorgeous, Apple Intelligence permeates every inch of the new operating systems. New widgets, apps, and an all-around smarter and more intuitive user experience are coming your way. WWDC 2025 wasn’t a window into the future but a dive into it.
Liquid Glass design and new software names
Apple
The visual treat thrown in by Apple is Liquid Glass. Think in terms of shimmering glass interfaces muting across all devices. Widgets shine like polished slabs; notifications glide by like whispers. They call it their broadest design overhaul ever, promising something indeed fluid-that almost moves as one on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, welds their respective ecosystem into one glistening aesthetic. Prepare yourselves for a dynamic ride-the very word “consistent” will gain new meaning!”
Gone are the days of iOS 19! Getting rid of conventions, and Apple is giving a complete overhaul to the interface for the first time. iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, and others are all set to be launched-this marks the switch toward adopting year-based identifiers and finally moving on from random numbers. Thus, this is an entirely new start, and it shall happen soon.
iOS 26
Apple
iOS 26 will soon be here, and though whispers of changes are floating about, together they form a refreshing visual harmony. Clean lines, artfully overlapping elements, and smooth corners all speak of the futuristic design language of visionOS, which is behind Apple’s Vision Pro. App icons feature a barely perceptible new look, while toolbars and text inputs gain a beguiling translucency. But don’t worry-about-familiarity. Your reliable Phone, Messages, and FaceTime remain as instantly recognizable as ever, promising a seamless introduction to this new experience in mobility.
Phone app
Rebirth of the Phone app! The most radical makeover since the iPhone original has landed. Say goodbye to endless tapping; a single, fluid scroll brings the world to you: your favorite contacts, recent calls, and voicemails, all together on one brightly lit screen. A subtly translucent bar hides underneath to keep your extended, muted network and keypad at the ready. Find out what the vigils are all about: “Hold Assist”- Good, Silent waiting. It silently holds your spot in line through the elevator music torture until a human voice takes over. Consider it a cry-worthy sidekick to your sanity in these times.
Apple
Messages
Are your message threads feeling a bit dull and boring? It’s about to get very colorful! In other words, Messages will get a colorful makeover; one can opt to paint entire group chats with custom background colors, or just animate polls. And wait, there’s more – no more occupying spam messages in your inbox. An “Unknown Senders” filter that will toss those unwanted messages away into a secluded corner so your important ones remain in front is coming soon. It’s time you had a say in how message space is assigned!
Out with mere emojis! Apple Intelligence is the next thing in enhancing your text game. Buried deep in the top-notch software is the prowess of Genmoji in Messages. Imagine having in iOS 18 (and definitely not 26) the ability to integrate two existing emojis, giving rise to an entirely new, custom creation. No creative juices flowing? Have ChatGPT whip up a Genmoji that expressesexactlywhat you wanna say. Time for an evolutionary leap of emoting!
Imagine texting your friend in Tokyo with words magically transforming into perfect Japanese as you type. The late translate updates to Messages will harness that power for you! No more awkward copy-paste; your messages will go to the recipient in their language, instantly. Meanwhile, FaceTime captions in real-time are tearing the barriers down. And for the music buffs, Apple Music will provide live translation and pronunciation guides, opening the gates for songs that you never imagined existed. You know the best part? Apple’s giving other developers the power via a Call Translation API to truly bring multilingual conversation to all their favorite apps.
Maps and Wallet
Apple Maps is about to be truly intelligent. Imagine a navigation system road-testing your routine commute to get around a traffic jam, the very moment you think about being caught there. Apple Maps will soon understand your daily routine and silently whisper alternate routes so you can stay ahead of the jam. And in the meantime, never forget that amazing coffee shop you just happened to stumble upon last month. Apple Maps will keep a personal travel record of your “visited places,” from bustling downtowns to a little corner, making rediscovery of such haunts based on whim easier than ever. Explore intelligently.
Beyond just payments, Wallet is now slowly morphing into a secure digital vault. Imagine a world where you just tap to confirm your identity via Digital ID, which is distinct from your driver license or passport. This is slowly becoming a reality, thereby enabling seamless experiences in limited localities. Now, think of a journey of your own: no more scrambling for papers! Updated boarding passes will now be taken care of by the Wallet app with practically no effort, so travel is gravy from here.
Games app
Calling all gamers: time to elevate your iOS gaming experience! Through whispers exchanged at Apple Park comes a tip that iOS 26 will witness the launch of a standalone “Games” app with which all game discovery and play will be transacted. Complete with a curated “Library,” this app will be the perfect cyber-archive, keeping track of every single iOS game you’ve ever downloaded-an entire walk down memory lane with just one tap. Hits and thrills on Apple Arcade? Well, one tap on a dedicated tab is all it takes for instant gratification. Now, the real icing on the cake: “Challenges.” Here, you get to go head to head with your friends for bragging rights, whether it’s a full-on multi-player mayhem or just a solo skirmish cleverly integrated by developers. Mobile gaming will never be the same with iOS 26.
Visual Intelligence
You can imagine it: Your best friend’s style show on Insta, that near-perfect jacket. iOS 26’s Visual Intelligence is not merely a viewer; it is a search engine, so you screenshot the style, and iOS 26 goes onto hunting for similar jackets all over the web and into your apps. Want precision? Highlight that collar or cuff with Visual Intelligence, and your iPhone becomes the most focused visual shopping assistant you can imagine.
watchOS 26
Apple
Get ready to lace your running shoes as it is about to become a perfect workout partner with the arrival of watchOS 26. That Liquid-Glass facade is just the prettiest of details; “Workout Buddy” is the real star of the show.
Imagine your personal audio coach seated at your wrist, deciphering every movement you make in real time. Workout Buddy monitors your fitness history and feeds you insights as you go. “You’re crushing your average pace!” or “Remember that run last week? You’re blowing it out of the water!” A motivational guru cheering you on along the way.
And the other best part? Apple Music is creating killer playlists just for your workout. So long to endless scrolling; it’s perfect to drop in, press play, and get on with your fitness journey. WatchOS 26 is not just an update; it is a revolution on your wrist.
With the release of watchOS 9, the Siri watch face is now exiting the battleground to make an entrance for the Smart Stack. With watchOS 9, the Smart Stack has learned tons of new intelligence to help it predict user needs better than ever before. A favorite example is that as you walk into the gym, the Watch suddenly anticipates your next move, serving up the Workout app to fuel your fitness fire. The Smart Stack operates on the principle of delivering the information you want before you even realize you need it in that infinitesimal moment of time, so that your routine becomes seamless and personal.
macOS Tahoe
Apple
macOS heads to Tahoe. Apple’s next desktop OS continues the Californian tradition, and the ripples will surely strike through your digital world courtesy of its “Liquid Glass” design. Having a windows metaphor into the Mac experience Accompanies another tell: semi-transparent elements and slightly rounded edges. But the biggest splash? Full-on customization. You can now create your own backgrounds; colour your folders in bright colours; decorate them with pics; favourite emoijs, really anything. Tahoe is far from being just an update; it is a new remix of your Mac.
Imagine the fresh way of answering calls on your Mac. macOS Tahoe is birthed to bring out the Phone app and hence pass on the mantle to full-fledged desktop communication. Never mind contacts; they are all here. Voicemails? Just one tap away. And the cherry atop: Tahoe brings to your Mac all the cool features from iOS 26’s redesigned Phone app, including the hold-alter magic of Hold Assist. Ready to have a thrilling experience of connected calling?
Automation just got way smarter than ever before! The addition of Artificial Intelligence is taking shortcuts to the next level and turning this favorite tool into a powerhouse of AI. Picture making your very own custom Shortcuts filched out for ultimate device intelligence.
But about this whole AI revolution, my friend. macOS Tahoe is supercharging Spotlight. Think beyond simple searches; now you can run complicated Shortcuts that take several steps, without ever opening the Shortcuts app. And indeed, very productively, forget about lost snippets! Spotlight also lets you access your full clipboard history.
iPadOS 26
Imagine an iPad that melts into your grasp, with an interface that shimmers fluidly. Such is the promise of the iPadOS 26 “Liquid Glass” redesign, taking cues from iOS 26 with some rather nice updates on both the Phone and Games apps. Butreally… where the magic begins is with a macOS-style menu bar and windowing system that lets your iPad fulfill its potential at last. Multitasking turns from drudgery to dance. Flick a window to resize; snap it with maddening precision; or swipe it away to suddenly expose the home screen beneath it. And Apple claims this windowing is smooth and ergonomic to use with finger, wand, or trackpad, all blurring the lines between tablet and laptop. Prepare to reconsider everything you thought you knew about the iPad.
The Files app on iPad is soon going to receive a great update with some flair of macOS Tahoe. Think bright colors for easy organizing and the ability to select exactly which app to open a file with-an image directly into Photoshop, skipping the default options. The true game-changer? The much-loved and widely used Preview app will be arriving on iPad, offering robust native PDF management along with annotation and editing capabilities in your hands. Will you ever have to struggle with rubbish workarounds again?
With iPadOS 26, your iPad can be turned into a portable podcasting studio, one that is capable of recording crystal-clear “studio-quality” vocals through AirPods. Gone are the days of menus-you could just hold your AirPods, and it would immediately start recording; release it, and it stops. And that is not all! The local capture feature for the first time integrates with video conferencing apps, enabling you to record video feed onto your iPad itself. Imagine remote group podcasts with scintillating audio and video quality in your hands! Time to step into the creator’s arena!
visionOS 26
Apple
Get ready to have your reality redefined with this Vision Pro upgrade. The software update doesn’t really consider an update; instead, it is a portal into a more intuitive and immersive world powered by Apple Intelligence. Envision floating widgets that mount onto your surroundings-a calendar plastering the kitchen wall, a weather forecast sitting by the window. With spatial widgets coming alive by visionOS 26, your physical world suddenly becomes a dynamic dashboard tailored for every whim. From Apple’s offerings to futuristic third-party applications, these widgets bring information and interactivity right to the physical space in which you inhabit, all accessible through a dedicated Widgets visionOS app. Welcome to computing experience that can comprehend and adjoin to your every move!
Spatial Scenes turn your photos into a reality and bring the memories alive with AI. Watch as photographs evolve and become experiences in VR right in front of you. Turning travel destinations into adventures; gorgeous destinations jump off the screen, making planning a vacation so much fun to do!
Now that Vision Pro reached Level 9000, gamers are going crazy with excitement! Imagine wading through visionOS landscapes with a pair of PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers in your hands. What was once a wasteland for controllers has now blossomed into an oasis for gamers, consequently turning Vision Pro from an experimental gadget into a bonafide VR contender. Good thing this isn’t the only update on the docket. Also, imagine scrolling through apps, documents, and everywhere on the Web just with your discharge intent. Eye-scrollers made their way in-so navigation ranks are so cool and easy! Time to breathe some fresh air into this whole new world of Vision Pro!
tvOS 26
Apple
The Apple TV app is drenched with liquid glass paints by tvOS 26, making your screen an actual cinematic canvas. It takes you into the world of shows and movies where the art jumps out of the screens. If music is not your thing, Apple TV+ is further accented with Profiles, wherein each member of the family gets a separate viewing realm done just for him/her. For the mad musicians out there, Apple Music on Apple TV is your karaoke party in the living room now. Grab your iPhone; it`s your microphone!
Recipe for Missing a WWDC Keynote Show? Relive a moment foretelling the future! Our July 9 replay is packed full of the most momentous announcements of WWDC 2025. Get ready for it, get ready for Apple!
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