City Stuff
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 has just wrapped up, and it brought a wave of exciting software updates across all Apple platforms. Amid an industry dominated by AI talk—think Google Gemini and OpenAI’s GPT—Apple took a more balanced route. While they didn’t fully center the event on “Apple Intelligence,” they delivered a robust mix of feature-rich updates and thoughtful design changes.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the most important WWDC 2025 announcements and what they mean for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro, and more.
Unified OS Versioning: Welcome to Apple OS 26
To start, Apple has streamlined the versioning of all its platforms. Instead of juggling different numbers across iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, everything is now under one unified version: Apple OS 26. This follows a similar path Samsung took in 2020, aligning version numbers with the year. This change simplifies understanding for both developers and users.
Liquid Glass UI Across the Ecosystem
The standout design update is the “Liquid Glass” aesthetic, a visually striking, glassy, transparent layer that now coats almost every UI element across Apple devices. Dialog boxes, icons, widgets, and even the lock screen clock now appear semi-transparent, mimicking physical glass. While it’s modern and clearly inspired by visionOS, it does raise readability concerns, especially when text appears over mixed backgrounds.
iOS 26: A Visual Overhaul and Smarter Features
1. Refreshed Icons and Clear Widgets
iOS 26 introduces updated app icons and a fully transparent home screen option. Widgets and icons can now be rendered clear, blending into the wallpaper. While this looks clean, it could pose visibility challenges.
2. Redesigned Camera App
For the first time in over a decade, the Camera app gets a redesign. Photo and video modes are now simplified with hidden advanced settings accessible through swipes. Common settings like FPS and resolution are tucked away, assuming most users don’t tweak them often.
3. Upgraded FaceTime and Phone App
FaceTime gets a revamped homepage for quicker contact access. The Phone app consolidates voicemail, missed calls, and contacts in one place. Apple also borrows two key features from Google Pixel:
- Call Screening: Transcribes unknown calls before letting them through.
- Hold Assist: Waits on hold for you and alerts when a human picks up.
4. New iMessage Features
iMessage now supports:
- Native in-chat polls
- Group typing indicators
- Custom chat backgrounds
These are much-needed but not groundbreaking updates, bringing iMessage closer to competing platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
5. Live Translation Across Communication Apps
In a big AI-powered push, Apple adds live translation to Phone, FaceTime, and Messages. With on-device processing, calls are translated in real time—your voice becomes theirs and vice versa. There’s slight lag, but the feature is a game-changer for global communication.
macOS 26 “Tahoe”: Glassy Aesthetic Meets Power Features
The Mac also gets the Liquid Glass UI. While the transparent menu bar looks great and opens up screen real estate, some elements like the Control Center feel a bit “cartoony” for power users.
1. New Spotlight Takes on Raycast
The Spotlight search in macOS 26 receives a major productivity-focused update. It now supports:
- Advanced shortcuts
- In-app command execution
- Animated file and app previews
While not as powerful as third-party tools like Raycast (which allows AI interaction and tabbed searching), Apple’s version closes the gap significantly. Raycast users may feel “sherlocked”—Apple’s unofficial term for building native features that replace popular third-party apps.
2. Live Activities and iPhone Continuity
Live Activities from iOS now sync to the Mac menu bar. For example, tracking a delivery or flight shows up live on your Mac, and clicking it mirrors the iPhone app for more details.
3. Enhanced Phone App
The Phone app brings its Call Screening and Hold Assist features to the desktop for seamless calling experiences.
iPadOS 26: A True Laptop Alternative Emerges
iPadOS 26 is arguably the most impressive update of the day. For years, users complained that iPads had the power of a laptop but were held back by limited software. That just changed.
1. True Multitasking and Windowing
Apps can now float, resize, and snap side-by-side freely, similar to macOS. Each window gets Mac-style stoplight controls to minimize, resize, or close. There’s even a Mac-like menu bar with File, Edit, View, and Help.
2. Improved Cursor and Files App
The iPad’s cursor is now more precise and Mac-like, ditching the old “blob” with aim assist. The Files app gains Finder-style sorting and navigation options.
3. Background Activities and Audio Control
Now, you can export media from Final Cut Pro for iPad while doing other things. Media apps also gain an audio input selector, a long-requested feature.
All of this makes the iPad Pro with M4 chip feel much closer to a full-fledged MacBook replacement, especially for creative professionals and multitaskers.
watchOS 26: Smarter Notifications and Motivation
watchOS 26 gets the glassy UI treatment and two standout features:
- Wrist Flick Gesture: Dismiss notifications or calls with a quick wrist flick.
- Workout Buddy: An AI voice coach that provides personalized encouragement based on your fitness data—like Spotify DJ but for exercise.
Still no group fitness challenges, though—a long-requested feature left unaddressed again.
tvOS 26: Minor Cosmetic Tweaks
Apple TV’s update is largely aesthetic. Icons now shimmer differently, and UI elements are slightly more glassy. There’s more content, but no major functional overhauls.
visionOS 26: Window Persistence and Deeper Widgets
visionOS 26 focuses on customization and memory:
- Widgets can now be placed in 3D space with adjustable size and depth.
- Windows remember their position, even through restarts.
- Personas (your virtual self) are now more lifelike and less ghost-like.
- Support for PSVR2 controllers improves precision in immersive experiences.
- A new Jupiter-themed environment and native 360° video playback also arrive, aimed at content creators and explorers.
Apple’s AI Strategy: Slow, Steady, and Integrated
While AI wasn’t the headline, it was subtly everywhere. Translation features, live suggestions, Spotlight upgrades—these all use on-device Apple Intelligence models.
Apple confirmed developers will gain access to these local models to build new AI tools that work offline and are deeply integrated.
But what about Siri’s AI overhaul?
They acknowledged it’s taking longer than expected and will be revealed in 2026. That’s a long wait, but Apple seems to be prioritizing quality and ecosystem integration over racing competitors like Google and OpenAI.
Final Thoughts: A Quiet Revolution in Apple’s Ecosystem
WWDC 2025 might not have been the AI showcase some expected, but it was packed with meaningful updates across Apple’s software lineup. The unified versioning system, glassy design language, and huge multitasking strides—especially on iPad—are signs that Apple is listening to user feedback more than ever.
