Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 arrived at a delicate time for Apple, following a series of challenges like over-promised and under-delivered AI features.
iOS 18 was noted as one of the "buggiest Apple software" experiences ever, Vision Pro’s rocky rollout, mounting developer frustration, the absence of next-gen Siri, and a few lawsuits here and there.
Apple arrived at WWDC with much to prove.
This year, Apple introduced their newly designed UI and addressed a few long-standing user demands.
Across the platform, iPadOS delivered a “mic drop” moment, iOS brought a unified Phone app with Call Screening and Hold Assist, and macOS transformed Spotlight into a productivity enthusiast.
The question remains: Will this software update be the software that saved Apple, or just a shiny coat of glass paint? Only time will tell.
What is clear, though, is that Apple remains as theatrically self-aware as ever.
The keynote opened not with an iOS demo, but with a trailer for its upcoming Apple Original film F1—a reminder that, when it comes to narrative control, nobody does it quite like Apple.
Unified aesthetic
Apple simplified its software strategy this year by unveiling new operating systems to power all devices from September onwards.
Departing from traditional numbering, Apple unified its software under a new numerical scheme, with iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS now referred to as “26” to align with the year of usage.
The central theme of this year's WWDC announcement is Apple's striking visual overhaul. Apple has given it a characteristically fancy name: “Liquid Glass.”
This new design changes how user interfaces (UI) look on all Apple devices.
It introduces a translucent, glass-like style with depth, lighting, and fluid motion. With subtle 3D effects and light refractions, it mimics the way real glass bends and reflects light, creating a dynamic, immersive experience that unifies software and hardware with stunning cohesion.
To me, this feels like Apple is anchoring its design philosophy around Vision Pro—moving devices toward a shared visual identity grounded in spatial computing.
It is also reminiscent of a pivotal era in Apple’s history: when Steve Jobs returned and, alongside industrial designer Jony Ive, unveiled the translucent iMac G3 in 1998 and the G4 Cube and its family of beautifully designed peripherals in 2000.
Apple seems to be blending past inspiration with futuristic ambition.
iPadOS 26: The ‘mic drop’ moment
For years, I have sought to make my iPad a viable on-the-go MacBook Air replacement. This year, however, Apple has finally listened to users like me.
iPadOS 26 fundamentally transforms the iPad into a true Mac replacement, deeply borrowing from macOS to deliver unprecedented laptop-level utility.
The most significant change is enhanced multitasking. Mac-like window management now complements Stage Manager.
While apps still open in full screen by default, but can be instantly resized into freely movable, resizable floating windows via a new pull tab on the bottom right.
These windows can be snapped, adjusted, and reopened in their last-used state, just like they would on a Mac.
The iconic Mac-style traffic light buttons for window control are introduced, and the circular cursor is replaced with a more precise, Mac-like arrow.
New trackpad gestures, such as pulling up and pausing to access App Exposé (all open apps) or pushing through to the desktop to open new applications, have been added to enhance navigation.
A groundbreaking addition is the actual menu bar. Swiping down or bringing the mouse up in supported apps reveals a Mac-style menu bar with options like File, Edit, Insert, Format, and so on.
This makes a world of difference, as you no longer have to dig through app menus to find what you're looking for.
Then the Files app gets some big upgrades, too.
While not yet as powerful as Finder, it now allows adding emojis and changing folder colours for better organization, a feature also present in macOS 26. Folders can now be placed in the dock and expanded to show recent files, similar to macOS.
The Preview App has been brought over from the Mac, and I think it's even more powerful than Preview on the Mac.
Beyond its core PDF viewing, signing, and format conversion capabilities, the iPad version integrates Apple Pencil for signing and scanning documents directly within the app.
A major fix is the Background Tasks feature, allowing resource-heavy processes like video exports, file downloads, or file transfers to continue in the background even if the app is closed, which was a significant limitation previously.
iPadOS also enhances the audio and video capabilities, allowing the selection of different microphones for different applications, and has built-in denoising and background removal features.
It enables local capture of audio and video during screen recordings or calls, addressing a long-standing issue of missing audio in screen recordings (e.g., FaceTime calls).
AirPods now capture voice with enhanced clarity and texture. You can also save full-quality video directly to the device, making it a plausible method for recording interviews.
The great news is that these significant updates are coming to all supported iPads, including the iPad mini.
macOS 26 “Tahoe”: Subtle but smart
This is the biggest macOS update in years. And the first thing to understand about macOS Tahoe is that its redesign goes far more than skin deep.
One of the biggest improvements is Spotlight Search, which finally feels useful again.
It is now organized into clear categories—apps, files, clipboard, actions—and brings back relevance to a feature that had grown stale.
The new clipboard section is especially handy: it lets you search for things you copied earlier and paste them directly into notes, messages, or emails.
It is not perfect with images from the web, but it works well with files copied from the Photos app.
Spotlight also introduces Quick Keys, which lets you build custom commands—like opening a new note with a pre-filled title or triggering music recognition with a simple keyword.
Combined with new screen-sharing features, you can even launch iPhone apps from your Mac using Spotlight.
Customization is another big focus. You can now change app icons and folders, choose from a wide range of preset visuals and emojis, and even set custom folder colours.
These features make your Mac feel more personal. New folder animations add a fun touch, and system controls like brightness and volume now appear neatly near the Control Centre.
The Messages app also gets some overdue upgrades.
Apple also quietly retired a few legacy features. App Exposé, for example, is no longer accessible via the four-finger gesture—it now just opens Spotlight’s app window. It’s not a dealbreaker, but for longtime users, it’s one of those small, nostalgic losses that might sting.
Overall, macOS Tahoe doesn’t reinvent the Mac but makes it more organized, personal, and better tuned to how people use their computers today.
iOS 26: Focused, familiar and smarter
Apple’s latest iOS 26 update introduces a series of thoughtful enhancements that promise to elevate your daily experience, bit by bit.
After a lengthy twelve-year journey since the iOS 7 era, Apple has finally unveiled a fresh design that dazzles the senses and redefines usability.
While much attention has gone to the new Liquid Glass look, there is much more happening under the skin.
For example, the Camera app got a major overhaul with a much simpler look. You essentially get basic “photo” and “video” buttons, which is great for quick snaps.
If you want more advanced stuff like different modes or changing FPS and resolution, you have to use specific gestures to dig them out, which is a bit of a learning curve, but it keeps the main interface clean.
The Phone and FaceTime apps also got some smart upgrades. The Phone app is now much more unified, putting favourites, recent calls, and voicemails all in one easy spot.
But the standout is Call Screening—your iPhone will answer unknown numbers for you, transcribe what is being said, and only ring if it sounds legit. I am particularly impressed with the Hold Assist feature.
Your iPhone will now wait on hold for you and ring back when a real person picks up. FaceTime also has a new landing page, making it quicker to get to your contacts.
When it comes to Messages, they have added some fun touches. Custom backgrounds bring personality to chats, group polls make coordination easier, and typing indicators now show who's responding in real-time—no more guessing.
It is not revolutionary, but it adds polish and personality where Messages used to feel rigid. But what stands out to me is Live Translation.
Integrated across Messages, FaceTime, and even phone calls, it works offline and on-device, translating conversations in real-time. It even translates lyrics into Apple Music, which is a neat bonus.
Another cool feature is Visual Intelligence. It's kind of like Android's “Circle to Search,” letting you search within whatever is on your screen, not just what your camera sees.
Beyond that, there are a few other handy little updates, like being able to select just part of a message bubble, customising snooze times for alarms, and getting hints to clean your camera lens.
visionOS 26: A leap forward
VisionOS 26 quietly raises the bar for how the Vision Pro fits into everyday life. It adds smarter widgets, clearer avatars, and new environments.
Widgets can now be placed anywhere and stay there even after a restart.
This makes the virtual space feel more personal, immersive and predictable.
Photos also get a boost, with new tech that turns 2D images into depth-rich 3D-like scenes, which makes browsing inside Safari or flipping through photo memories feel more tactile and alive.
“Personas”, Apple’s term for your virtual self, now look much more realistic, finally shedding the slightly uncanny “cartoony” look from earlier versions.
There is also better hardware support, including a Logitech pen for 3D drawing and compatibility with Sony’s PSVR2 Sense controllers, which open up more ways to interact with content.
The update includes 360° video playback for cameras like GoPro, Insta360, and Canon, and a new "Jupiter" environment for immersive viewing.
Interestingly, the update also hints at a shift in who Vision Pro is for. Apple seems to be leaning a bit more into enterprise and professional users.
The experience now supports more structured workflows, collaborative tools, and creative uses— perhaps a sign that the headset’s most enthusiastic adopters are professionals, not casual users.
When I wrote about Vision Pro last year, I said it represented Apple’s vision for the future.
With updates like this, I still believe AR and VR will eventually become part of our daily lives. It’s not quite Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” yet—but slowly, we’re heading in that direction.
watchOS 26: workout buddy
Honestly, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Apple has sprinkled in some of that Liquid Glass UI, which means the touch areas feel a bit bigger and there is a subtle shimmer.
The one thing that genuinely caught my eye was this new wrist flick gesture—super handy for quickly dismissing notifications or calls without even touching the screen.
But then there is the Workout Buddy, a high-energy voice cheering you on and giving you stats during your workouts.
I found it a little strange, and not entirely sure who is going to use it.
tvOS 26: Quiet Entertainment
Of all the updates, I found tvOS 26 to be the most low-key. However, the new karaoke feature is a pleasant surprise.
It cleverly uses your iPhone as a microphone while the lyrics scroll across the TV screen. It’s genuinely fun and well-executed and represents Apple’s strategic move to dominate and potentially disrupt the karaoke market.
Bigger picture
Apple is focusing on a big plan for its future. They are trying to create a universal operating system that works the same across all their products.
This means, in the future, it won't matter which Apple device you use, as long as you are in their system.
Ultimately, Apple is betting on AR/VR. Now, gestures and interactions are similar across devices.
For example, on the iPad, you can use multiple windows and control settings like on a Mac.
Vision OS and Apple Watch have similar gestures, too. So, if you learn how to use one Apple product now, you won't have to relearn a brand-new one later.
They are trying to make the software experience the same across all products.
Last year, it was all about Apple Intelligence and Siri. But this year, Siri was barely even mentioned. Apple admitted its promised AI isn't ready and needs time to meet Apple standards.
Meanwhile, Google builds one of the largest intelligence systems on the planet. I think Apple lags for several reasons.
First, they strongly oppose data scraping, which is good. Second, they prioritize privacy and on-device AI models, also beneficial long term.
Third, and most importantly, they didn't dedicate enough resources to AI early on, and now they are just behind their competitors.
They are partnered with OpenAI to provide AI support, but it gives Apple less control over the overall experience, unusual for a company that typically controls everything.
However, the big bet that they are making is on localized AI.
While Gemini, ChatGPT, and other models run in the cloud, Apple is pushing for AI that runs on-device for two reasons: it should use less energy and be more secure and private.
I think that we are moving towards a world of agentic AI—AI that takes actions on your behalf, not just giving you answers via a chatbot.
Soon, we could be in a world where an AI agent/ personal AI assistant will do everything for you, then the most important factor wouldn’t be which model is the smartest, but which you trust most and has the most access to your device.
You will probably want the one that is locked and encrypted to your device.
I think that Steve Jobs was right to bet on a personal assistant, and I genuinely believe AI will play a crucial part in our daily lives, even more than now, and Apple has a unique opportunity with the best hardware and software integration.
WWDC proved that Apple can still design class-leading software, but now they need to prove that localized AI is the winning strategy, and they have it.
If Apple nails the final rollout, WWDC 2025 might be remembered as the year the company found its stride again.
The writer is a contributor and a tech enthusiast
