Apple WWDC 2025: Everything Announced

The Biggest WWDC in Years? I'm not sure.

Apple just wrapped up its 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference, and it delivered one of the most controversial presentations we've seen in a long time. The new 'liquid glass' design has tons of flaws and definitely needs improvement before it goes live72

Here’s a breakdown of the most important announcements and what they mean for users, designers, and developers.

What happened to the naming?

Apple decided to change their software numbering to match the year in which that software takes place. With this they decided to unify all their softwares under the same naming scheme, so the current line-up looks like this:

Liquid Glass: Apple’s Biggest Design Shift in a Decade

Perhaps the most noticeable change across iOS 26, macOS, iPadOS, and even watchOS and tvOS is the introduction of Liquid Glass, a new translucent design language that reimagines how apps and elements look and feel on screen.

Buttons, icons, and windows now appear in sleek, glassy bubbles that subtly reveal background content. The effect brings a sense of depth and motion across Apple’s interface ecosystem. Widgets, lock screens, and home screens have also been redesigned to embrace this new style.

While Liquid Glass offers personalization options and animations, concerns have emerged around accessibility and whether visual clarity might suffer in some cases.

What's new on iOS 26

Call Screening and Hold Assist

You can now have iOS screen calls using a synthetic voice to ask callers why they're reaching out. You'll get a transcript before choosing to answer. Hold Assist waits on the line for you when you're put on hold.

Live Translation Everywhere

Live translation is now built directly into Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app. Whether texting or calling, users can translate languages in near real-time, all processed on-device.

Group Chats with Polls and Apple Cash

Group chats are more interactive with native polling and the ability to send and receive money with Apple Cash.

Apple Intelligence: Visual Search and More

Apple continues to push its on-device AI efforts. Visual Intelligence lets you screenshot something and ask contextual questions—much like Google Lens.

Apple Music also adds real-time lyric translation and pronunciation, which could be huge for international music fans.

iPadOS 26: The best year for iPad

The iPad has finally embraced full windowed multitasking. Apps can be resized, tiled, and freely positioned. A new menu bar and Exposé view make it feel more like macOS than ever before.

The Preview app arrives on iPad for editing PDFs and images, and users now have access to much more desktop-style control.

macOS Tahoe: More Context, More Sync

macOS Tahoe is the first Apple desktop OS to debut under the new naming system. With Liquid Glass visuals and Live Activities in the menu bar, it's all about being connected and aware.

Spotlight now offers smarter contextual results, and macOS expands its AI-driven features for managing tasks, notifications, and real-time updates.

Note: This is likely the final version of macOS for Intel Macs. Apple confirmed that future OS updates will be exclusive to Apple Silicon machines.

watchOS 26: More Useful Than Ever

The Apple Watch now supports real-time translation, smarter Smart Stack widgets, and a voice assistant Workout Buddy to coach you through your runs via AirPods.

Gesture control gets a boost with a new wrist flick feature, and of course, Liquid Glass comes to the small screen.

tvOS: Sleek and Subtle Enhancements

Apple TV benefits from the new Liquid Glass interface, introducing semi-transparent menus that don’t block as much content.

There are also new Apple TV+ announcements, including a Formula 1 movie, a Matthew McConaughey survival drama, and more original shows.

VisionOS: Making Headsets More Social

Widgets

New spatial widgets can be anchored in real-world space and persist as you move around. Two users can now share a virtual view for watching movies or presentations together.

New Personas

Avatars and interactions have improved, though the bulkiness of the device still limits comfort and practicality.

Final Thoughts: just a design update

WWDC 2025 was mostly centered on a new design that follows X latests trends on glassmorphisim. But beyond the translucent UI and some helpful but incremental updates, it lacked the groundbreaking features or bold innovation we’ve come to expect from Apple. Here’s hoping future updates dig deeper than the surface.