A new look, a unified approach to naming, and more AI via Apple Intelligence is coming to all Apple operating systems.
It’s officially the middle of the year, and if you’re a regular reader of Pickr, you probably know what that means: a big event from Apple to talk up what’s coming.
WWDC, also known as the Worldwide Developers Conference, is normally the time when you can expect a preview of features and capabilities for Apple gear, usually in connection to new software that developers can take advantage of, and sometimes new hardware, as well.
This year, WWDC 25 has skipped out on the hardware releases, but focused on the software, with a big change to names and the look of its operating systems, unifying both, all while adding a little more AI to things.
More Apple Intelligence
Yes, Apple Intelligence is being expanded, as Apple looks to improve its focus on AI in a world where pretty much every technology company races to work out how to use AI well. Some of us are even using AI for good.
While it remains to be seen whether Apple’s AI additions will be good, they will stretch across all of the operating systems and experiences Apple makes.
For instance, if you need to translate a language in a phone call — like if you’re booking something overseas — on-device models will be able to make work of languages you don’t speak and translate them into a language you do.
The automatic translation means you won’t need to load up Google Translate to do its thing, and it will also work in messages, too. That might even help you learn another language, especially if someone in your circle decides to speak in Spanish or Swedish one week just to be different.
There will be more ChatGPT usage for the iPhone following on from Apple’s introduction of AI, and that will include some “Visual Intelligence” as iOS aims to recognise what’s on screen and make a search using a screenshot, doing much the same for when looking at events and automatically adding information to a calendar.
On the Apple Fitness side of things, if you have an Apple Watch you’ll now get a “Workout Buddy” that can use your current workout and fitness history to deliver insights in a spoken way. Essentially, you’ll get an AI trainer that focuses on the energy and tone you need for your own workouts, rather than relying on the tone of the one in the video program you might be working out to.
Developers will also be able to take advantage of AI, with models available to makers of apps, meaning you can probably expect a little bit of AI in more apps you use.
First look with the “Liquid Glass” look on the way
AI isn’t the only thing that will stretch across everything.
A new look and visual interface will be a part of that message, as Apple shows off “Liquid Glass”, an approach to design inspired by the Vision Pro headset. It’s a little transparent, but also a lot translucent, as Apple makes glass its new style of interface design.
It’ll be seen across iPhone and iPad and Mac and even Apple TV, and each device will interpret the material of glass in much the same way: glass icon bars and minimal looks to the interface.
On macOS, that means a dock that shows more of the screen behind it, and widgets and icons that do, too. It’s a similar picture on iOS and iPadOS, while tvOS will clear things up a little, as well.
The approach reminds this journalist of what Nothing has been trying to do in its phones, but from a different era. While Nothing’s glass-look is more inspired by the art deco era of ribbed glass, Apple’s is more like a window to today: it’s clear like a window at home, and does away with any unnecessary interface bulk.
Take Safari, which tries to show as much of the screen as possible, hiding away any bits you don’t need. The same is true with photos, which shows a little bit less from the menu bars, turning everything into a compact glass layer that sits atop it all.
You get the feeling that this will be the style other phones will likely try to emulate later on, though it’s entirely possible Google’s flat Material Design will stick around as a clear point of difference.
The year 2026 is the naming convention for all Apple operating systems this year
And across every operating system, Apple is unifying its operating system names. Instead of a bunch of different numbers, there will be just one for the next year, from now through to this time next year. Not iOS 19, but iOS 26, and the same goes for watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, iPadOS, and macOS, as well.
Each operating system will be easier to work out — it’s the next year on the back of the operating system name, kind of like how Samsung names its yearly phone ranges, but with a year’s difference (this year’s range for Samsung was the Galaxy S25 released in 2025).
That should make it easier to point out which operating system you need to be on: just look to biggest number across all. It should also explain to any tech support team potentially how out of date your phone or laptop might be just by glancing as the operating system version number.
When will the new operating systems come out?
With WWDC kicking off, developers (like this journalist) can get their hands on the early builds right away, while everyone else will have to wait until they’re either in beta or final.
For those who like to live dangerously, beta programs for each of the devices will go live in July, while a final release is expected later this year, likely alongside the next iPhone models in the iPhone 17. Apple normally announces those in September, so that’s how long you likely have to wait.
