Apple rolled out major overhauls to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS at WWDC 2025, launching a fresh "Liquid Glass" design across all devices. The redesign adds translucency and a slick, responsive look but holds back on big AI upgrades Wall Street hoped for.
The biggest change: a new naming scheme. The OS versions now match the year they’ll mostly be in use, not the version number. So, iOS 26 replaces what would have been iOS 19, arriving fall 2025 with the next iPhone.
iOS 26 revamps lock and home screens with customizable views, and notifications now adapt around your lock screen photo. Safari gets edge-to-edge content with a shrinking address bar on scroll. A redesigned Camera app streamlines quick access to video and photo modes. CarPlay gains new widgets for weather and info on your car’s home screen. 
The new Phone app shows recent calls and voicemails on a single screen. It adds call screening that asks unknown callers their name and reason, letting you ignore unwanted calls. It can even detect hold music and alert you when the other side picks up.
Messages gets backgrounds and in-chat polls, with Apple Intelligence suggesting polls automatically in group chats. Live translation hits Phone, Messages, and FaceTime, with voice mimicry in the translated language.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, presented the updates at WWDC.
Apple calls its new design Liquid Glass and says it will include a translucent look that makes the software feel more responsive across the company’s hardware lines.
iPadOS 26 gets major multitasking boosts: resizable app windows and a disappearing menu bar for quick file access. Background tasks run longer, so an export in one app won’t pause when switching to another. Apple races to make the iPad a true laptop alternative.
macOS Tahoe mirrors the glassy look with updated tabs and windows, a better Spotlight Search, and the new Games app hub.
Apple Watch adds an Apple Intelligence workout buddy that delivers motivational shoutouts. Flick your wrist to silence calls and alarms.
Visual Intelligence debuts, letting users search screenshots for related web content or suggest calendar events, like from a concert poster image.
Despite some AI touches, Apple’s showing at WWDC seems cautious. Critics say it trails Microsoft and Google in AI speed and scale. Big AI moves might arrive at the iPhone launch this fall.
The full update drops alongside next-gen hardware in fall 2025.
Apple’s iOS 26 gets Liquid Glass’s new customizable views for the lock screen and home screen. Apple also says notifications will now adjust to your lock screen photo so that they don’t block the subject of your image.
CarPlay features new widgets that allow you to get quick information like the weather outlook on your car’s home screen. The new Phone app displays will now show things like recent calls and voicemail summaries on the same screen. A new call screening feature will ask unknown callers their name and explain why they’re calling and then send you an alert, allowing you to decide if you want to answer or not.
Phone, Messages, and FaceTime also get live translation via Apple Intelligence, including the ability to translate what a speaker is saying and then mimic their voice in the translated language.
