WWDC 2025: A New Era of Design, AI & Spatial Computing
🔍 1. Design Revolution: “Liquid Glass”
Liquid Glass is Apple’s boldest visual overhaul since iOS 7. This unified design language spans iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS, featuring glass-like transparency, dynamic depth, and smooth “liquid-y” motion techcrunch.com+9forums.macrumors.com+9navbharattimes.indiatimes.com+9techcrunch.com+9theverge.com+9en.wikipedia.org+9.
Expect translucent elements in icons, buttons, modals, tab bars, and lock screens—trading flatness for refractive depth .
📱 2. iOS 26: The iPhone’s Biggest Update in Years
Renamed from the traditional version numbers, iOS now matches the calendar year: welcome to iOS 26 gq.com+2theverge.com+2tomsguide.com+2.
Core changes include:
Overhauled Camera, Phone, Safari, and FaceTime with fresh layouts fr.wikipedia.org+14theverge.com+14tomsguide.com+14.
Live Translation during Voice Calls, FaceTime, and Messages via on‑device AI apple.com+5theverge.com+5gq.com+5.
Messages with polls, custom backgrounds, split bills via Apple Cash, typing indicators for group chats gq.com+2theverge.com+2en.wikipedia.org+2.
Visual Intelligence: AI-powered screenshot intelligence for actions like event creation or product search theverge.com+1gq.com+1.
Apple Music adds lyric translation and AutoMix DJ mode; Maps gains smarter favorites and delay alerts; Wallet expands digital ID and boarding pass functionality los40.com+5theverge.com+5en.wikipedia.org+5.
The Photos app reforms with tab navigation and spatial photo support forums.macrumors.com+10en.wikipedia.org+10apple.com+10.
A unified Games app consolidates titles and social gaming features techcrunch.com+8theverge.com+8en.wikipedia.org+8.
Beta timeline: Developer beta available now; public beta in July; full release expected around mid‑September, alongside iPhone 17 theverge.com+4news.com.au+4gq.com+4.
Compatibility: Supports iPhone 11 or newer; A12-based devices may lose support indiatimes.com.
🤖 3. Apple Intelligence: On-Device AI at Scale
Apple Intelligence is now fully integrated across devices, offering:
Live Translation and AI call screening.
Image Playground (with ChatGPT integration) and Genmoji creation apple.comcincodias.elpais.com+9theverge.com+9en.wikipedia.org+9.
Visual Intelligence for screenshot-based action suggestions techradar.com+3apple.com+3gq.com+3.
Access to on-device large‑language models via new Foundation Models API for developers en.wikipedia.org+3apple.com+3tomsguide.com+3.
Awards: On-device models performance matches top-tier AI like Gemini, while privacy is maintained .
🕶 4. visionOS 26: Spatial Computing Evolved
visionOS 26 enhances spatial widgets, letting users anchor app elements like Calendar and Photos into their physical environment bloomberg.com+15apple.com+15theverge.com+15.
New spatial scenes add depth to photos using generative AI apple.com+1techcrunch.com+1.
Personas avatars gain realism and expressiveness apple.com+1techcrunch.com+1.
Supports PS VR2 Sense controllers, enabling advanced gaming experiences los40.com+3apple.com+3engadget.com+3.
Eye-scrolling (“Look to Scroll”), improved multitasking, and secure enterprise capabilities make the headset more versatile tomsguide.com+2apple.com+2engadget.com+2.
💼 5. Ecosystem-Wide Enhancements Across Platforms
macOS Tahoe (26) receives Liquid Glass design, improved Spotlight, Matches iPad multitasking advances en.wikipedia.org+10techradar.com+10theverge.com+10.
watchOS 26 introduces the AI Workout Buddy, wrist flick gestures, and a cohesive look with iOS redesign news.com.au+4techradar.com+4theverge.com+4.
iPadOS 26 adds windowed multitasking and improved file management, akin to macOS .
tvOS and CarPlay likewise adopt the Liquid Glass aesthetic techradar.com+10tomsguide.com+10en.wikipedia.org+10.