Everything New Coming to iPhones, iPads and Macs Later This Year

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 delivered a fresh wave of updates that will redefine the experience across iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and the Vision Pro headset. During a sleek 90-minute presentation, Apple lifted the curtain on the next generation of its operating systems—each getting a major facelift through a new “Liquid Glass” interface and rebranding that ditches version numbers in favor of annual identifiers. Starting with iOS 26 and its sibling platforms, the updates focus on refined design, improved multitasking, and smarter system-wide features.

The highlight of the event was the new “Liquid Glass” design, a lighter, translucent visual style that gives the software a glass-like, futuristic feel. Apple is preparing the look as a prelude to the 20-year anniversary iPhone in 2027, aiming to align its UI with upcoming hardware innovations.

Let’s take a deeper look at what’s in store for each Apple platform in 2025.

iOS 26
iOS 26 delivers a visually modernized experience, complete with fully transparent icons, a refreshed navigation structure, and menus inspired by the Vision Pro’s immersive UI. The Phone app sees a major redesign, merging call history, favorites, and voicemails into a single view, while introducing real-time hold detection.

The new Games app encourages social gaming with features to see what friends are playing, start challenges, and discover new titles across the App Store and Apple Arcade. Messages receive fun updates like polls, background customization, and Apple Cash integration within group chats. Spam detection is also improved for both Phone and Messages apps.

The Camera app is now more intuitive, allowing faster toggling between modes. The lock screen becomes dynamic, adjusting the time based on photo composition and introducing 3D wallpapers that respond to motion. Safari gets a clean edge-to-edge design, Apple Music now offers lyrics translation and pronunciation help, and Apple Wallet adds live travel updates, airport maps, and digital ID support for domestic flights. The Maps app now learns preferred routes and keeps track of frequently visited locations.

iPadOS 26
This year’s iPad update focuses on supercharging multitasking. A new windowing system lets users resize and position apps freely. Each app reopens in its last used configuration, while Exposé gives a top-down view of all open windows. A swipe-down gesture now reveals a customizable menu bar, giving users easier access to controls.

Apple’s desktop-class Preview app arrives on iPad, allowing detailed PDF and image editing, with AutoFill support for forms. The Journal app is now available on iPad, syncing daily logs across devices. The Files app also sees improvements like resizable columns, collapsible folders, and the ability to set default apps for file types.

Audio management on iPads gets a boost, enabling app-specific microphone selection—great for podcasting—and the new Local Capture feature saves high-quality backups of audio and video sessions from conferencing apps.

macOS Tahoe 26
The Mac’s new operating system, Tahoe 26, reflects Apple’s push for design consistency. It inherits the Liquid Glass UI and improves the dock, toolbars, and sidebars. Mac users also get the new Games app, the updated Phone app from iOS/iPadOS, and live syncing of iPhone activities like food deliveries directly on the desktop.

The Control Center and Menu Bar are now more customizable. Spotlight Search gets a major overhaul, now capable of pulling results across files, folders, messages, and apps. The Journal app makes its Mac debut, offering a synced experience for logging memories and daily reflections.

watchOS 26
Apple Watch becomes smarter with contextual widgets that adjust based on location and time of day—for example, showing the workout widget automatically at the gym. The Liquid Glass interface spreads throughout the system, enhancing the watch’s futuristic feel.

A new feature called Workout Buddy provides fitness coaching tailored to your activity history. The watch now supports a “wrist flick” gesture to dismiss calls or alerts, and ambient noise levels help determine haptic feedback strength. Notably, the long-awaited Notes app is finally available on Apple Watch, and Control Center supports third-party app actions.

tvOS 26
Apple TV is adopting the Liquid Glass UI, making overlays like the Control Center blend more seamlessly with content. Multiple profiles can now appear when waking the TV, streamlining access for households. Developers can link app logins to Apple IDs for easier setup on new devices.

A fun enhancement: iPhones can serve as microphones during Apple Music’s karaoke feature, and group participants can queue songs and react with emojis using their devices.

visionOS 26
Widgets arrive on the Vision Pro headset, allowing users to anchor content like calendars and photos anywhere in their visual space. Apple’s avatars, known as Personas, are now more lifelike with improved profiles, skin tones, and customization.

Multiple users in the same room can now share spatial experiences, making co-watching movies or attending meetings more interactive. A new AI-powered system boosts the realism of spatial photos, and the Vision Pro now supports Sony’s PlayStation VR2 controllers, opening the door to more immersive gaming.

Enterprise support gets stronger with team device sharing and framework updates. Users can also unlock their iPhones while wearing a Vision Pro, and even take calls directly through the headset.

Conclusion
WWDC 2025 may not have unleashed a wave of AI features as speculated, but Apple has delivered a meaningful evolution across its software lineup. The Liquid Glass aesthetic, enhanced multitasking, improved syncing, and deeper personalization will likely make this fall’s software updates the most impactful in years. As Apple gears up for future innovations, it’s clear that these updates are building the bridge to more immersive, seamless, and connected digital experiences.