Apple’s Summer Presentation: The Most Exciting Highlights from WWDC 2025

On June 9, the annual WWDC 2025 conference kicked off — Apple’s main event for developers. On the first day, the brand introduced new versions of its operating systems for iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and iPad. Here are the most exciting highlights.

Unified Design Across All Platforms

All operating systems now carry the number 26 — just like the upcoming year. The platforms are now called iOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, visionOS 26, and iPadOS 26.

The unified design across all operating systems is called Liquid Glass. All buttons, window backgrounds, tabs, navigation menus, and even components of standard apps now appear as frosted glass. This glass can change its color depending on the surrounding content—without drawing attention away from what matters. The on-screen elements are tailored to modern devices with rounded displays.

On one hand, Liquid Glass feels very familiar and intuitive; on the other, it looks fresh and updated.
It’s worth noting that the last major redesign of Apple’s operating systems happened in 2013 with the release of iOS 7. Now, the company has decided to revisit that.

What’s New in iOS 26: Fresh Design and Cool Features

• The lock screen has been redesigned. It now features a new glass-like shade with rounded corners, and all icons have a “glass” effect. The clock now adapts to the wallpaper and stretches when needed — it looks impressive.
• Live Translation — real-time conversation translation powered by Apple Intelligence. The feature translates foreign speech on the fly and immediately speaks it in your native language. It works during calls and chats in the Phone app, FaceTime, and Messages. Now it’s much easier to communicate without knowing the language.

• In the Camera app, some features have been moved behind a shade and into pop-up menus. Now, the main screen only shows photo and video options — nothing extra.
• A new Games app has been introduced, featuring a massive library, integration with Apple Arcade, and Game Center features. It’s like the App Store, but just for games. You can see what your friends are playing, compare progress, and start challenges.
• In iMessage, group chats have been added, along with poll options and the ability to set beautiful AI-generated backgrounds.
• The Visual Intelligence feature will make life easier for thousands of users. The system recognizes content on the screen and allows you to interact with it. For example, if you see a lamp in your news feed, you can tap it and instantly view similar items online. Or if there’s an interesting date on the screen, you can add it to your calendar right away.
• App updates: In Safari, you can now minimize the bottom bar into a small line to free up screen space. In Photos, there are now two main sections: Library and Albums.
• The Mixmoji feature in iMessage lets you combine multiple emojis into one, and you can create images in Image Playground using ChatGPT.

• In Apple Music, you can now view song lyrics translations. There’s also a karaoke mode with pronunciation training — making it easier to understand and sing foreign tracks.

Which iPhones will get iOS 26?

All models starting from iPhone 11 and newer.
However, note that many of the new features are powered by Apple Intelligence, which is not supported on all iPhone versions. Also, the availability of certain options may vary by region and language.

WatchOS 26 introduces a personal AI assistant and a new gesture control.

• A personal AI coach called Workout Buddy has been introduced. It will suggest workouts, cheer you on, and praise you at the end. Essentially, it’s like having a virtual coach standing over your shoulder, motivating you to do more and do it better. Initially, it will only be available in English.

• A new gesture has been added: to end a call or dismiss notifications, you simply turn your wrist away from yourself. This feature may not be supported on all models.

• By pressing the side button, you can now bring up a smart stack of open apps — showing those that are most relevant to your tasks and preferences. In other words, the apps you use every day will appear at the top of the list.

watchOS 26 now features a semi-transparent, “glass-like” design that looks beautiful on rounded displays. The watch also supports Live Translation for automatic language translation when needed.

What’s new in tvOS 26: Posters and Easier Profile Switching

• Just like with the other operating systems, tvOS 26 has adopted the “glass-like” design—something aesthetics lovers will definitely appreciate.
• When starting Apple TV, users can select their profile, which will be used to provide personalized recommendations.
• Karaoke gets an upgrade: iPhone owners can now turn their smartphones into microphones to amplify their voices. Plus, Apple TV supports connecting multiple iPhones at once. Makes sense—who sings karaoke alone?
• While watching content, the media takes center stage, and control functions are hidden behind a “shade.”
• Cinematic posters have been added to the Apple TV app.

macOS 26 Tahoe with cool Spotlight features is coming up next!

• Spotlight search has gained superpowers. It now has access to files and the clipboard, and the search bar actions can adapt to the active application. With Spotlight, you can not only search for and launch apps but also perform actions within them. For example, if someone just bought a Mac and isn’t sure how to use it yet, they can simply type their task into Spotlight. Search results are ranked based on relevance to the user.
• With the new design, the menu bar and Control Center are now transparent, making the display feel larger.
• You can customize the macOS interface by changing the color of icons and folder icons—just like on iOS.
• In combination with Continuity, the Phone app is available on Mac, supporting the same features as on the iPhone—but on your Mac.
• The clipboard now lets you select specific items, unlike before when each new copy would overwrite the previous one.
• Similar to iOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe allows translation of messages and calls into your native language, making communication with foreigners easier—thanks to Apple Intelligence.
• The new Games app will delight gamers. Soon, legendary titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman: World of Assassination, and others will be available on Mac.
• The Journal app, previously exclusive to iPhone, is now available on Mac, making it more comfortable to pour your thoughts out by typing long texts.

visionOS 26: Realistic Avatars and Third-Party Accessories coming up next!

• Now, in Apple Vision Pro, you can scroll pages with your gaze. Previously, this was only possible with finger gestures.
• 3D widgets of various sizes have appeared, which can be placed on the desktop or attached to objects—like a wall in a room. These can be notes, reminders, calendars, weather, and more. If you place a photo from your gallery, it will be decorated with a digital frame.
• Volumetric avatars for video calls have become more realistic: facial expressions, skin tone, and hair color have been improved.
• You can view photos taken in Spatial mode through the headset as if they were three-dimensional objects.
• Support for third-party accessories has been added: styluses for air drawing, gamepads, action cameras.

iPadOS 26: New window display and a menu bar similar to Mac.

• Now tablet owners can flexibly resize windows and switch between them just like on a computer. You can have up to 7 windows open simultaneously — a useful feature considering that the iPad is designed for multitasking. To view all open windows with a swipe, a new Expose feature has been added.
• The cursor now looks more like a computer cursor. Multitasking gestures for trackpad use have been added.
• Finally, a menu bar has appeared at the top of the screen — the iPad is becoming more and more like a Mac.
• The Files app has been updated. For quick navigation, folders can now be added directly to the Dock at the bottom of the screen. The Preview app makes working with documents and PDFs easier — just like on a Mac.
• New apps Journal and Games have been added.
• The system now supports background operation for third-party apps. They can perform heavy tasks (like video rendering) in the background without interruption, and users can monitor progress via Live Activities.
• You can now select microphones individually for specific apps and even websites.

Overall, iPadOS 26 supports many of the same features as iOS 26: the same design, iMessage functions, Vision Intelligence, and more.

When the operating systems become available for download, we will test them right away. You can read a detailed review of iOS 26, iPadOS, and macOS on the iSpace blog. Follow our Instagram page so you don’t miss any exciting news!

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