All the things we discovered throughout Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote

Apple’s 2025 Worldwide Builders Convention keynote was sparse on the form of groundbreaking bulletins it’s often identified for. With no main {hardware} reveals till September and no stress to wade into undercooked tech classes like AI or augmented actuality, the Silicon Valley large went again to fundamentals. The message was clear: iOS wants an replace.

That was the crux of this 12 months’s keynote, with Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner and Senior VP Craig Federighi diving deep into the all-new iOS 26 redesign, dubbed Liquid Glass. Apple additionally confirmed it is introducing a brand new naming conference for all of Apple’s software program platforms, aimed toward aligning with the corporate’s imaginative and prescient for the long run. Whereas Apple Intelligence and AI weren’t the headline act, the OS does embrace new AI options. From dwell translations to music instruments and Safari enhancements, AI is embedded throughout the system, even when it feels a bit reactionary following the Google I/O 2025 keynote, which was all AI, AI, and extra AI.

iOS 26, together with updates throughout Apple’s {hardware} working methods, brings a mixture of huge swings and incremental upgrades. Right here’s a full breakdown of all the pieces introduced at WWDC 2025, together with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and WatchOS 26.

And let’s begin with…

iOS 26 updates

Apple’s new visible fashion is known as Liquid Glass, and the translucent UI marks Apple’s most important visible overhaul in years. It retains the core structure acquainted however introduces a set of refined quality-of-life enhancements designed to make navigation smoother and extra intuitive.

“Expressive” was the phrase Federighi leaned on to explain the brand new look, with demos showcasing apps that seem to drift in area — a design language clearly borrowing from the spatial interface of Imaginative and prescient Professional. That spatiality now filters all the way down to iPhone, giving all the pieces a slick, responsive, and notably fluid really feel.

This contains an up to date Darkish Mode and an all-new Clear theme — Apple’s tackle a totally translucent UI that by some means feels trendy, minimal, and a wealthy man’s model of Home windows Vista.

It’s a noticeable shift that brings a handful of considerate options. Nothing revolutionary, however sufficient to make you pause and assume, okay, that’s fairly intelligent.

Reside translations

In one of many extra genuinely helpful Apple Intelligence options for on a regular basis customers, Reside Translations at the moment are built-in into Messages, FaceTime, and different core apps. It’s arguably the flagship AI-driven characteristic in iOS 26. Apple says the real-time translations are processed totally on-device and may even mimic the consumer’s voice throughout translation — a technical flex that’s spectacular, if barely uncanny.

The characteristic additionally extends to music, with help for real-time lyric translations and dwell pronunciation to assist customers sing alongside. How seamless all of it feels in follow stays to be seen.

Telephone

The Telephone app is getting a streamlined new structure that brings Favorites, Recents, and Voicemails right into a single, unified view. Constructing on the prevailing Reside Voicemail characteristic, Apple can also be introducing Name Screening, which prompts unknown callers to clarify why they’re calling, providing you with the possibility to determine whether or not it is price your time.

The standout addition, although, is Maintain Help. Whenever you’re caught ready for a dwell agent, your iPhone will now provide you with a warning the second an actual particular person picks up. A small improve, however a wise one.

Images

Images are lastly — lastly — getting the visible “overhaul” it desperately wanted. The app has been a large number since iOS 18, when Apple turned what was a wonderfully purposeful interface into one thing oddly convoluted, burying albums and making navigation a chore.

With iOS 26, Images is being restructured round two foremost tabs: one to your full picture library and the opposite to your collections. Apple is framing it as a modern, trendy redesign, however actually, it’s a return to the pre-iOS 18 structure, simply higher wanting. It is a reinvention of the wheel, positive, however a minimum of it is a wheel that truly rolls.

Messages

Group chats are getting a stable quality-of-life replace in iOS 26, with the addition of Apple Pay integration and built-in Polls. It’s a small however significant improve that makes coordinating with pals or splitting payments a bit extra seamless.

Messages can also be getting smarter about unknown numbers, mechanically sorting them right into a separate folder. From there, you may mark them as identified, request extra information, or delete them totally. Which is especially helpful for on-line daters navigating their speaking stage graveyard.

Now built-in with Apple Intelligence, the app will now counsel making a ballot when it detects {that a} resolution must be made, and works in tandem with Picture Playground for producing customized backgrounds to personalize your chats.

CarPlay

The brand new design for CarPlay introduces a compact view for incoming calls, so drivers can see who’s calling with out shedding sight of essential information like navigation instructions.

Messages in CarPlay now helps Tapbacks and pinned conversations, making it simpler to maintain observe of lively chats on the go. Plus, with the addition of widgets and Reside Actions, staying knowledgeable whereas driving seems to be extra seamless and fewer distracting.

Apple additionally launched CarPlay Extremely, an enhanced model of CarPlay designed particularly for its luxurious automotive partnerships, beginning with Aston Martin. Regardless of the identify sounding like a subscription tier (it’s not… a minimum of for now), CarPlay Extremely is touted as a deeper, extra immersive integration of Apple’s software program into the automotive’s total being.

Mashable Mild Pace

As an alternative of being confined to the central infotainment display screen, CarPlay Extremely extends throughout all driver-facing shows, mixing iPhone performance with the automobile’s native methods for a extra unified and premium in-car expertise.

Maps, Pockets, and a Passport Digital ID

Apple Maps is getting a reminiscence improve in iOS 26 with Visited Locations, a characteristic that logs the place you’ve been, like eating places or outlets, and organizes them proper within the app. Certain, Google Maps has accomplished this for years, however Apple’s lastly catching up.

The app additionally will get smarter about your day by day patterns. Utilizing on-device intelligence, iPhone can now acknowledge common routes — like your commute — and floor most popular instructions, flag site visitors delays, and counsel sooner choices, all from the lock display screen.

As anticipated, it raises some privateness flags. However Apple claims each Visited Locations and day by day route monitoring are end-to-end encrypted and may’t be accessed by the corporate itself, although by now, that promise feels extra like an ordinary PR line than a standout characteristic.

Including to the pile of privacy-adjacent updates, Apple Pockets in iOS 26 now helps Digital ID for passports, although Apple is fast to notice it’s not a alternative to your bodily passport. You may add it to your Pockets, and it’s presently accepted by TSA in 10 states and Puerto Rico. (For context, Digital IDs are acknowledged in 14 states whole, however holdouts like New York and Louisiana use their very own apps and don’t help Apple Pockets.)

Boarding Passes are additionally getting smarter with Reside Actions integration. They allow you to share your flight standing with pals in real-time, so that they know whenever you land — no group textual content updates required.

A brand new Video games app

Apple is lastly taking cell gaming extra severely with the brand new Apple Video games app. It pulls all the pieces into one place—a House tab for updates to the video games you really play, a devoted part for Apple Arcade, and a Library that tracks each sport you’ve ever downloaded.

There’s a brand new “Play Together” tab for evaluating scores, sending invitations, and competing in real-time challenges with pals. It really works in portrait or panorama, and pairs easily with a controller.

Safari

In response to Apple, Safari in iOS 26 is getting a lift in privateness and design. The cell browser now contains superior fingerprinting safety whereas searching. Visually, Safari adopts a extra rounded, edge-to-edge look — internet pages now move seamlessly from the highest of the display screen to the underside.

Accessibility Options

iOS 26 brings a wave of significant accessibility updates throughout the Apple ecosystem. Accessibility Reader introduces a customizable, systemwide studying expertise tailor-made to particular person wants, whereas Braille Entry delivers a very rethought interface for customers connecting braille shows to iPhone.

Apple has additionally improved options like Reside Hear, Background Sounds, and Private Voice, aiming to make day-to-day gadget use extra intuitive and inclusive.

iPadOS 26 updates

Apple claims iPadOS 26 is its most bold iPad replace but — combining the modern new Liquid Glass design with deeper productiveness options and expanded Apple Intelligence integration. The headline characteristic for iPadOS 26 is a robust new Apple “invention” referred to as Home windows — an improve that lastly lets customers freely resize, transfer, and tile apps throughout their iPad display screen. And no, this does not make the iPad identical to a Mac. They’ve totally different names, in any case.

Nonetheless, it’s the closest the iPad has come to feeling like a real multitasking machine, shedding among the clunky constraints of Cut up View and Slide Over. It’s not macOS, nevertheless it’s not far off both — simply don’t say that too loudly in Cupertino.

The Recordsdata app will get new folder customization and default app settings, and the long-awaited Preview app involves iPad for modifying PDFs and pictures with Apple Pencil.

Artistic professionals get options like Background Duties, native seize for recording, and improved audio enter instruments, whereas the Journal app, Recreation Overlay, and a brand new menu bar spherical out a packed replace centered on making the iPad extra succesful, private, and pro-friendly than ever.

macOS Tahoe 26 updates

macOS 26, now formally named macOS Tahoe, builds out the Mac expertise with deeper iPhone integration, smarter system-wide intelligence, and a a lot beefier Highlight. The Telephone app lastly lands on macOS, full with Name Screening and Maintain Help, whereas Reside Actions can now floor within the menu bar for real-time updates like flights or rides.

Highlight will get its greatest replace but — it might now execute actions like sending emails or creating notes, and helps filtering, fast keys, and outcomes from third-party cloud providers. Apple Intelligence brings on-device Reside Translation, smarter Shortcuts, Genmoji customization, and new instruments in Picture Playground.

A private favourite from the keynote is the up to date Finder, which lets customers customise folder icons with colours and symbols, and themes supply extra customized desktop setups.

tvOS 26 updates

tvOS 26 brings new content material options and quality-of-life enhancements to the Apple TV expertise. Customers can now arrange particular person profiles for customized suggestions and proceed watching throughout units. The TV app has been redesigned to prioritize content material, with streamlined playback controls that keep out of the best way.

Cinematic poster artwork provides some polish, however, to be trustworthy, the actual spotlight of the tvOS 26 highlight was the Apple TV+ preview: Chief of Warfare with Jason Momoa, Basis season 3, Gradual Horses season 5, and a brand new Denzel Washington movie titled Highest to Lowest are all on the best way.

It’s a gradual replace that Apple intends to be extra private and content-driven.

watchOS 26 introduces Exercise Buddy

It sort of feels like Apple’s coronary heart simply isn’t in watchOS anymore, a minimum of based mostly on what was proven at WWDC. The headline characteristic is Exercise Buddy, an AI-powered health coach that dishes out real-time encouragement, milestone callouts, and customized playlists, all voiced by artificial variations of Health+ trainers.

The Exercise app itself lastly will get a much-needed redesign, making it simpler to leap into customized routines and entry pacing instruments with out digging by means of menus. Past that, most of what’s new in watchOS is inherited straight from iOS 26 — small quality-of-life enhancements that spherical out the expertise, however don’t precisely transfer the needle.

VisionOS 26 updates

Lastly, to wrap up this round-up, it’s VisionOS 26 and Imaginative and prescient Professional — the supply of inspiration behind Apple’s new Liquid Glass aesthetic and translucent UI design overhaul throughout its platforms.

This 12 months’s replace doubles down on spatial computing and everybody’s “love” for widgets. This contains spatially conscious widgets that persist in your bodily surroundings, letting customers pin issues like clocks, climate, and images round their area, customizable down to border depth and colour.

Apple’s additionally centered on social and collaborative use instances. Customers can now share spatial experiences with others in the identical room or dial in pals through FaceTime. Safari helps interactive 3D fashions embedded in internet pages, and builders can faucet into new APIs to make apps extra immersive.

That features Personas, which is getting a — barely much less creepy — glowup. With the assistance of some “enhanced volumetric rendering,” Personas invade your digital area with sharper element, full aspect profiles, and extra pure movement.

And sure, you may nonetheless watch films and play video games — as a result of it is nonetheless a $3,500 headset, in any case.