Apple has made several announcements at WWDC 2025, the conference for developers, aimed at enhancing customer experience.
New Apple Intelligence
Apple has expanded its AI platform, Apple Intelligence, with powerful new features designed to enhance everyday experiences across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. The updates focus on real-world benefits, such as Live Translation for real-time multilingual communication, visual intelligence for smart screen interactions, and creative tools like Genmoji and Image Playground for personalized expression.
A major highlight is the introduction of Workout Buddy on Apple Watch, offering real-time, motivational feedback using private on-device data. Apple is also giving developers direct access to its on-device foundation model, enabling intelligent, privacy-focused app experiences without cloud costs.
Throughout, Apple maintains a strong emphasis on privacy, using on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute to ensure user data is never stored or shared. Apple Intelligence represents a unique, customer-first approach to AI—enhancing functionality, creativity, and productivity while keeping privacy at the core.
Apple Unveils Liquid Glass Design Across All Platforms
Apple has introduced a major visual overhaul across its software platforms — iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, watchOS 26, and tvOS 261 — built around a new expressive material called Liquid Glass. This translucent, fluid-like design element reflects and refracts its surroundings, dynamically adapting to context and content to create a more immersive, vibrant user experience.
Liquid Glass enhances everything from buttons and sliders to notifications and navigation elements, bringing a unified and delightful aesthetic across devices while retaining each platform’s unique character. Powered by Apple’s advanced graphics and silicon, this real-time-rendered material introduces a new level of depth and interactivity.
According to Apple, this is its most significant design update yet, setting the stage for future experiences that are not only beautiful but intuitively functional.
Apple continues to deliver much needed features and improvements to Vision Pro via Vision OS 26. These updates will improve on experiences for existing users and entice new users (and developers) to try (develop on) Vision Pro. “Given the current price point for Vision Pro, I’d like to see considerably more focus on enterprise (such as the announcements about Dassault Systemes and Adobe,” Tuong H. Nguyen, Director Analyst at Gartner, said.
Apple is creating important stepping stones to create this future of interactions, experiences and computing devices. As such, the industry as a whole will benefit (such as driving further interest in 3D capture, spatial web (noted at the end of this part of the keynote), anchoring/persistence, spatial accessories 360 degree and 180 degree video, spatial AI) much more from Apple’s announcements than they will themselves, Tuong H. Nguyen said.
Apple Unveils iPadOS 26 with Major Design and Productivity Upgrades
Apple has introduced iPadOS 26, calling it the most powerful and feature-rich iPadOS release to date. The update delivers a striking new design built around Liquid Glass — a translucent, dynamic material that enhances visual depth and interactivity across the system. The design refresh makes iPad more expressive and personalized while retaining its simplicity.
Key highlights include:
New Windowing System: A more intuitive and powerful way to control, organize, and switch between apps.
Enhanced Apple Intelligence: Features like Live Translation, Genmoji creation, Image Playground, and smarter Shortcuts are deeply integrated to boost creativity and productivity.
Upgraded Files App: Improved file organization, folder customization, and dock access make file management faster and more accessible.
New Preview App: iPad now includes a full-featured PDF viewer and editor with Apple Pencil Markup and AutoFill.
Creative Pro Tools: Features like Background Tasks, audio input selection, and local capture support high-end creative workflows in audio and video.
iPadOS 26 enhances the versatility of the iPad across work, creativity, and personal use — reaffirming it as Apple’s most adaptable device.
Apple Introduces macOS Tahoe 26 with New Design, Productivity Tools, and AI Enhancements
Apple has unveiled macOS Tahoe 26, a major update featuring a striking new design, advanced personalization, and deeper integration with Apple Intelligence. The update enhances productivity, aesthetics, and continuity across the Apple ecosystem.
Key Highlights:
New Liquid Glass Design: A translucent, dynamic visual style modernizes the desktop, Dock, toolbars, and menu bar, while retaining the familiarity of macOS. App icons, folders, and widgets now support new color themes and personalization.
Enhanced Personalization: Users can customize Control Center, change folder colors, and add symbols or emojis, making the Mac more personal than ever.
Improved Continuity with iPhone: The Phone app debuts on Mac, allowing access to Recents, Contacts, Voicemail, and new features like Call Screening and Hold Assist. Live Activities from iPhone now appear on Mac.
Upgraded Spotlight: The biggest Spotlight update yet enables users to run hundreds of actions — like sending emails or creating notes — and explore new content browsing experiences.
Apple Intelligence Integration: New features like Live Translation, Genmoji, Image Playground, and more intelligent Shortcuts boost creativity and task automation while protecting privacy.
macOS Tahoe 26 offers a refined, intelligent, and beautifully personal computing experience, designed to elevate how users work and create on the Mac.
Apple Unveils watchOS 26 with New Design and Smarter Fitness Features
Apple has introduced watchOS 26, delivering a refreshed visual experience and enhanced intelligence to make Apple Watch more personalized, motivating, and intuitive.
Key Highlights:
New Liquid Glass Design: A dynamic, translucent visual style refreshes the look of Smart Stack, Control Center, notifications, in-app navigation, and the Photos watch face, adding vibrancy while maintaining the familiar watchOS feel.
Smarter Fitness with Workout Buddy: Powered by Apple Intelligence, Workout Buddy offers personalized spoken motivation during workouts, using data like heart rate, distance, pace, and Activity ring progress to deliver real-time insights and encouragement.
Updated Workout App: Now features a redesigned layout and music recommendations tailored to the workout type and user preferences.
More Convenient Interactions: New Smart Stack hints surface relevant information at the right time, and a wrist flick gesture allows one-handed dismissal of notifications.
With watchOS 26, Apple deepens the integration of intelligence and design, making Apple Watch an even more powerful companion for staying active, healthy, and connected.
Apple Introduces visionOS 26 — Expanding Spatial Experiences on Apple Vision Pro
Apple has unveiled visionOS 26, a major update for Apple Vision Pro that introduces deeper personalization, immersive shared experiences, and broader support for content and enterprise use.
Key Highlights:
Spatial Widgets: Widgets now integrate directly into a user’s space and reappear when Vision Pro is worn. They’re customizable in size, color, and depth, offering glanceable information for apps like Clock, Weather, Music, and Photos.
Immersive Spatial Scenes: Generative AI adds lifelike depth to panoramic and spatial photos, enhancing how memories are relived in space.
Enhanced Personas: Users’ digital avatars now appear more natural and familiar, improving realism in virtual interactions.
Shared Spatial Experiences: Multiple Vision Pro users in the same room can now watch 3D movies, play spatial games, or collaborate on work together. Remote participants can still join via FaceTime.
Expanded Content Support: Vision Pro now supports 180° and 360° content from cameras like Insta360, GoPro, and Canon.
Gaming Enhancements: New support for PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers enables a new level of interactive gaming on Vision Pro.
Enterprise APIs: New APIs allow businesses to create custom spatial experiences, such as 3D product demos or collaborative design sessions, as shown by Dassault Systèmes’ 3DLive app.
visionOS 26 strengthens Vision Pro’s position as a powerful tool for productivity, creativity, and immersive content consumption in both personal and professional settings.
Rajani Baburajan
