Apple is planning to utterly rejigger the software program on all its greatest merchandise, from the iPhone and Mac all the best way right down to the Vision Pro. To advertise this speedy maturation throughout the Apple ecosystem, each OS will reportedly expertise a development spurt and jump from whatever number it’s on to “26,” according to Bloomberg. Apple’s first main overhaul of all its software program choices in years could also be extra refined than you would possibly anticipate after they debut subsequent week at WWDC25 on June 9 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.
Glassy and Translucent “Solarium” Visible Redesign
There’s an entire host of visible adjustments coming to the alleged iOS 26, macOS 26 (reportedly dubbed “Tahoe” in honor of the famed freshwater lake within the Sierra Nevada mountains), iPadOS 26, and all the remainder. Probably the most fast variations are mentioned to be purely visible. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has advised in a number of stories that iOS and the household of Apple’s merchandise will sport new bubbles impressed by the glassy, clear home windows found in the Vision Pro’s visionOS. In response to stories, this new look would be the new unifying theme for all of Apple’s ecosystem. A number of sources have referred to this design as “Solarium,” successfully a sunroom that permits gentle to go by means of at a number of angles. Think about all of your app icons with clear or translucent, glass-like textures, and also you in all probability received’t be removed from the mark subsequent week.
Regardless of the massive speak, we don’t anticipate it to be so exterior the norm of what we had with iOS 18. The final massive OS replace included customizable app icons and widgets, and we anticipate these to stay if Apple takes the “bubble” route with its new UX. Realizing Apple’s regular gradual tempo of OS software program updates, iOS 26 will doubtless be far much less zany than Android 16’s recent Material 3 Expressive redesign.
Small Updates to Apple Apps
Apple’s smaller product portfolio, together with CarPlay and tvOS, may bear many of those design parts. The Apple Watch interface may look different within the coming months with this upcoming software program revamp. Apple could add extra well being and health options to its smartwatches, although the rumored “AI Physician,” which might provide insights primarily based on the information your watch collects from you, could not obtain its license to follow in time for WWDC25. Extra of Gurman’s current deluge of leaks advised Apple could lastly add extra Mac options to iPadOS to make it much better at multitasking, past its present Stage Supervisor mode.
Present stories from normally correct sources don’t precisely have us pounding on the gates of Apple Park to see what’s in retailer. 9to5Mac reported this week the Messages app could lastly have the ability to entry an automatic textual content translation just like what’s been round on Samsung Galaxy phones for the final two years. The Apple Music app could showcase the album artwork in your cellphone’s lock display whereas enjoying tunes.
AI In Extra Locations and Possibly With Assist from Anthropic
Not too way back, only a single journey across the solar, Apple promised it might launch its massive AI overhaul on iPhone, Mac, and virtually each different gadget. Apple Intelligence was supposed to remodel Siri from a know-nothing bonehead into a complicated chatbot able to doing greater than merely setting timers and alarms. After a 12 months of unhealthy—though often hilarious—AI summaries and limited use cases, quite a few stories based on leaks from inside Apple recommend the corporate took a big step back from its AI ambitions. Gurman has advised Apple could entice extra exterior AI corporations past OpenAI, like Anthropic—the makers of Claude—to advertise their fashions on Apple’s software program ecosystem. Apple may additionally provide its basis fashions to third-party builders to let app makers design their very own textual content abstract machines.
Gurman suggested Apple will keep mum about its AI snafu at WWDC25. The corporate had beforehand hinted we might have seen the AI-enhanced Siri earlier than this summer time, however now there’s no signal it is going to arrive in 2025. Bloomberg mentioned some folks inside Apple hope to make up for misplaced time in 2026. By then, possibly we’ll have AI options that transfer past the hype bubble and provide one thing actually helpful.
Larger Gaming Push?
We’re anticipating Apple to disclose just a few sudden surprises come June 9. There’s an opportunity Apple may make one other massive push into gaming with a dedicated video game app on its gadgets. Reports recommend this app may incorporate Apple Arcade and the choose few video games which have been ported to Apple’s ecosystem in recent times. It additionally may embody achievement-like emblems for finishing in-game duties and leaderboards. Apple’s visionOS 26 may additionally enhance its gaming capabilities, maybe with third-party controller connectivity. As a lot as we might want it, Apple in all probability received’t provide its personal first-party controllers or share particulars of any new {hardware} in any respect.
Don’t Count on the iPhone 17
Apple doesn’t sometimes announce new {hardware} at WWDC25 and there’s no indication that it’s going to accomplish that this 12 months. If you wish to see that rumored iPhone 17 Air or the remainder of the iPhone 17 household, new Apple Watch, and AirPods, you’ll have to sit down in your arms till September, identical to all the time.
