Introduction
Apple announced iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26 at WWDC 2025, consolidated under the new Liquid Glass design with a radical approach to development. That this see-through, flashy-looking user interface is the biggest design shift by Apple in a decade. Of more importance, though, was Apple’s greater integration of Apple Intelligence, its privacy-focused on-device AI. It feels like every Apple product is smarter, faster, and sleeker than ever before, equipping you with tools to be more creative and productive.
Unified “Liquid Glass” Design
Apple showcased a gorgeous new UI experience it referred to as Liquid Glass, which includes translucent, light-responsive elements such as buttons, toolbars, icons, and widgets, all of which interact with motion and background content.
iOS 26 Key Features: iPhone
Redesigned Core Apps:
The Camera app’s UI is cleaner. Key modes are readily available. Safari uses a simple, full-screen design. The Phone app simplifies the interface. Favorites, Recent, and Voicemail are now together.
Apple Intelligence and Live Translation:
Apple’s AI translates phone calls, FaceTime, and Messages in real time. You don’t need any extra software. It also identifies screen content. You can ask questions or search the web by taking a screenshot.
Messaging Upgrades:
Now you can make chats feel more fun and personal with custom backgrounds, run quick group polls, block unknown senders, and even see when friends are typing in group chats—all making chatting easier and more enjoyable.
Photos & Notes:
Photo apps are way better now—easier to use and with cool effects that make your pictures amazing. Notes can now transcribe your calls and save them as Markdown files.
Maps and Wallet Enhancements:
Maps is now smart enough to detect areas you visit regularly and recommend adding them to your calendar, allowing you to keep organized without lifting a finger. Wallet also receives a significant boost, with precise airport maps, real-time flight monitoring, and digital passport compatibility in the United States, making travel easier and less stressful.
iPadOS 26 Key Features: iPad
Desktop-class multitasking:
Say goodbye to the old Split View and Slide Over—Apple’s new window manager gives you the freedom to resize, tile, and move windows however you like. With a macOS-style menu bar and flexible layout, multitasking on iPad now feels more like using a desktop—smooth, powerful, and totally in your control.
Preview and Journal Apps:
iPad now features macOS-style Preview software with full annotation capabilities, designed specifically for the Apple Pencil. The Journal app also migrates from iOS to iPad, enabling rich multimedia entries with images, music, and location tracking.
Apple Intelligence for Creatives:
It begins by using AI to clean up your handwritten notes and convert them into clear, legible text. It even transcribes them and adds sentiment tags, so you receive both the words and the feeling behind them.
macOS Tahoe (macOS 26) Key Features: MacBook
Liquid Glass UI:
A colorful new interface adds dynamic translucency to desktop features like the Dock, app icons, and windows, providing a more immersive and consistent visual experience.
Spotlight & Shortcuts:
Spotlight is now smarter and more powerful, giving actionable results such as sending emails or taking notes on the go. Shortcuts gain stronger system integration, resulting in speedier task automation.
iOS Integration:
macOS now has a native Phone app for calls and texts, as well as a unified Games app for Apple Arcade, which bridges the gap between the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Legacy Support:
macOS Tahoe will be the final version that is compatible with Intel-based Macs; subsequent versions will only support Apple hardware.
watchOS 26 Key Features: Apple Watch
Liquid Glass Interface:
The system settings now have a sleek, transparent look, resulting in a more immersive and visually unified Apple Watch experience.
Wrist Flick Gesture:
Simply flick your wrist to dismiss alerts, making interactions quicker and more natural.
Workout Buddy:
An AI-powered fitness coach provides real-time encouragement, individualized insights, and full post-workout reflections.
Live Translation and Smart Stack:
Use your wrist to instantly translate messages and calls, while the revamped Smart Stack brings up more relevant widgets depending on context and activity.
tvOS 26 Key Features: Apple TV
Translucent UI and Aerial Screensavers:
The new Liquid Glass appearance adds a stunning see-through quality to menus and controls, making everything feel more fluid and linked. Furthermore, breathtaking aerial screensavers based on diverse locales offer a lovely, immersive touch to your screen.
Apple Music Upgrades:
Enjoy karaoke-style singing with real-time lyrics, use your iPhone as a microphone, create collaborative playlists, react with emojis, and see translated lyrics—ideal for group listening sessions.
FaceTime and AirPlay Enhancements:
Live captions in different languages, personalized contact posters, incoming call display on TV, and permanent speaker settings for smooth AirPlay playing all help to improve communication.
Thread 1.4 Integration:
Improved smart home performance by providing quicker, more consistent communication to compatible devices.
visionOS 26 Key Features: Apple VR Headset
Spatial Widgets:
Floating widgets can be effortlessly placed anywhere in your space and will stay anchored across sessions, delivering a consistent and personalized spatial experience.
PSVR2 Controller Support:
Vision Pro now works with PSVR2 controllers, making games and creative stuff better.
Improvements to Accessibility:
Gaze-based scrolling and improved adaptive content support make navigation smoother and offer greater independence for users with mobility challenges.
Final Thoughts
Apple’s Foundation Models framework empowers developers with on-device intelligence for tasks like tone refinement, image interaction, and content summarization—ensuring all processing stays local to protect user privacy.
Get ready for Apple’s 2025 OS – it’s powerful, pretty, and ethically sound. Macs get more productive, iPads get more creative, and Apple Watches help you move around more. Vision Pro gives you amazing experiences. Apple’s intelligence and Liquid Glass UI work together for a great digital experience.
Apple’s iOS 26 lineup at WWDC 2025 features Liquid Glass design, on-device AI, and optimized multitasking across platforms, marking the company’s most ambitious software development. From reinvented productivity on iPad to intelligent fitness on Watch and immersive experiences on Vision Pro, these enhancements demonstrate Apple’s dedication to seamless, privacy-first innovation.
