Apple WWDC 2025: New Designs and AI Features
In some years, Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (or WWDC) highlights new hardware; other years, incremental updates to software and operating systems. But for 2025, CEO Tim Cook laid out a foundational change to the way the macOS, iOS, and iPadOS operating systems look and work.
The big story from this year's WWDC is a new design language Apple calls “Liquid Glass,” and with it, some new OS names. Macs will be upgrading to macOS Tahoe and iPhones will be moving from iOS 18 (for the 18th generation of this OS) to iOS 26, a jump meant to match the version number with the year. This means iPads will run iPadOS 26 and the Apple Watch will run watchOS 26, and so on.
The idea behind Liquid Glass is that the elements on your screen, like windows, icons, and menus, will feel less like static objects. That's in part because they'll interface better (perhaps with a little help from Apple Intelligence), but also because app designs will feature more translucent elements.
Items like toolbars and navigation buttons that take up screen real estate will become transparent while still being usable. On a MacBook, you'll see the dock and home screen widgets become translucent and easier to work around.
Opening the door to Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence wasn't the big headliner, and Siri was practically a no-show. But that doesn't mean we didn't hear about AI at WWDC. You'll be able to get live translations and search via screenshot, but the real news is that Apple is going to allow outside apps to hook into Apple Intelligence features.
This lets developers build apps that can tap into deeper, system-level contextual information. A calendar app could, with permission, understand the content of a related email thread, or a project management app could scan your emails and messages to automatically create tasks and deadlines.
macOS Tahoe and Apple's other new operating systems are coming in the fall of 2025. A developer beta is available now, with a public beta expected in July.
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Micro Center Editor-in-Chief Dan Ackerman is a veteran tech reporter and has served as Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo and Editorial Director at CNET. He's been testing and reviewing laptops and other consumer tech for almost 20 years and is the author of The Tetris Effect, a Cold War history of the world's most influential video game. Contact Dan at dackerman@microcenter.com.
