WWDC 2025: Apple Pours on the Liquid Glass

BY MUFARO MHARIWA
3 days ago
6 min read

Last year was all about Apple Intelligence. A year later, it’s safe to say the rollout didn’t exactly change the world. So naturally, we expected Apple to keep things quiet this time, shift the spotlight elsewhere, and play down their AI ambitions. But no. They doubled down. Apple came out swinging with bolder claims, a tighter ecosystem, and a new wave of Apple Intelligence features.

Still, the real headline might be something a bit shinier: Liquid Glass. They said it so many times, we started wondering if it came with a drinking game. (One shot every time you hear “Liquid Glass” and you’ll be seeing visionOS in real life.)

Apple Intelligence: Now Playing Nice with Your Favourite Apps

The biggest update to Apple Intelligence this year is that it’s stepping outside Apple’s own ecosystem. For the first time, third-party apps like Kahoot and AllTrails can tap into Apple’s on-device AI capabilities. This means personalised recommendations, smarter automation, and real-time suggestions tailored to how you use each app, all without your data ever leaving your device.

iOS 26: A Redesign 10 Years in the Making

iOS just got its biggest facelift since iOS 7. Now rebranded as iOS 26 (to align with the year rather than versioning), Apple’s new mobile OS blends function with flair thanks to what it calls the Liquid Glass design language.

Borrowing visual cues from visionOS, the new aesthetic refracts light and moves dynamically as you tilt your device, giving the UI a slick, almost holographic look. It’s everywhere, from the lock screen to Safari to CarPlay, and Apple made sure we noticed, saying “Liquid Glass” enough times to make you wonder if it’s getting its own product line.

Highlights include:

Lock Screen Upgrades: The time widget now responds to your photo’s subject, expanding and creating a subtle 3D effect powered by the Neural Engine. Album art also comes alive with animation.
Camera App: Redesigned to focus on your most-used modes first. Changing photo formats now takes one tap.
Photos: New “Spatial Scene” mode brings your memories into 3D.
Safari: Edge-to-edge web pages make the most of your screen’s real estate.
FaceTime: Updated UI, more expressive posters, and video messages that play as you scroll through conversations.
CarPlay: Now glassy too. Incoming calls don’t block your navigation, and widgets + live activities give you a richer interface while driving.
Phone App: A redesigned layout with editable sections and AI call screening that listens in on spammy calls before deciding whether to ring you. “Hold Assist” also keeps your place in phone queues and alerts you when a human is finally on the line.

Messages gets Smarter and More Useful

Apple is finally letting iMessage users have a bit more fun, and a bit more control. In iOS 26, you can now:

Customise chat backgrounds (similar to Instagram), or generate fresh ones using Image Playground.
Create polls in group chats, or have your iPhone suggest one when you send a message that sounds like it needs a vote.
Request money in the chat, complete with autofill support.
See more typing indicators.
Enjoy message screening tools that filter out spam and reroute unknown senders to a hidden folder until you approve them.
Customisable chats

Oh, and the emojis have evolved, again. Apple’s Genmoji is now sharper and integrates with ChatGPT in Image Playground, so your weird inside jokes can now have a face.

Live Translation Across the Board

With Apple Intelligence fully integrated, you can now have real-time voice translations in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. It’s not just iPhone-to-iPhone either, this works with any phone. Even more impressive, it uses your voice in another language so it sounds like you are speaking fluent Spanish (or French, or Japanese…).

Apple Music Becomes a DJ Sidekick

For the music lovers:

Translated lyrics and pronunciation guides.
“Auto Mic” can now isolate your vocals and mix them like a DJ would.
Music Pins let you favourite artists or songs to keep them top-of-library.

Maps Gets More Personal (and Private)

Apple Maps has finally caught up with how people actually use it. Now it:

Learns your preferred routes.
Sends alerts when there are delays, along with smart rerouting.
Detects when you visit a new restaurant and logs it (privately) so you can revisit or recommend it later.
Allows all of this to be deleted on command.

Wallet, Games, Visual Intelligence

Car keys now supported in Wallet (if your car supports it).
A new digital ID works for domestic flights in the US.
The new Games app offers smart recommendations, lets you see what friends are playing, and invite them to challenges.
Visual Intelligence lets you take a screenshot of something like a poster or event and instantly convert it into a calendar event with no typing required.

watchOS 26: Now with Pep Talks and Flicks

Apple Watch continues its march toward becoming a true personal coach. The new Workout Buddy feature uses your past performance to tailor encouragement, including motivational pep talks when you're slowing down or notifications when you beat a personal best.

The redesigned Smart Stack is more intelligent now too. It learns your routine, like surfacing workout suggestions when you’re at the gym, or popping up Backtrack if you’re somewhere remote.

Other updates:

A new flick gesture to quickly ignore notifications.
Sound volume adapts in real time depending on how noisy your environment is.
The Notes app finally makes its way to Apple Watch.

tvOS 26: Now with Karaoke Mode and Profiles

Over on Apple TV, things got a little more personal. The system now lets you:

Choose profiles on startup, so recommendations are tailored from the first click.
Turn your iPhone into a mic with the Apple Music Sing feature.

macOS 26: Emoji-Filled File Management and Smarter Spotlight

Apple’s newest macOS is named after Lake Tahoe, and while the visuals didn’t get a dramatic overhaul, Apple focused on, as they said, “little things that make a big difference.” You can now:

Organise files using emojis and colours, because sometimes a red angry face is a better file label than “urgent”.
Customise wallpapers and widgets much more like iOS and iPadOS.
Enjoy Live Activities from iPhone now synced with your Mac.

macOS now more customisable

The Phone app is now on Mac, making it easier to screen calls, use Hold Assist, or just ignore spam from your desktop. Spotlight also received a serious upgrade:

Search is sharper, but now it’s also an action tool. You can use it to send messages, create reminders, or even fire off emails using new quick keys (like “sm” for send message or “ar” to add a reminder).
It’s no longer just a search bar, it’s like a command centre.

Other bits:

macOS now supports Apple Intelligence’s smart Shortcuts.
Gamers get a new game overlay for real-time settings tweaks.
The Journal app also lands on Mac, completing its tour across Apple’s ecosystem.

visionOS 26: Widgets on Walls and Shopping in 3D

visionOS didn’t get the same spotlight as iOS or macOS, but Apple made it clear they’re still investing in the Vision Pro experience, especially for those lucky (and wealthy) enough to own one.

Key updates include:

Spatial widgets you can pin to your real-life environment, like slapping your calendar on the kitchen wall and having it stay there.
More realistic Personas for video calls, making your digital self look less like a slightly haunted avatar.
Accessory support has expanded with Logitech's stylus and even Sony’s PS VR2 Sense controllers now in the mix.

And perhaps the most Vision Pro thing of all:

Spatial browsing and shopping. Apple showed off how you can render a full-size 3D model of a sofa in your living room before buying it.

iPadOS 26: A Huge Leap in Multitasking, and a Pointier Pointer

Apple says iPadOS has taken a “huge leap forward” this year, mostly around multitasking and the kind of power-user features that make the iPad feel more like a laptop.

The updates include:

A smoother multitasking system: You can now resize apps more freely, and the system remembers how you arrange them. If things get too cluttered, swipe once to return to the Home Screen, swipe again to bring your apps back. It’s surprisingly intuitive.
A new menu bar and – as Apple proudly put it – a “pointier pointer” to help with precision tasks, even on the iPad mini.
Files app overhaul: There’s an updated list view, collapsible folders, and more desktop-like functionality for those who actually work from their iPad.
Improved media handling, with support for local capture of video and audio, like recording a call and saving it straight to Files.
Background tasks can now run properly while displaying progress as a Live Activity, so you can keep tabs on what’s rendering, downloading or exporting.
And yes, the Journal app is finally here too, now with Apple Pencil support, turning your iPad into a digital diary or sketchbook.

It’s clear that Apple’s not retreating from its AI ambitions. If anything, it’s doubling down. From redesigned interfaces to deeply integrated intelligence and a suspiciously obsessive focus on “liquid glass”, this year’s WWDC shows a company determined to shape the future of personal computing on its own terms. Whether all these features live up to the keynote hype? We’ll see.