The WWDC25 Keynote took place yesterday and like every other tech content-creator, the last 24 hours have been largely taken up by watching the WWDC25 Keynote, doing additional research on Apple’s website to see if there is anything I missed during the event, and writing my extensive breakdown of this event. With all that being said, WWDC is one of my favorite times of year and there are some features that I am quite excited about this year! Whether you already know what was announced or this is the first time you are hearing about it, there is lots to unpack. Let’s dive in!
The first announcement of note is that Apple has renamed its operating systems to make them more consistent with each other, replacing the confusing naming scheme which had tech reviewers (including myself) looking up what number we were on each year. For reference, this year would have been, iOS 19, watchOS 12, macOS 16, visionOS 3, and iPadOS 19. Rest assured, the new numbers eliminate these impossible-to-remember update numbers. Since updates are released late in the year (usually September), the new numbers correspond to the following year. Therefore, this year’s updates will be named iOS 26, watchOS 26, macOS 26, and so on.
Apple Intelligence
The Features
While there was some uncertainty on whether Apple would announce more Apple Intelligence features, Apple ended up announcing a few of them. Quite possibly the biggest Apple Intelligence feature is the ability for developers to tap into the Apple Intelligence model with the Foundation Models framework. This allows developers to easily integrate Apple Intelligence into their apps.
It isn’t only developers that can tap into Apple Intelligence models, though. Apple Intelligence also comes to Shortcuts with Intelligent Actions. This allows users to take actions in Shortcuts, such as using Apple’s Private Cloud Compute model or generating an image with Image Playgrounds.
Another big Apple Intelligence feature is live translation, which actively translates text in Messages, FaceTime, and even Apple Music.
Apple also improved its image generation features. Image Playgrounds gets access to ChatGPT styles, which will generate images that are much higher quality. Genmoji also got some love with some more personalization features, as well as the ability to combine two emojis into one emoji.
In addition to these bigger features, there are many smaller Apple Intelligence features peppered throughout the ecosystem, such as suggested reminders, Voicemail summaries, poll suggestions in messages, and more. There are also two big Apple Intelligence features with Visual Intelligence (iOS) and Workout Buddy (watchOS), but these will be talked about in their respective sections.
My Take
I think Apple did really well with their approach to AI this year. They didn’t announce anything super ambitious, but that is actually a good thing. They need to focus on shipping the Apple Intelligence features that were previously announced at WWDC24, while still integrating some of these smaller features throughout the operating system. In fact, I actually like many of these features better than bigger features such as Image Playgrounds. All this to say, I hope to see them integrate more of these practical AI features throughout the various operating systems moving forward.
iOS 26
The Features
iOS 26 came with a massive redesign to the visual qualities of the iOS operating by using something Apple calls “liquid glass.” It gives many of the elements, icons, and buttons a frosted, glassy look. The “liquid” part of the name refers to how these elements move and shift as the user both moves the phone and interacts with the interface. This “liquid glass” look is applied to the entire operating system in areas such as the Lock Screen, app icons, widgets, Control Center, and even within apps and UI elements.
While the redesign is the headline feature of this update, iOS also adds loads of new, smaller features, especially in its communication apps. For example, both Phone and FaceTime are getting redesigns as well as some new features. One of these new features is Call Screening, which figures out the name of the caller and their reason for calling before you even pick up the phone. The other big feature in Phone is Hold Assist, where your iPhone will stay on the call for you while you are on hold and notify you when the hold period has ended. Messages also get some updates with background images in conversations, polls, and typing indicators in group chats.
The communication apps aren’t the only apps that got some love. Maps received a Visited Places page, as well as a preferred routes feature that can alert you about delays on your usual daily routes even before you begin navigation. Music gets AutoMix between songs and the ability to pin playlists, albums, artists, and more to the top of your library. Wallet also received updates with package tracking across multiple apps and the ability to create a digital ID by using a US passport.
In addition to these apps getting updated, iOS also brings a new app: Games. This app is the home to all things game-related such as a launcher for all of your games, in-game events, achievements, leaderboards, Arcade, and more.
To learn more about iOS 26 and see the full list of features, you can click here. Developer Beta is available today, Public Beta is coming next month, and the update itself will be available this fall (likely sometime in September) for the following models:
My Take
I think iOS 26 is a fantastic update! I love how “liquid glass” looks because I think it elevates the design while still looking familiar. Going into WWDC25, I was worried that the new design would be too drastic (as it was with iOS 7) and it would be difficult to use. The reality is that Apple didn’t change much when it came to the functionality, but instead focused on refreshing the actual look of the operating system, which was a smart move.
As far as the other features, I am pleased with what they did here. Would I like to see some more updates to Calendar and some other apps? Absolutely, but what they did here in adding some useful, small updates is a good start, and I want to see more updates like this from Apple. They made some nice design tweaks and added some other quite useful features. Overall, iOS 26 is a great release in my book!
watchOS 26
The Features
Apple Watch also gets the new “liquid glass” design featured in iOS, which is applied across the operating system in apps, the Smart Stack, control center, and even some watch faces. In addition to “liquid glass”, watchOS 26 also includes many of the other features in iOS 26, such as backgrounds in messages, Call Screening, and more.
Quite possibly the biggest feature in watchOS 26 is what Apple is calling “Workout Buddy.” This feature uses Apple Intelligence to talk to you as you work out and encourage you by sharing milestones, workout data, and fitness history.
The redesign and “Workout Buddy” seem to be the two big features, but there are a few more features as well. Two of these are improvements to the Smart Stack, making the smart stack more intelligent and allowing users to configure each widget in the Smart Stack.
While they didn’t provide many details, Apple did announce that the Notes app is coming to the Apple Watch. “Wrist Flick” is another new feature which is exactly what it sounds like: it allows users to flick their wrist to dismiss a notification, call, timer, or more.
Those are the main updates coming to watchOS. To learn more, click here. Developer Beta is available today, Public Beta is coming next month, and the update itself will be available this fall for the following models:
My Take
Out of the releases at WWDC this year, I think this is the one that I’m most disappointed in. Besides the new design, there doesn’t seem like there is a lot for me to be excited about here. I like the updates to the Smart Stack and the new Notes app (finally), but otherwise there isn’t much else of note.
As far as the Workout Buddy feature goes, I can’t decide how I feel about it. I think it is cool, but also weird at the same time. I think it is cool for the workout data portion of it, but I’m not totally sure about AI encouraging me while I run… I also wish that they had instead enhanced the Health app by using an LLM to interpret my health data. While there are some good features in watchOS, I was overall disappointed and left wanting more.
macOS Tahoe 26
The Features
While macOS can sometimes feel distant from the other operating systems, it does still get the “liquid glass” design featured in all the other operating systems, which helps to unify it with these other devices. Some other features that ease the transition between the iPhone and the Mac are Control Center customization, Live Activities, Phone, Journal, icon tinting, and the new Games app. All of these features are included in macOS Tahoe 26.
Quite possibly the biggest new feature for macOS is a big update to Spotlight with a more intelligent search, new actions, quick keys, new browsing modes, and a clipboard manager. MacOS Tahoe 26 also brings big updates to shortcuts, including Intelligent Actions and the ability to set up automations on Mac.
To learn more about macOS Tahoe 26 and see the full list of features, you can click here. Developer Beta is available today, Public Beta is coming next month, and the update itself will be available this fall for the following models:
My Take
While not a massive update to macOS, Tahoe brings some great updates that will benefit the large majority of Mac users. I like how they added the “liquid glass” design as well as many of the other features to give macOS some uniformity with the other operating systems, but still keeping the functionality of macOS. I think the new Spotlight updates look fantastic (I might even quite using Raycast and just go back to Spotlight). Plus, I am so excited that macOS finally has a clipboard manager! I genuinely do not understand how this basic feature took this long, but here we are. Overall, I really like macOS Tahoe and also can’t help but notice that macOS seems to be at the point where there isn’t much that needs to or even should be changed.
visionOS 26
The Features
While maybe not as feature-packed as some other updates, visionOS 26 still has some new features to offer. Quite possibly the biggest new feature in visionOS is widgets. These widgets look similar to widgets found in iOS, except for the fact that they can be placed anywhere. Not only can they be placed anywhere, but they stay exactly where you put them. For example, you could place a clock or calendar widget on the wall of your house, and you will be able to see this anytime you are in your house with your Vision Pro on.
Apple also announced some features that allow for collaboration for both enterprises and individuals. For enterprises, visionOS now has team device sharing as well as enterprise-focused APIs. This update also brings shared experiences, which allows multiple people wearing Vision Pros to be looking at the same content, whether it be a game, movie, or 3D model.
The one final big feature is spatial scenes, which takes photos, videos, and more and makes them viewable from multiple angles and the appearance of more depth.
To learn more about visionOS 26 and see the full list of features, you can click here. Developer Beta is available today, Public Beta is coming next month, and the update itself will be available this fall on the Apple Vision Pro (and any other devices with visionOS that Apple releases before then).
My Take
The one feature that, I think, is the best from this update is the ability to connect accessories such as the Logitech Muse and the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller. These devices (among others) will make it much easier to interact with VisionOS, which can otherwise be difficult to navigate with just hand gestures and eye movement.
The rest of the new updates in VisionOS look pretty cool, but I honestly don’t have much interest in the operating system itself, since I don’t own a Vision Pro. With that being said, I am glad to see that Apple is making progress and continuing to innovate with this platform. Hopefully, they make a cheaper product soon, so the rest of us can get in on the fun…
iPadOS 26
The Features
The new version of iPadOS is a massive update, changing not only the look of the iPad with “liquid glass” but also changing the functionality of it by adding a number of new multitasking and productivity features. The first of these new features is massive updates to windowing. Now, the iPad behaves much more like macOS, allowing users to have complete flexibility with their windows. This means that iPad users can open more windows, use the familiar “traffic light” buttons to manage them, and use macOS-like window tiling. Plus, iPadOS now gets a menu bar that looks very similar in form and function to the one that has been on macOS for years.
It is worth noting that these features do replace Split View and Slide Over, but do not replace Stage Manager, which can be toggled separately. In addition, iPad users who just want to use their iPad without all of these Mac-like features, it is easy to just disable the features and use their iPad in fullscreen mode for reading, gaming, FaceTime, etc.
Window management and the tab bar aren’t the only new features coming to iPad, though. iPadOS 26 also brings a better files app with new viewing modes, folder customization, and the ability to place folders in the dock. Lastly, iPadOS now the ability to run tasks in the background (such as exporting a file from Final Cut Pro or downloading a file from the web).
When it comes to apps, iPadOS gets four new-to-iPad apps with this update. The most significant of these is the Preview app, which has been on macOS for forever and will allow iPad users to view and edit PDFs on their iPad (including with the Apple Pencil). In addition to this, the iPad will also get Phone, Journal, and the new Games app. As always, iPadOS also gets many of the updates featured in iOS 26, such as updates to messages, the redesigned Phone app, and Apple Intelligence updates.
To learn more about iPadOS 26 and see the full list of features, you can click here. Developer Beta is available today, Public Beta is coming next month, and the update itself will be available this fall for the following models:
My Take
In my opinion, Apple saved the best for last with iPadOS 26 bringing massive updates to the iPad! This update finally brings what hardcore iPad users have been asking for: more Mac-like functionality. I think Apple absolutely killed it with all the new multitasking and productivity features listed above. I am so glad that Apple finally improved the Files app, brought Preview to the iPad, and allowed background tasks on iPadOS (my jaw quite literally dropped when they said this).
When it comes to the new Mac-like features, I appreciate how Apple went about these features because they provide the functionality of macOS without becoming macOS itself. I have seen videos where people complain how they just want Apple to install macOS directly onto the iPad, and I completely disagree. I think these new features perfectly balance the line between the functionality of macOS and the “feel” of iPadOS. Are there things that the Mac is still way better at and the iPadOS needs to improve on? Absolutely, but iPadOS 26 is a big step in the right direction, and I am totally here for it! I plan to install the Public Beta when it comes out next month, and I am extremely pumped to check out these new features for iPadOS!
Wrap-Up
This WWDC pleasantly surprised me and while there are some more features I would still love to see, I am happy with the moves that Apple made this year. The new design looks stunning and the updates to iPadOS are going to fundamentally change the user experience on the iPad for years to come, which I am super excited about! I can’t wait to check out all of these features in the coming months! What new feature are you most excited to use? Let me know in the comments!
This is so far over my head it’s nauseating! Awesome for you that you understand it all!!
Great job!! po