Anticipated Disclosures at Apple's WWDC25 on June 9th
**Apple Announces Major Design Overhaul Across iOS, macOS, and Other Platforms**
In a groundbreaking announcement, Apple has unveiled significant visual and interface updates for its iOS 26, macOS 26 (macOS Tahoe 26), and other software offerings. The anticipated changes aim to create a more expressive, translucent, and personalized user experience across Apple's ecosystem.
**iOS 26 Visual and Interface Updates**
The redesign, described as the biggest since iOS 7, introduces a translucent, glass-inspired aesthetic called "Solarium." This design draws influence from visionOS's semi-translucent interfaces, allowing content to subtly shine through, creating a light and airy feel.
iOS 26 features floating on-screen windows and rounded pop-up navigation and menu bars that hover above the content, with shading and shadowing to give interface elements a slight lift. Tab bars now shrink when users scroll to focus attention on content, then fluidly expand back when scrolling up.
Widgets on the Lock Screen and Home Screen adopt the new translucent design without changing their functionality. The Lock Screen time display is crafted out of "Liquid Glass," elegantly adapting behind photo subjects.
The update extends design consistency across iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS for a coherent and elegant experience.
**macOS 26 Visual and Interface Updates**
macOS Tahoe 26 adopts more expressive and personalized UI elements while remaining familiar. Key components like the desktop, Dock, in-app navigation, and toolbars receive design refreshes.
Users gain new options to colorize folders, app icons, and widgets, enhancing desktop personalization. Sidebars and control centers include translucent effects that refract and reflect content and wallpaper, adding depth and context-awareness.
A completely transparent menu bar increases the perceived size of the Mac display, making it feel more expansive. Expanded Continuity features include the Phone app on Mac and Live Activities integration to show real-time updates like upcoming flights. Spotlight now supports direct execution of hundreds of actions and new browsing modes for faster content access.
**Cross-Platform Enhancements and Developer Opportunities**
The update extends a unified "Liquid Glass" design language across all Apple platforms. Updated SwiftUI, UIKit, and AppKit APIs enable third-party and Apple developers to adopt these new visual styles and dynamic controls efficiently.
**Summary Table of Key Visual Changes**
| Feature | iOS 26 | macOS Tahoe 26 | Cross-Platform/Other | |-----------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|----------------------------| | Design Inspiration | Translucent "Solarium"/visionOS style | Expressive, translucent Liquid Glass | Consistent Liquid Glass design language | | UI Elements | Floating windows & menus, shrinking tab bars | Transparent menu bar, colorful folders/icons, translucent sidebars | Unified visual themes, refined navigation | | Widget Design | Translucent widgets, same functionality | Widgets with light/dark tints and animation | Widgets adapt across platforms with new APIs | | Continuity & Spotlight | Improved app connectivity | Phone app on Mac, Live Activities, Spotlight overhaul | Enhanced system intelligence and actions | | Developer Support | Updated APIs for easy adoption | Updated SwiftUI/UIKit/AppKit APIs | New design controls for developers |
These visual and functional changes represent a bold shift towards a more fluid, transparent, and immersive user interface across Apple’s ecosystem, enhancing both aesthetics and productivity.
Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4]
Additional features such as live translation for phone calls and text messages, a new video game app incorporating Apple Arcade and select games, and a dedicated "AI Doctor" are rumoured for future updates, but were not confirmed at WWDC25.
In line with the design overhaul across Apple's platforms, Gizmodo anticipates that the future updates of iOS, macOS, and other software offerings will incorporate technology such as the adoption of AI in the form of a "AI Doctor" to enhance user experiences. The tech industry, along with developers, will have opportunities to leverage the updated SwiftUI, UIKit, and AppKit APIs to create more immersive technology experiences in the future, following Apple's transition towards a fluid, transparent, and technologically advanced user interface.
