Apple maintained a subdued tone during its WWDC 2025 announcements, focusing on what it excels at: simplifying user interfaces (UI) for everyday interactions and enhancing the seamless integration and consistent appearance of its devices across various platforms.
Key highlights from the event included the adoption of a streamlined operating system (OS) naming convention that aligns with the current year (iOS 26, iPadOS 26, etc.), enhancements to continuity features throughout its ecosystem, the unveiling of a new design aesthetic termed Liquid Glass across products (a Vision Pro feature), and incremental advancements in Apple Intelligence.
Apple Intelligence was everywhere
Apple Intelligence was peppered throughout the announcements. The company acknowledged the need for additional time to meet its quality standards – the nonchalant manner of the announcement reflected Apple’s confidence in its ongoing development, despite recent discussions around AI advancements in the industry. This approach may also serve as a strategy to deflect unwelcome inquiries following the critical scrutiny Apple Intelligence has faced from the tech media. Among the notable AI features showcased were the new Live Translate function, which leverages on-device intelligence, Visual Intelligence capabilities, and a contextual search feature called Spotlight, exclusive to MacBook users.
The most significant updates were for iPadOS 26, which now offers improved multitasking capabilities, including the ability to resize windows, and AI-driven features such as Live Translation in iPhone, FaceTime, and Messages. Apple appears to be diminishing the distinction between iPads and MacBooks with its new windowing system, Mac-like controls, and a menu bar. This enhancement renders the iPad experience more potent and versatile, potentially obscuring the traditional demarcation between the two devices, especially the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air. This convergence may lead to a degree of cannibalization between the two product lines, however.
Liquid glass: a likely precursor to Apple’s AR glasses?
Apple has changed its UI for the first time since iOS 7 launched 12 years ago. Liquid Glass, a Vision Pro UI aesthetic, stands out for its unique design, which leverages the optical properties of glass to create a visually striking, slightly raised UI icons. The update to Liquid Glass is not merely a cosmetic change but a move to modernise Apple’s OS.
This modernisation seems to be laying the groundwork for compatibility with future devices, such as AR glasses. These glasses overlay an enhanced, or ‘elevated’ UI onto the real-world environment, suggesting Apple’s potential foray into this sector.
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Apple’s on-device AI models are now available to developers for free
Another key highlight of WWDC25 was Apple opening up its foundational AI models to developers for free. Developers can now leverage built-in language models for offline processing, which translates to smaller app sizes and independence from cloud services.
According to Apple, its Swift-native “guided generation” system is optimised for structured outputs, which is particularly advantageous for education, productivity, and communication apps. For instance, an educational app like Kahoot can now create a customized study guide using on-device models, avoiding cloud costs and ensuring a unified user experience.
This innovation could be a major advancement for developers in these sectors, offering the benefits of large language models (LLMs) without the associated latency, expenditure, or privacy concerns.
