WWDC 2025 Highlights: From iOS 26 to Smarter Apple Watches- The Top 10 Announcements That Matter

Apple kicked off its highly anticipated annual event, dubbed Worldwide Developers Conference 2025, on June 9, bringing a wave of new features and updates across its ecosystem. From fresh design changes to deeper ap functionalities, the tech giant refreshed and refined everything on every screen. iPhones to Vision Pro, here are the most important announcements made at WWDC 2025.

Apple’s Operating Systems Now Use Year-Based Names

The first thing that Apple announced at its WWDC 2025 is that the company has officially switched to a new naming system for all its major platforms. Rather than version numbers or geographical names, the operating systems will now be identified by the year including iOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.

Liquid Glass Design Refresh Across All Platforms

With the arrival of iOS 26, a major overhaul entered in the form of Liquid Glass design and that is company’s new UI language. This UI is focused on soft gradients, gentle reflections, and layered translucency. The new look is not just present across across iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro, but it also enhances the depth, elegance, and movement in the interface elements.

Camera, Safari, and Phone Apps Get a Makeover

Three of the most used apps in Apple-Camera, Safari, and Phone have received a significant redesigning. Now, the camera app is more intuitive than before and comes with faster accessing. The Safari is embedded with the new tab view and simplified navigation. However, the Phone app now features updated call management tools with a cleaner look.

iPadOS 26 Introduces Smarter Windowing

iPadOS 26 also got improvements and hence the iPad is becoming more flexible and powerful. Apps can be resized more freely and you can drag them around the screen. Additionally, you can also snap into layouts that suit how you work.

iPad also gets a macOS style customizable Menu bar that can be accessible by swiping down from the top or moving a connected mouse or trackpad to the t of the screen.

There’s an addition of the Preview App to iPad with Full PDF Support. This means users can view, annotate, and sign PDFs and images directly on the iPad without needing third-party tools.

Messages Adds Custom Backgrounds and Group Chat Upgrades

The Message App in Apple is also getting more personal along with increased functionality. The company now allows you to add custom backgrounds for cats and improved tools like better organization and enhanced mentions. There is also an inline replies and more expressive effects in Messages App.

A New Gaming Hub Unites Apple’s Gaming Experience

For the first time, Apple introduced a dedicated hub for gamers, bringing all the titles into one place. This new gaming space will allow gamers to track their progress, resume games across devices, and manage cloud saves. The app is designed to work across all platforms including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and Apple TV, creating a console like experience.

macOS Tahoe 26 Enhances Spotlight Search

With the introduction of macOS 26 Tahoe, the tech giant is boosting Spotlight’s capabilities and hence the search tool now delivers smarter suggestions and improved context based results. There is a deeper integration with apps and online content. Spotlight has now become faster and more intelligent than ever.

Apple Watch Adds Fitness Coaching, Smart Alerts, and New Gestures

Talking about the Apple Watch, it features the Liquid Glass interface, allowing smoother transitions and modern look. One of the standout features is the Workout Buddy, that provide coaching suggestions based on your fitness history.  In addition, there is a wrist flick gesture in Apple Watch that lets you quickly dismiss calls or alerts.

Updates for Apple TV and Vision Pro

Apple TV now adopts the Liquid Glass UI, and also adds automatic user profile detection when waking up, making it easier for households to switch between personalized content. On the Vision Pro side, widgets are now supported—you can pin calendars, photos, and more around your space. These widgets stay fixed even after restarting the headset. visionOS 26 also improves spatial photo realism using a new AI algorithm that generates scenes with rich depth and multiple perspectives.