Apple packed a bunch of main updates into its annual Worldwide Developer Conference keynote. During the occasion, the corporate confirmed off the modern design refresh coming to its working methods, in addition to a mixture of new options for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and extra.
Here’s a roundup of a few of the most enjoyable modifications Apple introduced through the keynote.
As predicted, Apple has given every of its working methods new model numbers that now align with the yr after their launch, somewhat than the model quantity. The new names are iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26. They’ll be popping out in late 2025, however nonetheless, it’s simpler to keep in mind that than iOS 19, watchOS 12, and macOS 16.
The working methods can be found as developer betas beginning immediately and will likely be obtainable to all customers this fall.
Image: Apple
Apple is revamping the design throughout its working methods. Now they may have a brand new Liquid Glass theme that provides extra transparency to buttons, switches, sliders, textual content, and media controls all through their interfaces.
The date, time, notification previews on iOS 26’s lockscreen can even undertake the brand new look, permitting you to get a transparent view of your wallpaper behind all of the textual content.
New seems to be for the Camera, Safari, and Phone apps
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As a part of its broader redesign, Apple revealed revamps for a few of its core apps in iOS 26. Now, webpages in Safari will take up your complete display screen. The Camera app additionally has a simplified format that reveals you two essential choices — photograph and video — and you’ll swipe on the device bar to disclose different modes, corresponding to Slow-Mo and Cinematic.
The Phone app is getting an improve, as effectively, as it can now have a format that mixes favorites, recents, and voicemails into one panel, whereas calls, contacts, and keypad stay on the underside of the app.
Image: Apple
Apple is bringing a significant replace to iPadOS 26 that ought to make multitasking simpler. New windowing capabilities will allow you to resize app home windows, place them round your show, and open extra home windows directly. It’s additionally including a extra exact mouse pointer and a brand new menu bar, permitting you to swipe down on an app to view numerous choices and instructions. It all seems to be much more Mac-like.
iPadOS 26 can also be getting a model of the Mac’s Preview app to view and annotate picture and recordsdata.
Messages will get customized backgrounds and new group chat options
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Apple is updating Messages to allow you to change the background of your chats and create polls in group conversations. Some different updates embrace typing indicators for group chats and the power to display screen messages from unknown senders, which can seem in a separate folder as a substitute of your essential listing.
Image: Apple
Apple revealed a brand new Games app that can allow you to entry your whole Apple Arcade video games and uncover new ones from a single spot. You can take a look at the Library tab to view the video games you’ve downloaded from the App Store, in addition to use the Play Together choice to problem mates.
Image: Apple
The subsequent macOS software program replace will introduce an improve to Spotlight that can make your search outcomes extra related with personalization and filtering choices that will help you seek for particular recordsdata, folders, apps, and messages. It additionally provides the power to take actions like sending an e-mail or making a observe.
Apple can also be bringing the Phone and the newly introduced Games app to macOS 26, together with assist for the iPhone’s Live Activities.
The Apple Vision Pro will assist PlayStation’s VR2 Sense controllers in visionOS 26, which can allow you to play a greater diversity of virtual-reality video games. It’s additionally including a brand new scrolling function that lets customers navigate apps by wanting up or down, along with spatial widgets that combine “seamlessly right into a person’s area and reappearing each time they placed on Apple Vision Pro.”
There’s a brand new Apple Intelligence function coming to iOS 26 that allows you to use the identical buttons you’ll to take a screenshot to name upon the AI assistant. From there, you’ll be able to ask further questions on what you’re seeing in your display screen with ChatGPT or seek for a selected object on Google or Etsy to seek out comparable photographs.
Along with the Liquid Glass design language, Apple is bringing a brand new “wrist flick” gesture to watchOS 26 that you should use to dismiss notifications. The Apple Watch can have a brand new AI-powered “Workout Buddy,” as effectively, which can generate customized recommendation and encouragements.
Apple is constructing AI-powered reside translation into the Messages, FaceTime, and Phone apps. You can use the mixing to mechanically translate texts within the Messages app, when you’ll hear speech translated aloud on the Phone app. In FaceTime, Apple will show translated reside captions when you take heed to your dialog associate.
Apple previewed an replace that can let customers take a photograph with their iPhone or iPad by tapping the stem of their AirPods. It’s additionally engaged on a brand new function that lets customers document “studio-quality” vocals in noisy areas with voice isolation. The options will come to the AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, and AirPods Pro 2.
Apple opens its AI fashions to builders
Though Apple’s keynote was a bit gentle on AI information, the corporate introduced that it’s going to let third-party app builders entry the on-device massive language mannequin utilized by Apple Intelligence, permitting them to create instruments of their very own.
