Apple officially hosted WWDC 2025 on 9 June, showcasing major software updates across its ecosystem. While no new hardware was introduced, the event focused on consistency in design and other software updates. It also highlighted cross-platform productivity and a significant push into AI with privacy in mind.
Interestingly, Apple decided not to follow the numbering system (now isn't this familiar...) for its operating systems' latest updates. Instead, the company will now use a year-based numbering system, so the event announced iOS 26 instead of iOS 19, macOS 26 instead of macOS 19, and so forth. So, why 26 and not 25? Because it's supposed to be applicable for the next calendar year, not the current one.
Of course, that's not the only unexpected announcement during WWDC 2025. Long-time fans and analysts expected certain things, but did the WWDC 2025 highlights satisfy them? Let's find out.
Expectations: What many expected
Before WWDC 2025, many expected to see some new hardware, updates on Apple Intelligence, better AI implementation, better multitasking tools, and productivity enhancements. While Apple addressed many of these areas through software updates, some long-requested features remain absent or delayed.
WWDC 2025 was all about software, introducing updates for macOS and more
Here's a list of what fans and analysts were expecting:
- Better battery life for the iPhone and Mac
- A visual upgrade for the iOS UI
- An improved Siri powered by a large language model (LLM)
- Better gaming capability for Mac machines, some form of Game Mode, or improvement to the Metal API
- Windowed multitasking and desktop-style controls for iPad
- Multi-user support for Apple TV
- New hardware like M4 Macs or AirPods Max 2
- More offline AI processing with privacy in mind
- FaceTime enhancements and multi-device integration
- Live translation or adaptive features for AirPods
- A teaser for possible upcoming products like the rumoured foldable iPhone
Reality: What Apple Actually Announced at WWDC 2025
This year's WWDC contained zero hardware announcements, as it was all software. During the event, Apple discussed AI integration, cross-platform UI consistency, and on-device intelligence. Here's a list of what Apple actually announced:
Battery Life
There was no universal battery life improvement across devices. However, Apple claimed that the Safari browser on Mac now offers up to 4 extra hours of streaming time compared to Chrome, thanks to performance and efficiency enhancements. Nothing for iPhone or iPad users, but MacBook users can watch more Netflix or YouTube, so it's at least something.
New Adaptive Power mode
There's also a new "Adaptive Power" in iOS 26 that could improve battery life. According to Apple, this mode will adjust some settings (like brightness) or make some tasks "take a little longer". This could mean lowering the processing power used for such tasks, which could help reduce power consumption.
Liquid Glass
At WWDC 2025, Apple announced a new software visual design language called Liquid Glass. The company expects to use Liquid Glass as the standard for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. If you don't know what a design language means, it's like the framework or 'theme' for elements like widgets, icons, fonts, etc. With Liquid Glass, we'll see more translucent elements, rounded edges, and consistent spacing for a unified Apple experience.
Apple Intelligence and Siri
Apple also expanded on Apple Intelligence to include new (but familiar) features. Interestingly, many of these features highlighted a focus on privacy and usability. According to Apple, Apple Intelligence will run on-device or with Private Cloud Compute, which should enhance privacy when using the AI platform. As for improvements to AI features, refer to the below:
- Rewrite text and Proofread for writing apps
- Enhanced Priority Notifications and Smart Reply
- Image Playground for AI-generated content
- Genmoji for personalised emojis
Unfortunately, Apple fans hoping to see a next-gen Siri with LLM support will have to wait. At the event, Craig Federighi (Apple software engineering chief) said that the new version of Siri isn't ready yet. However, details will be shared in the coming year. Perhaps we'll hear more during the annual iPhone event in September.
Gaming
Surprisingly, there were some updates on the gaming side. This year, Apple unveiled a new dedicated app for gaming called Games. It's essentially a revamped version of the Game Center app and functions as the user's gaming hub or games library. It will be pre-installed on macOS 26, iOS 26, and iPadOS 26.
The new Games app is accessible through the Mac, iPad, and iPhone
For macOS, Apple also announced an update to its graphics engine. With Metal 4, macOS now has the MetalFX Frame Interpolation and MetalFX denoising features; the latter will help with real-time ray tracing and path tracing. In addition, macOS 26 has a new games overlay that allows you to adjust the brightness, volume, and controller profiles. You can also toggle Game Mode. Lastly, there's a new version 3.0 beta of the Game Porting Toolkit.
iPad Multitasking
iPadOS 26 offers some cool updates for iPad users. If you like working on a tablet, as it can be more portable, iPadOS 26 offers new multitasking features. With the updates, users can now resize apps into different windows. This means you can now transfer content from one app to another. You can also arrange the apps into 'tiles', which would feel familiar to desktop and laptop users. iPadOS 26 also has a new menu bar similar to macOS, plus enhanced support for external displays and productivity apps.
Better window management for apps on iPad
Apple TV and tvOS
There are also some new updates for tvOS 26. For instance, it now features multi-user profiles with separate recommendations for each profile. Want to host karaoke sessions at home? That's now possible with Apple Music Sing, which lets you use your iPhone as an impromptu microphone. This karaoke feature supports multiple users, so your friends can queue their songs or send emojis. Unfortunately, there's still no FaceTime support for Apple TV, contrary to some expectations.
On-Device AI and Translation
Next, Apple also announced some on-device AI features for all its platforms. This includes Live Translation, which works on selected iPhone, iPad, and Mac models for Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Currently, the feature supports translations for English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, or Chinese (simplified).
Live Translation for phone calls
Another feature is Visual Intelligence, an image search feature similar to Google's Circle to Search. Other notable features include Writing Tools (for writing apps), Clean Up (image editing), Mail Summaries, and Smart Reply.
visionOS
Finally, we have some updates to visionOS 26, which promises users a more immersive experience. Widgets are now integrated into the user's space, so they'll see it when they wear an Apple Vision Pro. Users can also watch selected movies in 3D, play games with others or collaborate in meetings. In addition, Personas are now more expressive and sharp.
Widgets now appear within the user's space
Release dates
So Apple announced new versions of macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and more. But what are the release dates? We don't have any exact dates yet, but here are the expected release windows:
- macOS 26 - Expected release in Fall 2025 (between September to November 2025)
- iOS 26 - Beta version in July 2025, official release in September 2025
- iPadOS 26 - Beta version now available, official release in Fall 2025
- watchOS 26 - Beta version now available, official release in 2H 2025
- visionOS 26 - Beta version now available, official release in Fall 2025
Conclusion
Apple's 2025 strategy focuses on refining the user experience, minor upgrades to its AI capabilities (but with new features), and making a more unified ecosystem. The lack of hardware announcement might feel disappointing, but not unexpected as WWDC is mainly a software conference. Ultimately, it's up to you to decide whether WWDC 2025 satisfied expectations.
So, what did you think of the announcements and updates from WWDC 2025? Were they what you hoped to see, or were you expecting more from Apple this year? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to TechNave for more updates from Apple.
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