What Major Changes Did Apple Unveil at WWDC 2025?

Cupertino (California), June 10 (NationPress) Analysts indicated on Tuesday that this year, Apple emphasized one of its core strengths: providing a cohesive and seamless experience across all its devices, coupled with a striking visual enhancement — the most significant visual redesign since iOS 7.

During its premier developer conference, ‘WWDC 2025’, Apple unveiled iOS 26 — a substantial upgrade that introduces a stunning new interface, intelligent functionalities, and enhancements to the applications that users depend on daily. The revamped design delivers a more expressive and enjoyable experience throughout the system while preserving the familiar feel of iOS.

According to Tarun Pathak, Director at Counterpoint Research, the updated visual design featuring a new “liquid glass” aesthetic is anticipated to further boost user engagement across Apple’s device ecosystem.

“Two announcements stood out: ‘On-device AI for Developers’ and ‘iPadOS Reimagined’. The capability for developers to utilize Apple’s on-device models via the Foundation Models framework, along with the rollout of Apple Intelligence across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro, marks a positive progression in its AI journey, especially as it is perceived to lag behind competitors,” Pathak explained.

However, the AI landscape of 2025 differs significantly from the AI buzz of 2024. Users are still becoming accustomed to AI applications, and “we have yet to witness a groundbreaking use case”.

The most noteworthy insights emerged from the enhancements to iPadOS. These updates will reinforce the iPad’s role as a powerful device for both on-the-go content creation and consumption, Pathak noted.

The tech giant also introduced watchOS 26, featuring an elegant new appearance and enhanced intelligence for a more personalized experience, aimed at helping users stay active, healthy, and connected.

The new design with Liquid Glass enhances features like the Smart Stack, Control Center, the Photos watch face, and in-app navigation and controls, making them more expressive while retaining the familiarity of watchOS.

Prabhu Ram, VP at CyberMedia Research (CMR), stated that Apple has adopted a fundamentals-first strategy, prioritizing user interface (UI) improvements over AI. Instead of chasing speculative AI trends, Apple is focused on delivering immediate and tangible benefits to its users.

“A significant highlight was the launch of on-device access to Apple’s large language model through the new Foundation Models framework. This move signals a decentralized AI strategy, empowering developers to craft unique experiences directly on Apple devices,” Ram told IANS.

The success of this approach will depend on developer adoption, the robustness of Apple’s tools, and the company’s capacity to iterate swiftly.

Apple’s tightly integrated hardware ecosystem provides it with a considerable advantage and a unique opportunity to lead in AI monetization. However, this opportunity may quickly diminish if Apple cannot keep up, especially as agentic AI and cross-platform innovations advance elsewhere, Ram cautioned.