At its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Apple introduced a broad set of updates across its major platforms, focusing on enhanced AI integration, design refinements, and improved multitasking capabilities. As predicted, the company shifted to a simplified naming convention this year, labeling its software releases by calendar year: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and watchOS 26. These updates aim to streamline workflows across devices, with a focus on privacy-preserving on-device intelligence.
The “Liquid Glass” Design Across Apple Platforms
Across all their platforms, Apple introduced “Liquid Glass,” a design update focused on transparency and layering effects. Elements such as buttons, sliders, text, and media controls feature subtle translucency and soft blurring, creating a sense of depth that adjusts according to lighting and background content.
In iOS 26, this approach is visible on the lock screen, where wallpapers remain visible behind notifications and widgets, providing a refreshed look each time the device is unlocked. Safari now offers a full-screen mode that prioritizes content visibility. The Camera app streamlines its interface to emphasize photo and video modes, with swipe gestures enabling quick access to additional shooting options. The Phone app merges favorites, recents, and voicemail into a single panel designed for more straightforward navigation.
iOS 26: Smarter Communication and Visual Interaction
Supported devices: iPhone 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11 series, iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)
iOS 26 extends Apple Intelligence features to enhance core communication and visual tools. Live Translation is now integrated within Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app, allowing for real-time translation of typed and spoken conversations without routing data to the cloud, ensuring privacy.
The system introduces Genmoji and Image Playground, tools that use natural language prompts to generate personalized emojis and images with customizable expressions and styles. Object recognition capabilities have been improved to identify items on screen more reliably, aiding users in shopping or research contexts.
The Messages app supports new features including typing indicators in group chats, group polls, and a message filtering system designed to help users separate known contacts from unknown senders. AI-powered summaries and smart reply suggestions appear within Mail and Messages to reduce the friction of managing large volumes of text.
iOS 26 also debuted the “Liquid Glass” design language, introducing translucent, layered UI elements across notifications, buttons, and media controls, offering a more modern and subtle depth effect throughout the interface.
iPadOS 26: Advanced Multitasking and Creative AI Tools
Supported devices: iPad Pro (M4), iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (3rd gen and later), iPad Pro 11‑inch (1st gen and later), iPad Air (M3), iPad Air (M2), iPad Air (3rd gen and later), iPad (A16), iPad (8th gen and later), iPad mini (A17 Pro), iPad mini (5th gen and later)
iPadOS 26 significantly improves multitasking, introducing flexible window management that allows users to resize app windows freely, stack and overlap multiple windows, and open several instances of the same or different apps simultaneously. This brings the iPad closer to desktop-style workflows, with a new menu bar that slides down from the top of each app, exposing contextual commands and options in a Mac-like fashion.
A more precise mouse pointer improves cursor control, particularly useful for creative and productivity workflows. iPadOS 26 also includes a version of the Mac’s Preview app, enabling users to view, edit, and annotate PDFs and images directly on their iPad.
AI-powered Writing Tools allow users to rewrite, summarize, or refine text using natural language prompts, applicable across supported apps. The Notes app gains the Image Wand feature, which converts rough sketches into polished vector illustrations. Photos includes a Clean Up tool that automatically removes distracting backgrounds from images, improving presentation and focus.
Search capabilities are enhanced with natural language understanding, making it easier to find content using conversational queries. Messages benefits from smarter reply suggestions that adapt to context and user tone. Multitasking is further optimized through AI-driven suggestions and context-aware actions that adapt based on how the user interacts with their device.
macOS Tahoe 26: Refined Search and Cross-Device Integration
Supported devices: MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020 and later), MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020 and later), MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), iMac (2020 and later), Mac mini (2020 and later), Mac Studio (2022 and later), Mac Pro (2019 and later)
macOS Tahoe 26 introduces a revamped Spotlight search experience designed to deliver more relevant and personalized results. Users can filter search outcomes by file type, folders, apps, messages, and more. Spotlight now supports actionable commands such as sending emails, creating notes, or opening apps directly from search results.
A new Passwords app provides a unified credential manager with cross-platform support, syncing securely across Apple devices and Windows PCs using iCloud Keychain. Safari enhances reading and browsing with Highlights, a feature that extracts key points and organizes web page content into summaries and tables of contents for easier navigation.
Video Viewer refines picture-in-picture functionality, improving usability during multitasking. The macOS writing experience is enhanced with Smart Writing Tools that provide real-time suggestions and refinements while typing.
A notable addition is iPhone Mirroring, which allows users to control their iPhone from the Mac seamlessly, including drag-and-drop file transfers and unified notifications, all protected by end-to-end encryption.
For developers, the Foundation Models framework allows embedding Apple’s on-device AI capabilities into macOS applications using Swift. Private Cloud Compute ensures that when cloud processing is necessary, data remains encrypted and inaccessible to Apple, preserving user privacy.
As part of its long-term transition to Apple Silicon, Apple announced during the developer keynote that macOS Tahoe 26 will be the final macOS release to support Intel-based Macs. This signals the end of an era for Intel-powered Mac devices, which have been gradually phased out since the introduction of Apple’s own silicon chips in 2020. Moving forward, all new macOS updates will be optimized exclusively for Apple Silicon, allowing for tighter hardware-software integration, improved performance, and expanded support for on-device AI features.
watchOS 26: Enhanced Fitness Coaching and Communication Features
Supported devices: Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch Ultra 2
watchOS 26 adds new features focused on fitness and personal health. The Workout Buddy feature delivers real-time, personalized spoken coaching based on user-specific metrics, operating fully offline without requiring an internet connection.
A new wrist flick gesture lets users quickly dismiss notifications, streamlining interactions without needing to tap the screen. The Vitals app provides daily health summaries and alerts for anomalies, giving users a clearer overview of their health trends. Cycle Tracking has been improved with additional data inputs to better support pregnancy tracking.
Users can pause their Activity rings temporarily without breaking streaks, allowing for more flexible goal management. Custom activity goals can be set to tailor the Apple Watch experience to individual preferences.
The Translate app is now available on the watch, enabling real-time spoken translation in over 20 languages, supporting conversation and travel needs directly from the wrist. Smart Stack widgets have been updated to support enhanced Live Activities and translation functionality.
Privacy and Developer Access
Apple Intelligence is designed with a strong emphasis on user privacy, prioritizing on-device data processing to minimize exposure of personal information. By handling most AI computations locally, Apple reduces the need to send sensitive data to external servers, limiting potential risks associated with cloud storage and transmission.
For operations that require cloud resources, Apple employs its Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, which encrypts data both in transit and at rest. This system is architected so that neither Apple nor any unauthorized parties can access or view user data during processing, reinforcing privacy safeguards.
In parallel, Apple is expanding opportunities for developers through its Foundation Models framework. This framework provides secure, on-device access to Apple’s advanced AI models, enabling third-party apps to integrate sophisticated AI-driven features while maintaining the same privacy protections users expect. Developers can build applications that leverage powerful machine learning capabilities without compromising device performance or user data security.
By combining local processing with secure cloud computing and developer tools, Apple aims to create a balanced ecosystem where innovation and privacy coexist.
Availability
Developer betas for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and watchOS 26 are currently available. Public betas will begin in July 2025, with a full public release scheduled for later this year.
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