Apple unveiled upgrades to operating systems across its devices on Monday, including overhauled visual elements, a fresh naming system for software updates, and new features in its Apple Intelligence suite.
At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, the company also said it would open up the underlying technology it uses for Apple Intelligence to developers.
The tone and content of the presentations at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference focused more on incremental developments, including live translations for phone calls and design changes to its operating systems, that improve everyday life rather than the sweeping ambitions for AI that Apple's rivals are marketing.
Apple software chief Craig Federighi said the company is opening up the foundational AI model that it uses for some of its own features to third-party developers.
"This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar," Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, said of the delays of some features, such as improvements to the Siri virtual assistant.
In an early demonstration of how partners could improve Apple apps, the company added image generation from OpenAI's ChatGPT to its Image Playground app, saying that user data would not be shared with OpenAI without a user's permission.
Operating systems
Federighi also said Apple plans a design overhaul of all of its operating systems.
Apple's redesign of its operating systems centered on a design it calls "liquid glass" where icons and menus are partially transparent, a step Apple executives said was possible because of the more powerful custom chips in Apple devices versus a decade ago.
Federighi said the new design will span operating systems for iPhones, Macs and other Apple products. He also said Apple's operating systems will be given year names instead of sequential numbers for each version.
That will unify naming conventions that have become confusing because Apple's core operating systems for phones, watches, and other devices kicked off at different times, resulting in a smattering of differently numbered operating systems for different products.
Several parts of the operating systems are getting a major visual overhaul as part of the redesign.
The Phone app now includes call screening, allowing it to answer calls or wait on hold for you. The Messages app is also getting updates that include customizable chat backgrounds.
Apple also said it would add generative AI to its Xcode coding tools to help developers write code, test it, and resolve errors. The company said it would add other coding models, such as ChatGPT, to Xcode.
iOS 26 with Liquid Glass feels like a natural next step. Your iPhone is just a slab of glass, so why shouldn’t the UI feel like one?
undefined Thomas Meijer ❖ iOS app designer (@ijsthee) June 9, 2025
The animations, the lightness, the fluidity. That’s peak Apple.
But I’m curious how they’ll handle accessibility. Early screenshots aren’t… pic.twitter.com/W1S5y3RC9s
“Liquid Glass”
Apple is rolling out a new "Liquid Glass" design language across its software, bringing sleek translucence and a glass-like shine to app interfaces.
Inspired by visionOS on the Vision Pro augmented reality device, the design adapts to light and dark modes and reacts dynamically to movement using real-time rendering.
The new design will be implemented in buttons, sliders, media controls and larger elements such as tab bars and sidebars, along with matching redesigned toolbars and navigation.
Apple is releasing updated Application Programming Interfaces so that developers can begin adapting their apps ahead of the new design rollout later this year.
Apple Intelligence
New additions to the operating system include Live Translation, which uses on-device AI models to translate conversations in real time, in text messages, phone calls or FaceTime.
Apple Pay is also getting Apple Intelligence integration, enabling it to track orders even for purchases made outside Apple Pay.
Meanwhile, Image Playground is getting a boost with a new feature that allows users to generate images with the help of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Apple will now allow developers to tap into its on-device foundational model for their own apps. Through the new Foundation Models framework, developers can build intelligent, privacy-focused experiences that work offline too.
Visual Intelligence
Apple will also let users learn more about what's on their iPhone screens via Visual Intelligence.
Users can search across Google, Etsy and other supported apps to find visually similar images or products. If the tool detects that you're viewing an event, iOS 26 will suggest adding it to your calendar.
This feature will be accessible using the same button combination used to take a screenshot on an iPhone.
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