It’s that time of year when Apple run their World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) and announce their roadmap for core software platforms such as macOS, iOS/iPadOS as well as WatchOS and VisionOS.
There was a lot to unpack so I’ve summarised the top 5 most impactful announcements from Apple below.
Major visual changes with Liquid Glass
Why it matters: Liquid Glass represents a universal design across all Apple platforms, bringing a consistency and familiarity to the user experience no matter which device is being used. Whilst UI changes tend to sit squarely in the personal preference category, Apple have clearly focused on this visual refresh as a significant development at WWDC25 (learn more).
New filesystem and windowing on iPadOS allows for genuine multi-tasking
Why it matters: Addressing one of the biggest complaints of iPad superusers, Apple has borrowed heavily from macOS to supercharge the filesystem and in particular, made working with mutiple app windows significantly easier. These changes will certainly tempt some Apple fans to leave their Mac behind and make their iPad the primary daily device of choice (learn more).
Renaming of all OS versions – aligning to the calendar year of release date
Why it matters: With the maturation of iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch in particular, it was becoming increasingly confusing to align the hardware model with the OS version e.g. an iPhone 16 Pro running iOS18. With this decision, all of Apple’s OS editions across all hardware will ‘reset’ to the calendar year of release as of 2026, meaning we will see the announcement of macOS 26, iOS 26, iPadOS 26, WatchOS 26 and VisionOS 26. Simple, right? (learn more).
macOS 26 (Tahoe) signals end of support for Intel Chipsets in Mac
Why it matters: Similar to Microsoft’s move to no longer support Windows 10, Apple is bringing the curtains down on feature updates to Intel based Macs (2019-20 vintage) with macOS 26 (however security updates will be provided for a further three years). This represents an important juncture and should be triggering refresh considerations for organisations still running Intel chipset Macs (learn more).
Apple Intelligence Update
Why it matters: Whilst Apple announced a slew of updates under the broader category of Apple Intelligence (e.g. live translations in Messages, Phones, FaceTime; improved Visual Intelligence with context aware prompts) it was most notable that the long talked about updates to a smarter Siri were delayed once again. Citing the need to hit a high quality bar before release, Apple indicated it would be available in ‘the coming year’, raising questions on whether Apple is lagging further behind competitors in the AI space (learn more).
Bonus Techie Highlight: Device Management Migration and Authenticated Guest Mode
Why it matters: Often the major highlights from WWDC overshadow some of the more technical improvements being made by Apple. The introduction of authenticated guest mode allows users to quickly sign into a Mac with their organisational credentials (think Microsoft/Okta) or even using an NFC key stored in their iPhone wallet. This level of enterprise integration with Mac will help secure further credibility for macOS in larger organisations and the Device Management Migration announcements mean system administrators can more easily migrate devices from one MDM to another (learn more).
