Apple is planning to completely rejigger the software on all its biggest products, from the iPhone and Mac all the way down to the Vision Pro. To promote this rapid maturation across the Apple ecosystem, every OS will reportedly experience a growth spurt and jump from whatever number it’s on to “26,” according to Bloomberg. Apple’s first major overhaul of all its software offerings in years may be more subtle than you might expect when they debut next week at WWDC25 on June 9 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.
Glassy and Translucent “Solarium” Visual Redesign
There’s a whole host of visual changes coming to the alleged iOS 26, macOS 26 (reportedly dubbed “Tahoe” in honor of the famed freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains), iPadOS 26, and all the rest. The most immediate differences are said to be purely visual. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has suggested in multiple reports that iOS and the family of Apple’s products will sport new bubbles inspired by the glassy, transparent windows found in the Vision Pro’s visionOS. According to reports, this new look will be the new unifying theme for all of Apple’s ecosystem. Several sources have referred to this design as “Solarium,” effectively a sunroom that allows light to pass through at multiple angles. Imagine all your app icons with transparent or translucent, glass-like textures, and you probably won’t be far from the mark next week.
Despite the big talk, we don’t expect it to be so outside the norm of what we had with iOS 18. The last big OS update included customizable app icons and widgets, and we expect those to remain if Apple takes the “bubble” route with its new UX. Knowing Apple’s normal slow pace of OS software updates, iOS 26 will likely be far less zany than Android 16’s recent Material 3 Expressive redesign.
Small Updates to Apple Apps
Apple’s smaller product portfolio, including CarPlay and tvOS, could bear many of these design elements. The Apple Watch interface may look different in the coming months with this upcoming software revamp. Apple may add more health and fitness features to its smartwatches, though the rumored “AI Doctor,” which would offer insights based on the data your watch collects from you, may not receive its license to practice in time for WWDC25. More of Gurman’s recent deluge of leaks suggested Apple may finally add more Mac features to iPadOS to make it far better at multitasking, beyond its current Stage Manager mode.
Current reports from usually accurate sources don’t exactly have us pounding at the gates of Apple Park to see what’s in store. 9to5Mac reported this week the Messages app may finally be able to access an automated text translation similar to what’s been around on Samsung Galaxy phones for the last two years. The Apple Music app may showcase the album art on your phone’s lock screen while playing tunes.
Mac is Back With a Whole New Menu Bar
With a little more than a weekend out from WWDC25, Gurman shared all-new details about how Macs will brandish this new “Solarium” redesign. MacOS 26, or “Tahoe,” will showcase a redesigned menu bar and window buttons. This should include some of these see-through elements, though none of your app icons will migrate far from where they currently sit on your desktop screen. What will reportedly be different is the new focus on “pop-out menus,” which Gurman highlighted as a continuous design across Apple’s entire ecosystem.
Additionally, all of Apple’s operating systems will include customizable views for the weather, stock, and appointment widgets. The Preview app, which on Mac is used to quickly see your files, pictures, or videos, is said to be coming to iPads and iPhones as well.
AI In More Places and Maybe With Help from Anthropic and Google
Not too long ago, just a single trip around the sun, Apple promised it would launch its big AI overhaul on iPhone, Mac, and practically every other device. Apple Intelligence was supposed to transform Siri from a know-nothing bonehead into a sophisticated chatbot capable of doing more than merely setting timers and alarms. After a year of bad—though often hilarious—AI summaries and limited use cases, numerous reports based on leaks from inside Apple suggest the company took a big step back from its AI ambitions. Gurman has suggested Apple may entice more outside AI companies beyond OpenAI, like Anthropic—the makers of Claude—and even Google’s Gemini to promote their models on Apple’s software ecosystem. Apple may also offer its foundation models to third-party developers to let app makers design their own text summary machines.
The big “AI” upgrade for iOS 26 will reportedly be a live translation for phone calls and text messages. This means as you talk, you’ll be able to read the translation on your phone. Other than that, Gurman says Genmoji will allow you to combine two standard emojis into one homunculus emoji.
Gurman suggested Apple will stay relatively mum about its Apple Intelligence snafu at WWDC25. The company had previously hinted we would have seen the AI-enhanced Siri before this summer, but now there’s no sign it will arrive in 2025. Bloomberg said some people inside Apple hope to make up for lost time in 2026. By then, maybe we’ll have AI features that move beyond the hype bubble and offer something truly useful.
Bigger Gaming Push?
We’re expecting Apple to reveal a few unexpected surprises come June 9. There’s a chance Apple could make another big push into gaming with a dedicated video game app on its devices. Reports suggest this app could incorporate Apple Arcade and the select few games that have been ported to Apple’s ecosystem in recent years. It also could include achievement-like emblems for completing in-game tasks and leaderboards. Apple’s visionOS 26 may also increase its gaming capabilities, perhaps with third-party controller connectivity. As much as we may want it, Apple probably won’t offer its own first-party controllers or share details of any new hardware at all.
This “Games” app, as Gurman claimed, will have tabs for “Play Together. This feature will likely try to push multiplayer-centric games with other people in your contacts. The most exciting gaming announcement for all of Apple’s ecosystem may be the addition of support for third-party VR controllers. Gurman highlighted the PlayStation VR2 controllers. Perhaps it may finally facilitate traditional VR games on the Apple Vision Pro. If Valve could make a Steam Link app for Vision Pro, it may become the most-premium way to play Half-Life Alyx.
Don’t Expect the iPhone 17
iPhones are getting the lion’s share of new features, as per usual. Gurman suggested the update to the Camera app is supposed to make its already simple interface even simpler. In addition to the previously mentioned Preview app coming to iPhones, iOS 26 will reportedly add a new view for the Phone app that brings together all your most recent calls, voicemails, and favorite contacts.
Apple doesn’t typically announce new hardware at WWDC25, and there’s no indication that it will do so this year. If you want to see that rumored iPhone 17 Air or the rest of the iPhone 17 family, new Apple Watch, and AirPods, you’ll have to sit on your hands until September, just like always.
