Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention (WWDC) has concluded, and it’s been an attention-grabbing 12 months for Apple. Whereas what we noticed this week might not have been probably the most thrilling set of recent merchandise and options, particularly in comparison with the previous few WWDCs, this week’s occasion—each the Keynote and the WWDC classes — felt like Apple returning to its roots.
The WWDC 2025 Keynote might greatest be described as “lean and imply.” It was a decent presentation the place Apple targeted nearly solely on its six core working programs. There have been no {hardware} bulletins to distract us, and Apple barely touched on peripheral merchandise just like the AirPods.
Following a two-minute opening scene of Craig Federighi driving a Method One automotive across the round roof of Apple Park to advertise its upcoming F1 summer season blockbuster, Tim Cook dinner kicked issues off with the same old transient introductory remarks. Then, he handed issues over to Federighi, who helmed the remainder of the presentation.
Federighi then spent simply over three minutes recapping Apple Intelligence, obliquely apologizing for the Siri delay, and asserting the brand new Basis Mannequin Frameworks to permit third-party builders to tie into Apple’s on-device massive language fashions (LLMs). That was the one a part of the presentation the place the phrase “Siri” was used and even obliquely referred to.
By seven and a half minutes in, Federighi was handing issues over to design VP Alan Dye to introduce the Liquid Glass redesign, setting the stage for the remainder of the software program displays. 5 minutes later, we had been again to Craig to start a whirlwind tour via iOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, macOS 26, visionOS 26, and macOS 26 — in that order.
It was an uncommon sequence, but it surely additionally stored issues attention-grabbing. Up to now, Apple has typically clustered its main working programs collectively, making issues really feel repetitive. Inserting watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS in between them was a pleasant change of tempo. It additionally felt like Apple put iPadOS 26 final as a kind of “yet one more factor” homage, as the brand new multitasking and different laptop-like productiveness options had been simply the most important reveal of the occasion.
Apple Intelligence Takes Its Correct Place
As I famous, Apple Intelligence had a a lot lighter presence than this 12 months’s keynote. Some felt that made the occasion underwhelming, however contemplating how a lot it overpromised and underdelivered after final 12 months’s WWDC, it’s not all that stunning that Apple is a bit gun-shy about closely selling new AI options.
Nonetheless, Apple didn’t ignore Apple Intelligence. As an alternative, it introduced it the place it made sense, displaying new options which can be extra tightly built-in into the consumer expertise and have real-world functions for on a regular basis individuals. This was how Apple dealt with issues for years earlier than “AI” was a buzzword. Many iPhone options have relied on machine studying applied sciences, from face and object recognition within the iOS 10 Photographs app to Stay Voicemail in iOS 17.
Irrespective of how Apple manufacturers them, this 12 months’s iOS 26 options like Stay Translation and Exercise Buddy match into the identical mould; they will not be as flashy as Genmoji, however they’re each very sensible makes use of of Apple Intelligence.
Apple’s massive “AI for the remainder of us” presentation final 12 months all the time felt a bit pressured. It appeared like the corporate knew it was behind in AI and needed to do “one thing” to indicate it was taking it critically. It delivered on that impression however fell wanting producing significant outcomes.
Apple’s “tentpole” AI options weren’t something we hadn’t already seen on different platforms. The one function that confirmed promise — a extra private and contextually conscious Siri — turned out to be vaporware (there’s some debate over whether or not Apple had a practical product for what it confirmed it off at its WWDC24 keynote, however the lack of a delivered product nonetheless matches the definition).
Final 12 months’s Apple Intelligence showcase was about introducing AI options for their very own sake. Writing Instruments and summarizations had been useful, however they weren’t something earth-shattering, and Picture Playground and Genmoji had been completely new instruments that felt extra like a gimmick than something that Apple customers had been in search of,
Picture Playground and Genmoji felt just like the 2024 model of Animoji from the iPhone X period. That was a really enjoyable method to exhibit what the TrueDepth digicam might do, but it surely was a novelty that wore off fairly rapidly. Animoji, and later Memoji, have been a core a part of practically each iPhone launched previously seven years, however when was the final time we noticed anyone utilizing it?
Nevertheless, at the least Animoji was a novelty. Apple was displaying us one thing that no one had accomplished earlier than, and it made the TrueDepth digicam appear much more magical. Picture Playground wasn’t even novel; AI picture technology had already been accomplished — arguably much better — by third-party apps and competing chatbots.
The one new factor Apple dropped at the desk was its privateness focus. That’s helpful, but it surely’s an open query as to what number of iPhone customers felt it was vital that prompt-based picture technology be personal. In any case, do I care if some third-party app is aware of that I’m producing photos of moose on snowboards?
Apple has tacitly admitted this with iOS 26 et al. The one enhancement to Picture Playground this 12 months is new picture types, all of that are powered by ChatGPT reasonably than extending its personal LLMs.
These will doubtless comply with the identical privateness guidelines as Apple’s different ChatGPT integrations, that means it will likely be dealt with anonymously except you’re signed right into a ChatGPT account. Nevertheless, it nonetheless seems like Apple recognizing that it may well’t do every little thing by itself, and there are smaller areas the place it’s higher to depend on help from its companions.
Core Competencies: A Very Targeted Keynote
This 12 months’s WWDC keynote was a return to the pre-pandemic period earlier than Apple was pressured to go all-in on digital displays. In these days, Apple occasions had been dwell stage displays.
By their very nature, these required a better diploma of focus. You’ll be able to’t do or present every little thing on a stage, so Apple caught with its main platform releases, typically diverging solely to name up some builders to indicate how third-party apps will have the ability to benefit from its newest options and frameworks.
Nevertheless, a lot of that went out the window when Apple started prerecording its keynote displays and different occasions. Out of the blue, the sky was the restrict. Apple might present us something and every little thing it needed to. WWDC Keynotes turned action-packed occasions, flying from one presenter to a different to cowl every little thing from the same old software program updates to new Macs and options for HomePods and AirPods.
To the frustration of some, this 12 months’s WWDC keynote had none of that. We weren’t anticipating any new {hardware}, however Apple went a step additional in principally ignoring any merchandise that weren’t central to its core working programs — and even then, the occasion was concerning the software program that ran on these merchandise; little was mentioned concerning the gadgets themselves.
Staying (Largely) Out of the Residence
Probably the most conspicuous instance of this was within the “Residence” class. At the beginning of the digital keynote period, Apple launched a brand new section of its presentation to cowl the potpourri of gadgets it needed to speak about that didn’t fairly match wherever else: usually the Apple TV, HomePod, and AirPods.
This was labeled “Residence” or “Residence & Audio,” relying on how Apple structured it. Throughout this section, Apple minimized the working programs (“tvOS” was barely talked about), focusing extra on the system options and the way all of them labored collectively.
This 12 months, Apple ignored that bigger catch-all and targeted solely on tvOS as an working system platform. It was the primary 12 months within the digital keynote period that it confirmed a “options” slide with tvOS within the middle.
In the meantime, the AirPods had been talked about solely in passing throughout Apple’s iPadOS 26 presentation within the context of how content material creators might use them with new iPad options to document studio-quality audio and management video recording. There’s extra coming to the AirPods this 12 months, however Apple didn’t really feel the necessity to muddy the waters by displaying them off individually from its working programs.
The largest and presumably most disappointing omission right here was the HomePod. Apple’s omission of a “Residence” class was doubtless extra about having nothing it needs to indicate us but — Apple’s Siri struggles have supposedly held again the rumored residence hub — but it surely additionally stored the deal with Apple’s unified working programs. The HomePod isn’t a part of that; it runs an working system primarily based on tvOS, however Apple treats it as embedded software program reasonably than an OS model.
Relying on how Apple’s work on Siri goes, we should still see a “homeOS” earlier than subsequent 12 months’s WWDC. Nonetheless, it’s an open query whether or not Apple will create a branded working system for that or deal with the first-generation of its new residence hub just like the HomePod.
A Phrase on Liquid Glass…
Earlier than the WWDC keynote, analysts and pundits predicted that Apple’s main redesign could be the spotlight of the occasion, which was definitely true — to the purpose the place the opening presentation by Alan Dye set the theme for the remainder of the keynote.
Liquid Glass has change into each extra and fewer than what many had been anticipating. I’ve been utilizing practically all the brand new software program releases since Tuesday, and whereas they’ve positively undergone a noticeable design change, it feels extra holistic and evolutionary.
In its present kind, Liquid Glass isn’t with out its quirks and imperfections, however we’re on the first developer beta, and it’s a protected guess this can be tweaked and refined over the subsequent few weeks.
Apple hasn’t kicked the standard iOS look to the curb prefer it did in 2013, when it deserted skeuomorphism for a flatter and extra digital design. Choosing up an outdated iPhone operating iOS 6 seems like a visit into the distant previous, and it was jarring even in 2014, by which period iOS 7 had change into very comfy.
In contrast, whereas the variations between iOS 18 and iOS 26 are noticeable, they’re not uncomfortable. It took me only some hours to regulate to iOS 26 (and iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, and macOS 26), and whereas there are nonetheless just a few issues that shock me, the brand new design already feels easy and pure. That’s a a lot quicker adaptation curve than once I first put in iOS 7 in 2013.