This is the most interesting visual change since iOS 7, but this time, Apple has integrated the new aesthetic across every platform, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, Vision Pro, and Apple TV, creating a seamless, glass-like experience that adapts dynamically to user interaction and surroundings.

Apple describes Liquid Glass as translucent, reactive, and context-aware. For example, tap an alert, and it expands fluidly from your finger’s location. 

Scroll through menus, and the interface shimmers like real glass catching the light. The colours of the UI change in real time depending on background content and lighting conditions.

The lock screen and home screen shows this transformation, with effects that mirror physical properties of glass, not for spectacle, but for functionality. 

Apple has been under pressure lately with legal cases around App Store control, an AI race it’s losing, and growing developer dissatisfaction have left the company needing to regain trust.

This update is a strategic correction.

Goodbye Numbers, Hello Years

A second major change revealed at the WWDC25 event is in how Apple names its operating systems. iOS 26 is not the 26th version, but the 2026 edition, the year is now part of the name.

This applies across the board: iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, and macOS 26, the latter keeping its tradition with a location-based codename: Tahoe.

The Games App: Apple’s New Social Hub

Another revelation from WWDC25 was the launch of the Games app, Apple’s first serious attempt at centralising gaming experiences across its platforms. 

It acts as a hub, combining your game library, achievements, and friend activity. One new feature, “Play Together”, lets users challenge friends or join real-time sessions. “Challenges” bring competition into otherwise solo titles.

Apple says gaming on its devices is no longer a secondary experience.

iOS 26: Intelligence and Intuition

iOS 26 introduces smarter communication features, like Call Screening, which waits for a caller to speak before deciding whether to ring through. Hold Assist keeps you connected on long holds and notifies you once someone returns to the line. Every element, even emoji, is more expressive, letting users build custom icons through Genmoji combinations.

There’s also a live translation feature for calls across language barriers, and improvements in messages including shared backgrounds, group polls, and Apple Cash transactions in group chats.

MacOS Tahoe and iPadOS 26: 

MacOS Tahoe brings the same Liquid Glass visual overhaul, but more importantly, it makes macOS feel alive. Quick Keys, intelligent Shortcuts, and a clipboard history bring subtle but powerful quality-of-life improvements. The Phone app now runs natively on Mac, complete with call history and new call management tools.

On the iPad side, Apple continues to erase the line between tablet and desktop. A new windowing system lets users resize, flick, and tile apps. The persistent menu bar now mirrors desktop systems. Preview, previously mac-only, now arrives on iPad, complete with markup and export options.

If you’ve ever wanted your iPad to behave like a Mac, now it does.

Apple Watch, TV and Vision Pro: Smart Upgrades

WatchOS 26 introduces Workout Buddy, a personalised fitness coach powered by your own workout history. With smarter notifications that adapt volume based on ambient sound, and a new wrist-flick gesture to interact with alerts, Apple is bolstering the wearable experience without bloating it.

TVOS 26 follows the Liquid Glass theme and adds profile-based logins and a karaoke feature using your iPhone as a mic. You wake the device, pick your profile, and return to exactly where you left off, useful in a multi-user household.

VisionOS 26 deepens the mixed-reality playbook. Users can now personalise widgets, maintain window placements, and experience spatial photo views. New accessories include Logitech’s Muse stylus and compatibility with the PSVR2 Sense controller, both signs Apple is finally taking spatial interaction seriously.

Small Upgrades, Big Implications

AirPods are getting studio-quality recording and camera remote functionality. CarPlay now supports widgets, live activities, and tapback message replies. Apple Maps has learned your commute habits, while Apple Wallet now handles digital IDs for travel, excluding flights, and supports reward redemption and instalments.

These show Apple is addressing real-world use cases with intent.

With the Liquid Glass interface, new naming format, and overhaul of gaming, communication, and productivity tools revealed at the WWDC25, Apple is building a unified, intelligent system where the lines between devices blur.

An Apple executive said, “It’s the biggest shift in how our users experience their devices since we launched the first iPhone.”

This is the first time the innovative device is accessible outside the United States. 

The global technology giant highlighted this headset as a means to bring new opportunities and experiences to these markets.

Starting today, customers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore can explore the Apple Vision Pro in Apple Store locations. The Vision Pro, known for its ability to blend digital content seamlessly with the physical world, gives users great spatial navigation. 

These experiences are designed to enhance various aspects of daily life, including work, collaboration, connectivity, memory reliving, and entertainment.

Apple team members welcomed first customers in these regions, who had the chance to participate in a guided demo experience exclusive to Apple Retail locations. 

These demos provided an in-depth look at the capabilities of the Vision Pro, from great entertainment to a commendable workspace for favourite apps.

Preorders for the Vision Pro began on June 13 in China mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, with availability starting today, June 28. Apple has also announced that the Vision Pro will be available in Germany, France, Australia, the UK, and Canada starting on July 12, with preorders for these regions beginning today at 5 AM PT.

Through its ability to integrate digital content with the physical environment, the Apple Vision Pro bolsters interactions in work, collaboration, connectivity, memory reliving, and entertainment. 

Operating on visionOS, the device features a three-dimensional user interface controlled by eyes, hands, and voice, allowing intuitive interaction with apps through eye tracking, finger taps, and voice commands. 

The Vision Pro provides a workspace where apps can be positioned side by side at any scale, enhancing productivity, collaboration, and entertainment. 

Users can enjoy beautiful landscapes such as Haleakalā, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, and even the moon, aiding focus and enhancing the experience. Additionally, with the Digital Crown, users can adjust their immersion level in various environments and enjoy movies on a massive virtual display with AirPods Pro.

To book a personal one-on-one demo of the Apple Vision Pro and explore its spatial computing capabilities, customers can visit the Apple Store online.

Analysis of Google search data reveals that online searches for ‘VR’ rocketed 300% worldwide on June 5, as Apple unveiled its new Vision Pro mixed reality headset at the Worldwide Developers Conference in California.

A new finding by Digital-adoption.com reveals online interest in ‘VR’ increased 300% over the last seven days, since the headset, priced at $3,499 and set to release next year, was announced.

Apple’s announcement comes when online interest in AI, or artificial intelligence, is at its highest point in history. Google Trends data reveals a 619% increase in ‘AI’ searches since 2004.

2023 has been a breakout year for AI, as search volume has more than doubled from 17 million in January to 42 million in May.

This is partly due to the rapid growth and adoption of accessible technologies like ChatGPT and Google Bard. 

Similarly, searches for ‘mixed reality’ and ‘augmented reality’ shot up by 1,130% and 545% during the conference. 

CEO Tim Cook led his introduction to Vision Pro with: “This is a day that’s been years in the making,” describing the headset as a “revolutionary new product” that “augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world.”

The new technology is described as a step in the “era of spatial computing,” where “digital content blends seamlessly with your physical space.” 

Apple’s announcement has also caused spikes in users searching to ‘Buy Apple stock,’ which increased 1,482% worldwide in the last seven days.

According to TikTok, interest in virtual reality has more than tripled, and interest in artificial intelligence has soared tenfold since 2020.

A spokesperson from Digital-adoption.com commented on the findings: “There has been a massive surge in AI interest this year.

Apple’s announcement of Vision Pro has captured audiences at the right time, when new AI technologies, like ChatGPT, have become accessible to almost anyone. The latest announcement from Apple could start to tip the balance and encourage more users to adopt this kind of advanced tech into their homes and working lives”.