Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference begins this Monday, June 9. Although the five-day event has historically been aimed at developers, Apple’s consumer fans generally can’t wait to tune in to the keynote address that kicks off the event. That’s when Apple offers the world the first preview of its upcoming software launches—the operating systems that will power its devices when they are released to the public as free downloads in the fall.
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This year, Apple’s software changes are likely to be more transformative than they’ve been in over a decade, radically reshaping the look of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac OSes. But just what will Apple reveal at WWDC25? Here’s what—and what not—to expect.
In late May, Bloomberg revealed that Apple will be rebranding its numbering scheme for all of its operating systems.
They will no longer be numbered sequentially (for example, iOS 16, iOS 17, iOS 18). Instead, they will be numbered by year. For example, the new iOS Apple will introduce on Monday at WWDC25 will no longer be called iOS 19, and instead will be known as “iOS 26.” The “26” stands for the year 2026. Though Apple is debuting the new OS in 2025, it will remain the latest OS through fall 2026, and the “26” moniker signifies that.
That means instead seeing iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, tvOS 19, watchOS 12, and visionOS 3, expect Apple to debut iOS 16, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26.
Apple is also creating a unified visual look for all its operating systems. Currently, iOS and iPadOS are the only two Apple operating systems that look somewhat similar—macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS have distinct designs for their UI elements, such as windows and pop-up menus.
However, the “26” version of the operating systems will establish a universal design across all of them. Fast Company has previously detailed what the design might look like: transparent UI elements that let the forms and colors of background content bleed through like light through a glass window, floating toolbars, reflective and shimmering lighting effects, rounder icons, glassy keyboards, and more. The new OSes are said to take heavy inspiration from the current visionOS, which powers the Apple Vision Pro.
Apple will likely use iOS 26 in its WWDC25 keynote to showcase the radical design changes coming to all its operating systems before going into detail on other changes coming to its OS’es.
But there’s not much known about what we can expect other than a few improvements, which include a dedicated gaming app, new accessibility features, and the addition of Stage Manager for iPhone, which will allow users to display iPhone apps on a monitor connected to the iPhone via its USB port. There will also likely be some Apple Intelligence improvements, but more on that below.
The iPad’s new operating system will receive the same new visual redesign iOS 26 and Apple’s other OSes are getting. It will also receive the same accessibility upgrades and new gaming app that iOS 26 is getting.
But Bloomberg reports that iPadOS could actually get more “Mac-like” this year. While the iPad’s hardware is nearly universally praised, users frequently criticize its software, which is little different than iOS, an operating system designed for a smartphone. However, users tend to think of their tablets as being closer to computers than phones—and this year, Apple is reportedly making iPadOS more like desktop software, rather than mobile.
Bloomberg says that the iPadOS 26 “upgrade will focus on productivity, multitasking, and app window management—with an eye on the device operating more like a Mac.”
It not clear what new features Apple will reveal in the new operating systems for Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch. But all of them are likely to adopt the new solarium-like visual design of iOS 26.
And there’s a possibility that tvOS 26, visionOS 26, and watchOS 26 may also bring Apple Intelligence—Apple’s artificial intelligence platform—to the Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple Watch for the first time. Yet, for the Apple Watch, Bloomberg reports the device may rely on offloading the actual processing of Apple Intelligence requests to a connected iPhone since the Apple Watch’s hardware lacks the processing power to run Apple Intelligence on-device.
Last year’s event, WWDC24, focused heavily on Apple Intelligence. Yet, since the AI platform’s rollout in October, Apple’s foray into artificial intelligence has been met with indifference from most consumers. Apple also faced criticism for delaying previously announced Apple Intelligence changes to Siri until later this year—or even into 2026.
For that reason, Apple isn’t expected to announce many new Apple Intelligence features. It won’t want to disappoint people if they again need to be delayed.
However, there are reports that Apple will give users a few new Apple intelligence upgrades, including AI battery management on the iPhone and the option to select Google’s Gemini as the chatbot of choice in Apple Intelligence. Currently, the only third-party option Apple Intelligence offers is OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
WWDC is historically a heavily software-focused event. So if you’re hoping to see new iPhones announced at WWDC25, expect to be let down. Apple will unveil its new iPhone range in the fall, as usual. But whether the new iPhone family will be called “iPhone 17” or instead will be rebranded as “iPhone 26” is yet to be seen.
As for other hardware, there is an outside chance that Apple could unveil a new Mac Pro—its highest-end, professional desktop computer at WWDC25, since the event is still, ostensibly, one focused on professionals. The current Mac Pro was introduced at WWDC23 in June 2023, making it two years old this month. New Apple TV hardware is also a possibility, or that launch may wait until the fall.
However, we won’t need to wait much longer to know for certain exactly what Apple will unveil at WWDC25. The conference kicks off on Monday, June 9, with the WWDC keynote scheduled for 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET.
The visual redesign may be the most significant announcement at WWDC from an investor perspective. Visual redesigns are eye-catching to even non-techie consumers, and they may spur buyers to spend on a shiny new iPhone—something investors are no doubt hoping for, as an increase in iPhone sales may help boost the company’s struggling stock.
As of close on trading on June 6, Apple stock (Nasdaq: AAPL) has fallen over 18% since the beginning of the year. However, much of that stock price decline has little to do with Apple’s sales or financial fundamentals and is instead due to President Trump’s tariff threats against China and Apple itself. Apple sources a majority of its products from China, and any tariff that Trump implements on goods from the country could significantly impact Apple’s bottom line, despite Apple CEO Tim Cook’s best efforts.
However, if you look at the entirety of the past 12 months, AAPL stock is still up nearly 5%, with the stock price just under $204. If the visual redesign of its operating systems indeed helps sell more iPhones and other devices, it could help the company’s shares move back in the direction of their all-time high of just over $260 apiece, reached in December 2024.
This post originally appeared at fastcompany.com
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