Expectations and Concerns over Apple’s Ambitions at WWDC 2025

Why I Stopped Watching WWDC in Real Time

Apple’s annual developer event, the WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference). I used to be so enthusiastic that I’d stay up to watch it in the middle of the night. Yet this year (2025) I didn’t watch the keynote’s late-night live stream in real time.

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The reasons are that Apple’s announcements have changed in nature and my own mindset has shifted. WWDC is a developer-focused event with few hardware surprises, so there’s little need to watch it live. Another factor is that I no longer develop iPhone accessories myself.

Now that I’m older, watching a keynote at midnight leaves me too excited to sleep, eager to output every good and bad thought. The result is a whole day ruined by lack of sleep—something I definitely wanted to avoid.

This will probably be the same for upcoming iPhone announcements as well. Still, it’s not that I’ve lost interest in Apple, so I did check the keynote once I woke up. On that basis, though a bit late, I’d like to jot down some quick impressions.

The Aim and Concerns Behind Unifying the OS Numbering to “26”

What first surprised me at this year’s WWDC was that all of Apple’s OS version numbers were suddenly aligned at “26.”

The iPhone gets “iOS 26,” the iPad “iPadOS 26,” Apple Watch “watchOS 26,” Apple TV “tvOS 26,” and even Apple Vision Pro “visionOS 26,” with numbering standardized on a yearly basis. Since it would feel odd for just one OS to keep its old number, this move was natural. Only macOS is an exception: the new release is still “macOS Tahoe 26,” continuing the place-name series. Perhaps the macOS team pushed for it. Still, I expect people will soon call it simply “macOS 26,” and the place-name series will fade away.

Software has used calendar-style names before—Windows once had “95,” “98,” and “2000.” Apple likely wanted to create a unified brand image by lining up the disparate numbers. Reading between the lines, they may have sought a sense of renewal this year. A single number common to every OS resonates with general users and underscores device integration.

Strictly speaking, because these OSs ship in 2025, they should be the “OS 25 series,” but they’re called the “OS 26 series.” That’s the biggest challenge of embedding the year in a name. Announced in June and released in September (sometimes staggered into October), the OS’s life quickly extends into 2026, so “OS 26” avoids feeling outdated. Labeling them “OS 25” would make them seem a year old once 2026 arrives, something Apple clearly wanted to avoid.

Still, the phrase “OS 26 released in 2025” is undeniably confusing. And if Apple ever skips an annual update, it could end up stuck with an outdated year number, just like Windows.

Apple once released an iPad simply called “the New iPad.” It was actually the third-generation model, but Apple disliked that numbering. Naturally, the next iPad became “newer than the New iPad,” which was unsustainable, so they soon returned to generation labels. Now that they use processor names, things are even harder to follow.

As you can see, Apple sometimes loses its way with naming, so we still don’t know where this will all end up.

“Liquid Glass” Is a Bold Design

Apple’s newly announced “Liquid Glass” design gives icons and widgets a glossy, glass-like sheen and transparent feel that blends with the background. It’s an ambitious pivot from flat design, adding depth and a unified look across OSs. Personally, I love this direction, yet its beauty comes with a trade-off in readability.

While transparency helps the UI merge with the background, it raises visibility and accessibility concerns. Depending on the wallpaper or surrounding colors, text and icon contrast can drop, leaving the worry that “design is prioritized over readability.” Indeed, beta users have already reported that “text disappears against bright backgrounds,” and updates appear to be addressing this.

Designs that render all icons in a single tone may look beautiful at first glance, but they can make app icons indistinguishable and weaken button emphasis, ultimately harming usability.

Even so, because it’s Apple, I expect they’ll keep refining the design while listening to feedback. Just as the last flat design was gradually improved over about ten years until it felt complete, the new Liquid Glass design may follow the same path.

Redesigning software used by as many people as Apple’s carries risk, so I personally welcome and want to support this challenge.

Looking forward to the continued evolution of visionOS

I was relieved to see that development of Apple’s spatial-computing OS “visionOS,” which made a splash last year as the “One More Thing,” has been steadily continuing. I’d worried the excitement would fade and the project might quietly vanish. However, a major update is on the way, and we hear the Liquid Glass design was inspired by visionOS, so I hope it keeps moving forward.

What I’m especially excited about is “Shared Spatial Experiences,” which lets multiple users watch movies or play games together. I hope this will satisfy the desire to share the amazing Apple Vision Pro experience with others.

I feel Apple has been talking less about how well Apple Vision Pro is selling or how great it is. That probably means the current hardware is simply too expensive. Even so, I think it’s very important for Apple to continue visionOS, because the era of operating a small device like the iPhone will end eventually, and Apple will introduce a new user experience. I believe the key will be an entire “series” of Apple Vision Pro devices.

As a long-term investment, it feels like they’re sowing the seeds of a future platform even if it’s niche right now. While envisioning a future Apple Vision Pro—say, a lighter glasses-style device—I’d like them to keep improving the practicality of the current model and feed those lessons into the next hardware. Since it bears the “Pro” name, I also hope to see a standard model or an Air model.

The evolving iPadOS and its positioning relative to the Mac

At this WWDC, iPadOS 26 packed so many new features that it was billed as “the biggest update ever.” Among all the OS announcements, iPadOS felt the most refreshed.

The highlight is the overhaul of window operations. A new multitasking environment lets you freely resize multiple apps, with title bars and close buttons appearing just like on a Mac. At long last, the iPad has a full-fledged window system and menu bar, furthering its transformation into a Mac-like device.

It’s true that the iPad’s improved hardware can match a Mac in productivity for some creative work. Still, when I look at my own use, the iPad mainly serves as a viewer for web browsing, videos, and magazines. I can hook up a Magic Keyboard and manage email or documents, but for more advanced work I inevitably reach for my MacBook Pro.

I think the biggest bottleneck keeping iPadOS from serious work is the apps. Compared with macOS apps that have been developed for many years and iOS with its huge user base, iPadOS has fewer users, most of whom lean toward creative or viewing tasks. Because of that, app developers aren’t fully committing to building iPadOS-specific apps.

Even Apple itself has been slow with its first-party apps. Five years after iPadOS launched, we’re only now getting a Calculator app, and in this sixth year they’re finally introducing a Preview app.

The key will be how many companies follow this change. Will iPadOS keep adding features until it rivals the Mac, or will it maintain an experience unique to the iPad? Including possible hardware changes, I feel a mix of anticipation and concern.

Personally, what I’d like is “an iPad Pro running a version of macOS optimized for the touch interface of iPadOS,” but that may never happen.

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Somehow, whenever I start typing to jot down a quick thought, it ends up this long—that may be my weakness. It took about two hours to write this, so from now on I want to keep things lighter and update more frequently.