Apple is preparing to unveil iOS 26 on June 9 — expectations

Less than a week before the main presentation of WWDC 2025, insiders have already outlined the key changes that are being prepared for iOS 26. The update promises a comprehensive redesign in the visionOS style and the introduction of the new wave of "Apple Intelligence" features.

MacRumors writes about all the innovations.

Expectations from the upcoming release of iOS 26

Apple has decided to switch to annual numbering: instead of iOS 19, we will get iOS 26, which will be launched in the season of September 2025 — September 2026. The main focus is on the appearance: transparent "glass" interface elements, floating windows with rounded edges, and soft shadow lighting should remind us of visionOS. For built-in apps, Apple is preparing updated icons and simplified navigation. Developers of third-party apps will receive fresh guidelines to support a single visual language across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and visionOS devices.

Adaptive battery management will be at the centre of Apple Intelligence: the system will analyse usage scenarios and limit the power consumption of applications. The updated Shortcuts will allow you to create chains of actions using natural language, and Siri will eventually learn the context of your emails, messages, and open windows. Apple is also preparing to integrate Google Gemini as an alternative engine solution alongside ChatGPT for more complex queries.

Other new features include the separate Gaming app with advanced search and a community of players, improved Messages with automatic translation and voting, and Music will have the full-screen animated cover on the lock screen. AirPods will get Live Translate mode for real-time translation of conversations, and captive logins to Wi-Fi networks will sync across all your devices.

The iOS team is working on new features for health and accessibility, including personalised recommendations in the updated Health, improved haptic vibrations to music, "accessibility shortcuts" on the App Store pages, as well as improved head and eye tracking systems and even integration with neurointerfaces. For iPhones with USB-C, Apple is testing Stage Manager, which allows you to open multiple apps on an external display in windowed mode.

iPadOS 26 brings the same "glassy" style, as well as new productivity tools, including the macOS-like menu and the calligraphy "reed" pen for the Apple Pencil. In terms of compatibility, the system will not be available for the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, but will support all other models currently running iOS 18. The most complex features of Apple Intelligence will traditionally remain exclusive to newer chips.

WWDC 2025 is scheduled to start on Monday, June 9, at 20:00 Kyiv time. Apple will show the presentation on its website, YouTube, and TV app, and the most anticipated event of the evening will be the debut of iOS 26.

As a reminder, the confrontation between Android and iOS has been going on for many years, and both operating systems have their advantages and disadvantages. We are looking forward to the release of Android 16 — its beta is already available for Pixel devices, and the final version is expected in June — and the presentation of iOS 19 (or iOS 26 according to the new numbering scheme).

We also wrote that iOS 19 will introduce the new useful feature: login data for public Wi-Fi networks will now be automatically synchronized between all Apple devices. It will be enough to fill in the connection form on one gadget — the rest of the devices will connect to the network independently.