As rumored heading into WWDC, Apple announced a significant update to all of its operating systems. The rumored changes are real — the company will be called its operating systems iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and so on. But there's also a new design language, which Apple calls Liquid Glass.
Visually, Apple's goal appears to be creating rounded corners that complement the rounded displays found on most devices. The company also cited the interface used in its VisionOS as an inspiration for the new look and feel — the first massive change since iOS 7.
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"Its color is informed by surrounding content and intelligently adapts between light and dark environments," said Apple in a press release.
Outside of rounding off edges, Apple is also focused on overlaying buttons and controls that adapt as you perform actions. It showcased the phone reacting to movement, adapting to both light and dark environments, and shrinking tabs and other elements designed to get out of the way.
The company revealed at WWDC a menu at the bottom of the screen that moves and shifts as you scroll, creating a streamlined experience with buttons that don't obstruct your view of the content. macOS 26 is getting a transparent menu bar, which should make the screen feel larger.
These changes don't just apply to mobile operating systems; the company is unifying the look and feel of its software, which could make switching between Apple Watch, iPhone, and Mac more seamless. "The new design extends across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, with updates to system experiences like the Lock Screen, Home Screen, desktop, and Dock," said Apple in a release.
Of course, we'll need to try it out for ourselves to see how streamlined the changes are, but it sounds promising.
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