Pulse Picks
Here’s What Changed with Apple’s 2025 OS Updates and Why It Matters
Apple released new updates at WWDC 2025. These updates will make your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch smarter and more unique.
These latest Apple announcements will simplify your life with AI features that streamline everything from emails to photo albums and add a new level of personalisation that lets your devices reflect your style. This rundown helps you stay informed and ahead of the curve.
READ ALSO: Gemini, Astra, and More: The Biggest AI Announcements from Google I/O 2025
A New Era of Design: Meet “Liquid Glass”
Apple is introducing a breathtaking new design philosophy called "Liquid Glass." Imagine your device’s interface not as flat screens but as dynamic, translucent materials that subtly interact with their surroundings. This smart design choice makes your entire Apple experience feel more fluid and alive.
This "Liquid Glass" aesthetic is appearing in all of Apple's major operating systems (iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26).
Why it matters
Adaptive Beauty: Buttons, switches, sliders, text, and media controls will now appear translucent, subtly reflecting and refracting elements on your screen.
Dynamic Interactions: This design isn't static. It uses real-time rendering to react dynamically to your movements and changes in light or dark mode.
Customisable Style: Expect new customisation options, including stunning "clear" app icon looks. For example, the menu bar on macOS becomes completely transparent, making your display feel larger.
However, not everyone is convinced that "Liquid Glass" is revolutionary. The Verge points out that this "liquid glass" look "doesn't look like much" at first glance.
The Brains Behind the Beauty: Unveiling Apple Intelligence
The biggest headline from WWDC 2025 is "Apple Intelligence." Apple's integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) system is designed to make your devices smarter, more personal, and helpful. It's built with privacy, meaning your data stays on your device or in secure private cloud environments.
Why it matters
Powerful New Writing Tool: Whether you're composing an email, drafting a message, or jotting down notes, Apple Intelligence can help you proofread, summarise long texts, and even rewrite sentences with different tones.
Genmoji and Image Playground: If you ever wished you had the perfect emoji for a unique situation, with Genmoji, you can now generate your custom emojis by simply typing a description. Feeling even more creative? Image Playground lets you quickly create fun images in three styles (Animation, Illustration, Sketch) to express yourself in conversations!
Smarter Prioritisation for Notifications: Apple Intelligence introduces Priority Notifications, which uses on-device intelligence to bring the most important alerts to the top and minimise distractions.
Enhancing the Photos App: The redesigned Photos app introduces the Memory Maker feature, which creates compelling stories from your photos and videos, complete with suggested music themes and the Clean Up tool that removes distracting objects from the background of your photos without distorting the subject.
Siri's Next Evolution: You can now type to Siri, ask follow-up questions, and even ask it to perform actions across different apps – like "Show me the photos I took last week at the beach" or "Summarise that article from Safari."
Apple’s Latest OS-Specific Enhancements
While "Apple Intelligence" unifies the experience, each Apple operating system gets unique updates to improve how your favourite devices work.
1. iOS 18: Your iPhone, Reimagined
The iOS 18 update gives your iPhone:
More Personalisation:
Home Screen Flexibility allows you to place app icons and widgets anywhere on your Home Screen, change app icon colours to match your wallpaper, or even remove the names below the icons for a cleaner look. Control Centre Redesign allows you to swipe through different control groups (like Media, Home, and Connectivity) and add third-party app controls. New Lock Screen Controls let you swap out the flashlight and camera controls on your Lock Screen for other useful functions.
Messages Enhancements:
The New Text Effects add captivating animations to your messages. Tapbacks with Any Emoji lets you react to messages with any emoji or sticker. You can also Schedule Messages for a later time!
Photos App Overhaul:
The Photos app now has a simplified, single-view layout that organises your library with themes like "Recent Days" and "Trips," making it easier to rediscover your memories.
Mail App Improvements:
The Mail app automatically sorts emails into the right categories.
Passwords App:
Easily access all your passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes in one secure place.
Gaming Mode:
Inspired by macOS, background activity minimises with a better Bluetooth sampling rate for improved gameplay responsiveness.
2. iPadOS 18: Power and Pencil Perfection
iPadOS 18 brings several iOS 18 new features to the larger screen, plus some iPad-specific magic:
Calculator App on iPad with Math Notes allows you to type or write out mathematical expressions with Apple Pencil. It also supports unit conversions and graphing.
Smart Script in Notes with Smart Script intelligence enhances your handwriting legibility and corrects spelling mistakes while keeping your style. You can also paste typed text into handwritten notes and resize it to match your writing.
SharePlay Enhancements let you help others with a task on their device.
3. Apple’s Updates For macOS: Your Mac, But More Connected
The focus here is seamless integration and connecting your Mac and iPhone.
iPhone Mirroring lets you control your iPhone directly from your Mac's screen. Your iPhone stays locked for privacy, and you can drag and drop files between your Mac and iPhone.
New Passwords App to manage your login credentials effortlessly and keep them secure.
Window Tiling Enhancements to keep your desktop organised easily with tiled layouts.
High-quality video Conferencing with enhanced presenter overlays and background replacement to make your calls more professional and engaging.
Game Porting Toolkit 2 to make high-end PC games accessible to Apple Silicon Macs.
Last Intel Mac Support ensures macOS Sequoia continues supporting various Intel Macs.
4. Other Apple Ecosystem Updates: Watch, TV, and Vision Pro
Apple's commitment to a cohesive experience extends to its other popular devices:
watchOS 11 (for Apple Watch) gets health and wellness upgrades like Training Load to measure workout impacts on you, preventing overtraining and optimising recovery. The Vitals App gives an overview of your key health metrics and warnings when necessary. Customisable Activity Rings that you can pause for some time without losing your streak. Finally, Pregnancy Support for tracking and providing relevant health insights.
tvOS 18 (for Apple TV) comes with InSight, which allows users to discover characters and music from Apple TV+ movies and shows in real-time. It also features Enhanced Dialogue Enhancement, especially when combined with HomePod speakers. New Screensavers include Snoopie and various sports moments.
visionOS 2 (for Apple Vision Pro): The spatial computing platform now has Spatial Photos from iPhone for stunning and viewable Spatial Photos (3D photos) from your iPhone. Gesture Enhancements for quick access to Home View and Control Center. Improved Displays as ultra-wide virtual monitors.
These updates reinforce Apple's vision for an interconnected ecosystem where every device works together to enhance your daily life, from workouts to entertainment and beyond. These updates are set to arrive soon, offering new ways to connect, create, and thrive. We recommend that you review the new features thoroughly yourself.
