From dynamic light and shadow refraction to translucent texture, from borderless Safari to intelligent call screening, Apple’s design concept once again leads the industry trend. This article will take you to an in-depth look at the details of Apple’s design update and how it affects our experience.
A few days ago, Apple launched the “Liquid Glass” design language at WWDC25, which is the largest UI visual design update since iOS7’s flat design.
Apple has also given a new version number to this system upgrade: the version number is consistent with the release year, so the names of the new systems are iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26, all of which will be released by the end of 2025, which is also more user-friendly and easier to remember.
Next, I will show you what optimizations the new system has in design from three dimensions: visual effects, core applications, and AI functions.
Part 1 Visual effects: liquid glass
The design language of “Liquid Glass” is inspired by the optical properties of glass, and reconstructs the system interface elements through dynamic light and shadow refraction, translucent texture and real-time rendering technology. Glass-like realistic materials enhance the visual depth of page elements, and commonly used controls, icons, and widgets give the interface more space and breathability by simulating glass transmission, edge highlights, and dispersion effects:
Taking the home screen as an example, the lock screen clock can intelligently adjust the size and transparency according to the wallpaper, and the time number can be hovered over the background or hidden behind the object, forming an interactive depth of field with the live wallpaper.
In addition, elements such as the Control Center, app icons, function menu bar, etc. have become more expressive:
If nothing else, the liquid glass design will replace the flat design that has continued since iOS 7 released at WWDC in 2013, and this new system design will be updated on all Apple platforms such as iOS, macOS, and iPadOS in the second half of 2025.
Part 2 Core Applications: Immersive Experiences
In iOS 26, Apple has applied experience improvements to some core areas with the goal of reducing distractions and helping users focus on what matters most:
Safari bezel-less design
Safari features borderless web content that seamlessly extends to the bottom and bottom edges of the screen, maximizing screen real estate for a wider visual and immersive reading experience. The floating tab bar floats above the web page, integrating common operations such as search and refresh.
B-end product manager’s ability model and learning improvement
The first challenge faced by B-end product managers is how to correctly analyze and diagnose business problems. This is also the most difficult part, product design knowledge is basically not helpful for this part of the work, if you want to do a good job in business analysis and diagnosis, you must have a solid …
View details >
Tap the tab bar to expand more control options with new liquid glass-style animations. As users browse the web, the tab bar also intelligently autoscales based on scrolling actions, reducing visual distractions and allowing users to focus on the web content:
Camera hidden function design
The main interface of the Camera camera has been simplified to the extreme, leaving only the two core functions of photography and video, and the other functions and parameter settings are summoned from the liquid glass-like edge through gestures such as swipe and swipe.
The toolbar removal increased the frame ratio from 85% to 92%:
Photos returns to pure gallery functionality
The new album separates the “Gallery” from the “Collection”, and the gallery returns to the pure Atlas function, where you can browse all your photos without interruption; The original functions such as photo albums, memories, and character classification are summarized in the “Collection” to avoid chaotic operations in switching:
Intelligent handling of phone calls
Phone has added an incoming call filtering function, the system will automatically answer unknown calls, will not disturb the owner, only when the caller informs the owner of the name and the reason for the call, the phone will ring, you can decide whether to answer or not:
When contacting customer service by phone, manual customer service often needs to queue.
On iOS 26, iPhone will automatically detect the music that appears when you are in line, let you continue to use your phone for other things, and when customer service connects, your iPhone will prompt you to continue the call with a ringtone:
Messages Personalized information processing
Apple’s native messaging feature is based on content filtering, which can more accurately remove distracting text messages, while important temporary notifications, such as express pickup codes, are recognized and retained.
iMessage background support personalized change;
Added voting in group chats, where Apple Intelligence intelligently suggests voting options based on context:
Part 3 AI Features: Low-key and slow down
In this update, the AI function still hasn’t changed much, but it’s ubiquitous in Apple’s product features:
AI real-time translation capabilities
In iOS 26, Apple Intelligence supports real-time translation across Phone, Messages, and Facetime. When you receive a message in a foreign language, it will be automatically translated into your common language. Similarly, the content you send will be translated into the other person’s language in real time, and the embarrassment of language barriers will no longer exist:
AI image recognition capabilities
In iOS 26, the visual image recognition function has also been upgraded: AI can directly analyze the screen content in front of you and switch between multiple apps to help you complete your needs. For example, the system can automatically recognize the time, date, and location information on the screen, and actively suggest that users add itineraries to the calendar; You can also identify objects and find and buy them directly on Google or on the marketplace:
AI Map Route Planning
The newly upgraded Apple Maps can encrypt every place you’ve visited, so you don’t have to worry about remembering the address if you want to look back at a place you’ve been. In addition, the map will silently learn your commuting habits, and when you are ready to leave for work or go home, it will also plan the preferred route for you, and will actively remind you to switch alternate routes when encountering bad road conditions:
It can be said that for this WWDC25, Apple has returned its attention to the original product rhythm and returned to the design, interaction and system itself.
As for when the AI Siri, which the outside world is most concerned about, will land, Apple still did not give a specific date, but implicitly expressed: “We want to make it better, we need some time, and we look forward to sharing more information in the coming year.” ”
