On Monday, June 9th, tech giant Apple held its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2025) at its headquarters in Silicon Valley, attracting thousands of developers from nearly 60 countries.
Apple officially announced its latest operating system, iOS 26, which is set to release a beta version in July and expected to be fully launched in September. The timing aligns with Apple’s tradition of releasing the next generation of iPhone models, providing updates in the form of software upgrades on iPhone 11 and subsequent models. However, older models such as the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max released in 2018 will not be eligible for the iOS 26 upgrade.
The company’s latest announcement failed to inspire investor confidence, with Apple’s stock price dropping over 1% on Monday.
The latest operating system was originally planned to be named iOS 19, following the naming convention after iOS 18. However, Apple announced a change to its naming rules at this year’s developers’ conference, stating that future iOS versions will be numbered according to the year they are released.
Anticipating that most users may not upgrade to the new software until 2026, Apple decided to rename the latest operating system iOS 26.
iOS 26 will feature a new visual design language called “Liquid Glass.”
Inspired by visionOS, “Liquid Glass” highlights a semi-transparent texture with dynamic reflective effects, creating a glass-like visual experience. Safari browser’s web pages will also support full-screen display.
This new design will be implemented in buttons, sliders, media controls, tab bars, sidebars, and other larger elements, along with redesigned toolbars and navigation interfaces.
The Phone app will introduce call screening to help identify potential scam or sales calls, as well as a queueing feature for customer service calls to notify users when the call is connected. The Messages app will also be updated with customizable chat backgrounds.
Apple will release updated application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable developers to start adapting their apps before the new designs are officially launched later this year.
During the conference, AI technology “Apple Intelligence,” known as “Apple智能” in Mainland China, was introduced as a cross-platform application.
New features include real-time translation, utilizing AI models to translate conversations instantly in text messages, phone calls, or FaceTime.
Meanwhile, Image Playground will receive new features allowing users to generate images with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
In the competitive field of artificial intelligence, Apple’s virtual assistant Siri is still awaiting the promised upgrade to become smarter and more flexible, as announced last year at WWDC. Craig Federighi, Head of Software Engineering at Apple, mentioned during the conference opening that achieving this goal requires more time to meet their quality standards.
Apple has not provided a specific timeline for the AI upgrade of Siri but indicated that it may not be completed until next year.
Market research firm Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee stated that Apple urgently needs to upgrade Siri to fill the significant gap in intuitive, interactive AI experiences. The company is expected to enhance Siri’s capabilities, although the exact timing remains unknown. Chatterjee emphasized Apple’s need to take action soon to remain competitive in the AI space.
Apple faces fierce competition from other tech giants as Google continues to integrate more AI technology into its Pixel smartphones and search engine, revolutionizing its operations.
Samsung, Apple’s major competitor in the smartphone market, is also heavily investing in AI development. Additionally, ChatGPT recently reached an agreement to recruit former Apple design master Jony Ive to develop a new device aimed at competing with Apple.
Beyond innovation challenges, Apple is also confronted with regulatory threats from the government that could potentially cost the company billions in revenue, critical for its research and development efforts.
A federal judge in the U.S. is considering measures against Google’s dominance in the search market, including potentially prohibiting the annual payment of about $20 billion from Google to Apple for being the default search engine on iPhones.
Another federal judge recently banned Apple from collecting commissions in apps using alternative payment systems.
Furthermore, former U.S. President Trump’s request for Apple to produce iPhones in the U.S. or face at least a 25% tariff adds to the challenges faced by the company.
These multiple challenges have unsettled investors, leading to a 20% decline in Apple’s stock price so far this year. Apple, once the world’s most valuable company at the beginning of the year, has now dropped to the third position, behind long-standing competitors Microsoft and AI chip-maker NVIDIA.
(Information referenced from Reuters and Associated Press reports)