Apple announced its biggest design update across all its software platforms at WWDC 2025, which will be based on what Apple calls ‘Liquid Glass’ design.
It is inspired by the intuitive design of VisionOS, and now the same translucent and glassy interface can be experienced in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, and other Apple platforms.
This is a major software redesign by Apple, following iOS 7 in 2013, which disrupted a decade-long design of mobile operating systems.
Now, Apple is again trying to rethink its operating system, which has remained largely unchanged for years.
The new ‘Liquid Glass’ design is aimed at providing a modern and consistent software experience to all Apple users across all its platforms — the same transparent UI as Vision Pro.
Even the naming of the operating systems is now being synced with the current year. For example, iOS 26, macOS 26, VisionOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26 all will have the same naming to make all their platforms universal.
“For the first time, we’re introducing a universal design across our platforms,” said Alan Dye, Apple’s VP of human interface. “[It’s] our broadest design, ever,” he added.
The new ‘Liquid Glass’ design is transparent and uses the optical qualities of glass in the real world to make the software look glassy and shiny. It behaves the same in dark mode, as it transforms depending on the content being displayed on the screen.
It looks futuristic, just like the fancy software used in the VisionOS, and it will be the new design signature of Apple across all its platforms, be it iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Apple Watch, and others.
