WWDC 2025 preview: Apple to rely on tried-and-tested formula to win crowds as AI takes backseat this year
The cat is out of the bag. Sort of. Apple's big WWDC 2025 plans have been outed. Spoiler alert: they are probably not as big as you might have imagined. That might be okay had Apple been able to show the rabbit it was trying to pull out of its hat last year but since that didn't happen, the jury is out if Cupertino missed the AI bus. Whatever be the case, it is becoming more and more clear each day – as we fast approach the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9 – that WWDC 2025 will be a largely muted affair.advertisementYou can expect Apple to make a gala show of it regardless, but it could be more style and less substance this year, especially compared to the last two editions where it made several big blockbuster announcements. Apple demoed the Vision Pro headset at WWDC 2023, while at WWDC 2024, it introduced Apple Intelligence. WWDC 2025 will be on a relatively 'smaller scale,' according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, and while big changes are certainly in the works, Apple's current priority leans towards practicality rather than tall claims and promises to win back some of the credibility it lost after failing to deliver on last year's.The biggest headline grabbers will be around Apple's marquee software that powers its iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and Apple TV. Specifically, for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Apple is set to switch from its existing naming scheme to a year-based format beginning with iOS 26 [and iPadOS 26] and macOS 26, which are expected to be rolled out to compatible devices later this fall, aka, sometime in September. In line with modern-day tradition to name its Mac software after natural places in California, macOS 26 will reportedly be named after Lake Tahoe. Not just the name, Apple is also set to give its software – across iPhone and Mac – a visual overhaul, aligning it with more transparent visionOS-like elements. Internally, it is called 'Solarium.'advertisement
'Expect the company's marketing team to deliver a highly polished keynote address with a narrative that leans heavily on the value of its ecosystem integration, design and system security,' Gurman said.Apple Intelligence is largely expected to make a guest appearance at WWDC 2025. So, there is some AI to look forward to. For starters, Apple is said to open some of its foundation models – 3B, those capable of on-device machine learning – to third-party developers so they can design and incorporate features within their apps to work with certain localised aspects of Apple Intelligence. Internally, Apple is reportedly testing models as powerful as 150B, with company insiders also having access to a chatbot – based on the same model – that is apparently performing at par with OpenAI's. All this happens within the company's own dedicated sandbox called Playground with no word on if and when they will be rolled out to the public.Aside from this, Apple is also expected to roll out a built-in rich text editor for SwiftUI while giving developers some idea of when Swift Assist, a program that uses AI to complete and improve code, will be available for prime time.Tune In
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