Apple WWDC 2025: What to expect, including iOS redesign and productivity features

Indian Express

13 hours ago

The five-day Worldwide Developer Conference 2025, one of Apple's big events of the year, will officially kick off on Monday, June 9, with a keynote from CEO Tim Cook and other executives at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, US, starting from 10:30 PM IST onwards.
WWDC is where Apple typically showcases its latest developer-focused software updates and features, including plenty of news relating to iOS, Vision Pro, etc. However, this year's WWDC arrives at one of the most pivotal moments in the company's history. There have been several question marks about Apple's AI strategy and whether it plans on taking bold steps to catch up with rivals in an industry rapidly being transformed by AI.
AI is also emerging as the new user interface that threatens the stronghold of companies such as Apple over smartphones and app distribution. For instance, OpenAI recently announced it is acquiring io, a startup founded by Jony Ive, Apple's former industrial designer, for $6.5 billion. Ive is also collaborating with OpenAI to build a new AI hardware product that could potentially match the success of the iPhone.
So, the stakes at WWDC 2025 appear to be higher than ever. Yet, AI is not expected to take centre stage at Monday's keynote. At WWDC 2024, Apple introduced Apple Intelligence, its response to the rise of chatbots and AI models sparked by OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022. But the rollout of Apple Intelligence has been sluggish and the features limited. The promise of an AI-powered, revamped Siri has also been delayed indefinitely.
In this context, what does Apple have in store for WWDC 2025? Here's what to expect.
Some of the biggest announcements to come out of WWDC 2025 will be the revamped design of iOS as well as a new naming convention, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Instead of naming the latest version of the operating system iOS 19, after iOS 18, the company is likely to skip ahead to iOS 26 which will be followed by iOS 27, iOS 28, iOS 29, etc, in the future.
Apple is also expected to announce a major shift in the aesthetics of its software in order to make the visual elements more consistent across the company's myriad products like the Vision Pro, Apple Watch, iPad, and more. The Tim Cook-led company is also expected to take another shot at social gaming by introducing a new pre-installed gaming app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV devices.
On the AI front, Apple is expected to open up access to its foundational AI models. This means that third-party software developers could get access to the company's large language models (LLMs) in order to build AI features within their respective apps for iPhones and other Apple devices. Reports also suggest that Apple's health app could be integrated with an AI health chatbot as well as other AI-powered insights and personalised health suggestions for users.
iMessage may also get new AI features such as translation and polls with AI-generated suggestions, according to a report by 9to5Mac. The Apple AirPods may also get an upgrade with a live-translate language feature to translate conversations in real-time. The AirPods could get new head gestures such as nods or headshakes to answer incoming calls or read messages, as per reports.
But it is unlikely to make any other hardware-related announcement. Apple's refreshed lineup of iPhones and other gadgets are generally announced at an event held sometime in September or October this year.
The WWDC 2025 keynote on Monday is going to be livestreamed starting from 10:30 PM IST onwards. You can watch the keynote live via the Apple Developer app, on Apple's website, or by visiting the company's official YouTube channel. You can also follow along with The Indian Express' live blog in case you don't want to miss out on any updates during the event.