Apple showcased its latest technology at its annual developers conference on Monday, showing off a new ‘Liquid Glass’ software design, a solution to screen out spam texts, and demonstrated it was in no rush to bring out more artificial intelligence (AI) features.
But the latest software features will not be available for several months until iOS 26 (rebranded from iOS 19) is officially released.
Here is our roundup of the latest announcements from WWDC 2025.
AI
At last year’s conference, Apple announced a more personalised AI-powered Siri. However, this year Apple only mentioned Siri very briefly.
“As we’ve shared, we’re continuing our work to deliver the features that make Siri even more personal,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering.
“This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar, and we look forward to sharing more about it in the coming year”.
However, Apple did say that AI would be integrated into some products with a focus on making our lives easier.
Apple’s WWDC comes just after Google unveiled AI updates at its developer conference last month. Samsung may also announce new phones in July.
“While it might seem others are leading the AI race, it is not a sought-after feature among users and there’s no revenue uplift (for now),” tech analyst Paolo Pescatore told Euronews Next.
“Considering the negative perception, Apple needs to tread carefully not to frustrate and disappoint its loyal base of iPhone users”.
But he said that the latest updates provide a more coherent feel and “Apple remains in an enviable position” given its large installed base of users.
Apple is expected to reveal its latest iPhones later this year.
‘Workout Buddy’
Apple Watch is getting a new, AI-enhanced “Workout Buddy” feature. The new tool analyses users’ exercise and fitness data, such as pace and distance to then make personalised recommendations.
The demo showed a runner having data such as their heart rate during each kilometre and the distance they run that year at their fingertips. The feature will include other sports too.
‘Liquid Glass’
The biggest design update is a glass-inspired aesthetic to all Apple products.
Called ‘Liquid Glass’ it makes icons and menus partially transparent.
Apple said it retracts light and dynamically reacts to your movement with specular highlights.
Anti-spam tech
Apple announced users would soon be able to screen out new senders in its messaging app.
“Unknown senders appear in a dedicated area where you can decide if you want to mark the numbers as known, ask for more information, or delete,” said Darin Adler, a vice president at Apple.
“Until you accept, messages from unknown senders will remain silenced and won’t appear as notifications”.
Apple also announced that you will soon be able to create in-message polls.
Live Translation
The tech giant also announced that its users will soon be able to converse with people in different languages with a Live Translation feature.
“Live Translation can translate conversations on the fly. It’s integrated into messages, FaceTime and phone,” said Leslie Ikemoto, an engineering director at Apple.
It will work in phone calls, even with a non-Apple responder; your words can be translated as you talk, and the translation is spoken out loud for the call recipient.
And when the person you are speaking to responds in their own language, you’ll hear a spoken translation of their voice.
In messages, it automatically translates the text for you as you type and deliver while the response can be instantly translated.
On FaceTime, Apple Translate provides live captions in your preferred language.
Apple has not said how many languages it will support.
Overall, the “subtle addition of Apple Intelligence across key services will help grow awareness and provide users with confidence to drive further engagement,” said Pescatore.
“The tight integration between hardware, software and services really stands out with this latest move”.
“It looks like Apple has done enough in what promises to be a year of transition as it further builds out its AI capabilities,” he added.
