Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is usually where the company shows off its latest software tricks, and this year’s edition was on yesterday.
WWDC 2025 brought a lot of new stuff, but for me, the biggest headlines were about iOS 26, the new software coming to iPhones later this year.
In short: the iPhone is about to look and feel very different. Not necessarily for the better if you ask me. And it should be smarter too but Apple’s AI challenges so far mean totenda dzanwa, we shall see.
iOS 26
Apple calls the new design language Liquid Glass, and you will notice it. It’s all glassy as you can see, just as the rumours said.
Everything now has a semi-transparent look, like frosted glass with a little bit of depth. There goes the flat style we’ve had for years. The lock screen, icons, menus, and apps all get the glassy treatment.
It’s a change that will divide opinion. I’m in the camp that doesn’t really care for it at first glance. Maybe once I get it, my tune will change, but I doubt it.
The iPhone’s interface is now closer to visionOS on the Vision Pro headset. I’m guessing none of us ever played around the that headset, it being over $3500 and all.
Beyond looks, the iPhone is getting a little more intelligence. Apple Intelligence still seems to be behind the competition but it gets a few new features.
Here are some of the iOS 26 features I found interesting:
Live Translation
Imagine texting someone in Chinese, French, or Shona and having your words translated instantly, and theirs too. That’s Live Translation, and it works not just in text, but also in FaceTime calls and voice messages.
This could be useful even here in Zim where we often juggle multiple languages. I am ashamed that I don’t understand Ndebele and could do with this kind of thing. I’m already thinking of WhatsApp groups where this might come in handy.
However, we have seen this feature on Android and it’s not quite as flawless as these companies try to make it seem. With Apple being behind on these things, I doubt their version will perform any better.
Smarter Phone calls
iOS 26 adds Call Screening, which lets AI answer unknown calls and provide a transcript before you decide whether to pick up. If you’ve ever been harassed by that company’s call centres or suspected spam, you’ll like this.
There’s also Hold Assist, where AI stays on the line during those long “you are number 23 in the queue” calls and alerts you when a human picks up.
Don’t get too excited about this though because the Pixel has had these features for years but they are still US exclusives for the most part. It might also be the case that these won’t trickle down to Zim.
Visual Intelligence
This one looks fun, the iPhone can now analyse images and screenshots and suggest actions. If you screenshot a flyer for an event, for example, it can offer to add the event to your calendar or get directions.
Again, none of this new. In fact, even the Gemini app on iOS recently got this feature and so I have been doing this visual intelligence stuff for a bit, minus adding stuff to calenders.
Other potentially useful stuff
- Messages now let you add backgrounds and polls to group chats. Most of us rely on WhatsApp for our group chat needs and so iMessage updates don’t mean much over here.
- Apple Music gains AutoMix , DJ-style transitions between songs, kind of like Spotify and lyrics translation.
- Maps gets Visited Places, showing where you’ve been (hopefully this won’t cause any problems at home).
- Battery settings now include daily graphs and an adaptive power mode for squeezing out more life.
What about the rest?
Apple also announced updates to its other platforms:
- macOS 26 (named Tahoe) brings the Liquid Glass design and better file organisation.
- iPadOS 26 finally makes the iPad feel more like a desktop, with proper windowing and improved productivity features.
- watchOS 26 adds Workout Buddy, an AI fitness coach that gives real-time spoken feedback. I have to say, the fact that that’s the headline feature tells you just how stagnant the smartwatch game has gotten.
- visionOS 26 and tvOS 26 get visual upgrades and more widgets.
All in all, it’s all mid
The flashy new AI features will likely be the most exciting part but these features were promised a while ago. The interesting bit is that Apple Intelligence should mostly work even when you’re offline.
If Apple can deliver real-world utility without needing constant cloud access, these tools could work well even in areas with sketchy mobile data. That could potentially be huge here in Zim where internet access is not a guarantee.
Overall, iOS 26 feels like the start of a new chapter for the iPhone. Too bad it doesn’t look like it’s a chapter I like. However, I’m stuck on iOS for a few more years still and so I will have to get on board at some point.
It’s rolling out in public beta next month and should launch officially around September with the next iPhone.
I have to say, at this point, I prefer what Google is doing with Material 3 Expressive and what Samsung is doing with One UI. However, unless an S25 Ultra just falls into my lap, I will have to be look on in envy and use this whole glassy stuff.
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