WWDC 2025: Liquid Pass?
By Bharat Sharma 12th June 2025, 5:10 am
Introduction
This year’s WWDC felt like a strange, beautiful contradiction. While the entire industry is screaming AI, Apple walked onto the stage and said: aesthetics first. And honestly? That wasn’t a bad thing.
From the gorgeous new Liquid Glass interface to the subtle visual refinements across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS — this year felt like Apple rediscovering its design soul. But underneath the beauty lies an AI strategy that still feels half-baked. As someone using an iPhone 16 Plus daily, I couldn’t help but wonder — did I buy too early into a promise Apple wasn’t ready to keep?
Liquid Glass: A Return to Frutiger Fun
If there’s one thing Apple nailed this year, it’s the vibe. The new Liquid Glass design system introduces layered translucency, motion depth, and vibrant reflections reminiscent of the Frutiger Aero era. For a company often accused of over-minimalism, this is a welcome return to fun.
The UI finally feels alive again — shadows shift, icons glow with dimension, and glass surfaces ripple subtly with interaction. It’s not just pretty — it’s emotional. And for longtime users, it’s a nostalgic gut-punch in the best way.
Siri and Apple Intelligence: Still MIA
Despite being teased for over a year, Apple Intelligence remains more promise than product. Yes, we got another Siri demo — this time with ChatGPT-like rewriting, summarization, and image lookup — but the delivery timeline was telling. Craig Federighi confirmed that most of the new Siri functionality won’t be available until 2026.
Investors weren’t thrilled either. Apple’s stock dipped 2.2%, wiping $75 billion in market value within minutes of the keynote. And to be honest, I understand why. In a year when Google, OpenAI, and Meta are shipping full multimodal assistants, Apple’s “rolling out next year” doesn’t cut it.
Siri, even in its revamped form, still struggles to match tools like ChatGPT, Meta AI, or even Perplexity — all of which I use more frequently, because they actually work.
Foundation Models Framework: An Unexpected Gift to Developers
One of the more underappreciated announcements — and in my opinion, the most exciting one — was the Foundation Models Framework.
For the first time, Apple is letting developers directly integrate on-device AI models (like summarization, rewrite, or classification) into their apps — without needing an internet connection or external API access. Even better? It’s free and fully private, running locally using Apple Silicon’s neural engines.
With just a few lines of Swift code, you can now embed a powerful AI model in your app. For student developers, indie teams, and privacy-conscious applications — this is a massive win. And frankly, it’s unexpected from Apple, a company not known for developer openness.
While Apple still trails in AI UX, it just gave developers a quiet but powerful tool that could redefine what native iOS and macOS apps can do.
macOS 26: Native Linux Containers — A Quiet Revolution
In a move that might have flown under the radar, Apple introduced native support for Linux containers in macOS 26. This new Containerization Framework allows developers to run Linux container images directly on their Macs without relying on third-party tools like Docker.
Built on an open-source foundation and optimized for Apple Silicon, this framework offers secure isolation between container images, enhancing performance and battery efficiency. For developers and students working with cross-platform applications or server-side tools, this native support simplifies workflows and reduces resource overhead.
It’s a significant step for Apple, signaling a more open and developer-friendly approach, especially for those integrating AI models or working in diverse development environments.
iPadOS 26: MacOS in Disguise?
The iPad is finally growing up. With iPadOS 26, Apple has effectively turned the iPad into a pseudo-Mac. New floating windows, better multitasking, and system-level integration make this the most powerful iPadOS yet.
It looks and behaves almost identically to macOS — and while that might blur some lines for new users, it also makes the iPad a legitimate productivity machine. For students and mobile creators, this could be the moment the iPad steps out of the “tablet” shadow.
OS 26: The Naming Finally Makes Sense
In a small but tidy change, Apple has unified its OS versions across the ecosystem. Say hello to:
- iOS 26
- macOS 26
- iPadOS 26
- watchOS 26
- tvOS 26
- visionOS 26
It’s a small move, but it shows Apple’s commitment to treating the ecosystem as one interconnected whole — something developers and users alike will appreciate.
The Vibe vs. The Gap
The vibes this year? Immaculate. The implementation? Lagging.
WWDC 2025 had some genuinely beautiful and surprising moments — especially for UI lovers and developers — but it’s hard to ignore the gap between Apple’s polished stagecraft and the reality of shipping AI features. Siri is still a ghost. Apple Intelligence is still vague. And despite how gorgeous my iPhone looks… I can’t do much more with it yet.
Final Thoughts
WWDC 2025 felt like a design renaissance wrapped around an unfinished AI vision. Liquid Glass is a win. Foundation Models are an unexpected gift. But the centerpiece — Apple Intelligence — is still MIA.
As someone straddling the line between user and builder, I’m left hopeful — but skeptical. If Apple wants to lead in the AI era, it’ll need to ship more than vibes.