Apple announces major upgrades to iPhone, Apple Watch and other flagship products

Not as noisy as the announcements of Apple Vision Pro or entering the AI ​​game with “Apple Intelligence”, the update at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2025 (WWDC 2025) of Apple still revealed important steps.

While the new innovations lack a groundbreaking element, they do point to a longer-term strategy. Apple is carefully charting a path to integrating AI into its entire ecosystem, while rivals like Google and Samsung have been loudly launching groundbreaking AI features for over a year.

At WWDC 2025, Apple introduced a series of new AI-powered features, including “Workout Buddy,” a smart workout assistant on Apple Watch that personalizes the physical experience, and an upgraded “Visual Look Up,” which allows users to look up information from images right on the screen, like finding the shoes they just saw in a social media post.

While these updates aren’t revolutionary, they do reflect Apple’s direction: rather than launching an “AI super app,” it’s focusing on tweaking familiar tools to make them smarter and more useful. Siri, the virtual assistant that was once expected to get an AI overhaul, is still in development and hasn’t been released as many had hoped.

However, experts say Apple cannot play catch-up forever. Many of the features it has introduced have long been available on Android devices. With iPhone sales slowing and trade war pressures, Apple is in dire need of a clear step forward to regain growth momentum and Wall Street's confidence.

Apple now has more than 2 billion active devices, a huge advantage in terms of influence. But if the company doesn't quickly make its mark with AI, consumers could lose interest, analysts say.

“Smart integration of Apple Intelligence into core services can help enhance the experience and drive user engagement,” said Paolo Pescatore, founder of UK-based media company PP Foresight.

Here are the most notable upgrades to Apple's flagship products.

Apple integrates AI live translation feature on all devices

Apple has just announced a real-time AI translation feature for phone calls, messages, and even FaceTime. This feature will help users communicate more easily with people who speak other languages, expanding global connectivity within the Apple ecosystem.

Notably, live translation will be available across multiple devices, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and will still work when users use AirPods.

With this move, Apple is accelerating in the language technology race, competing directly with products that have long supported similar features such as Google's Pixel Buds, Samsung's Galaxy, or Meta's smart Ray-Ban glasses.

This could be a new boost for Apple devices, especially in the context of users increasingly expecting intelligence and flexibility from AI assistants.

Apple upgrades the calling and texting experience:Smarter, more private

In its latest series of software updates, Apple is significantly improving the calling and texting experience on iPhone, with the goal of giving users more control over their conversations, both in terms of timing and who they communicate with.

One of the highlights is the smart call screening feature. Instead of letting users guess whether a call from an unknown number is worth answering, the system will automatically answer, collect the name and reason for the call, and display the content in text before the ring. This is a significant step forward in fighting spam, scams and unwanted marketing calls.

In the Messages app, Apple added a dedicated folder for unknown senders, making it easier for users to filter suspicious messages, a feature that has been long-awaited.

Notably, the hold support feature in the Phone app will automatically wait to help users keep their place in the service queue without having to listen to the boring hold music chorus, something Android users are familiar with from the Google Pixel.

Finally, Apple is also adding new visual elements to Messages like chat backgrounds and group polls that are more playful, helping the app better compete with interactive messaging platforms like Meta's WhatsApp.

New update on Apple Intelligence

Amid fierce competition in the AI ​​space, Apple is under increasing pressure to prove that Apple Intelligence is not just a side feature, but a compelling reason for users to upgrade to a new iPhone, Mac, or Apple Watch.

At WWDC 2025, the Apple Intelligence updates suggested a more cautious strategy than a breakthrough. According to Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities (USA), Apple is “playing it safe and quiet after last year’s mistakes.” That’s evident in the way the company introduced a series of improvements that lean toward refinement rather than technological revolution.

The most notable is the opening of the on-device AI model to third-party developers, allowing apps like Kahoot or AllTrails to leverage Apple Intelligence to create more personalized experiences. This is seen as a strategic move to expand the influence of AI in Apple's already rich software ecosystem.

Additionally, Apple is also integrating Apple Intelligence into core services like Apple Maps, which can learn personal travel habits and suggest appropriate routes, such as automatically adding familiar stops like morning coffee shops.

On Apple Watch, the new Workout Buddy feature analyzes fitness data to provide real-time motivation and workout tips, while a “Visual Intelligence” tool will let users search the web based on the image displayed on the screen.

However, the most disappointing thing is the absence of the enhanced AI version of Siri, which is expected to be the centerpiece of the interactive experience in the new Apple ecosystem.

Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, confirmed that Siri is still under development and needs more time to reach the quality standards set by Apple.

Meanwhile, Dipanjan Chatterjee, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research and Consulting (USA), frankly commented: “The silence around Siri is worrying. No emoji or suggestion feature can replace the intuitive, interactive AI experience that users expect.”

Apple reshapes the entire ecosystem interface with iOS 26 and “Liquid Glass”

At WWDC 2025, Apple announced a shift in interface design with a completely new style called "Liquid Glass" inspired by the transparent software interface of Vision Pro mixed reality glasses.

The design promises a refined, modern look with glassy transparency, glossy surfaces, and visual depth, and is considered the biggest overhaul since Apple introduced iOS 7 in 2013.

Liquid Glass will be present on all devices from iPhone, iPad to Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro, marking an effort to unify the design language across the ecosystem, said Alan Dye, Apple's vice president of human interface design.

Another notable change is that Apple will be switching to a year-based OS naming scheme. Instead of continuing the iOS 18 numbering sequence, the latest version of the OS will be called iOS 26, which corresponds to the fall 2025 to fall 2026 release cycle.

This new naming scheme not only makes it easier for users to keep track, but also synchronizes the entire operating system, eliminating the previous discrepancy between iOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS.

The design and naming changes reflect Apple's strategy to build seamless experiences across devices, according to Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee.

“Apple users don’t just use iPhones or Macs independently, they live in a seamless ecosystem. Apple is designing the future for that ecosystem,” he said.

Mac and iPad get powerful upgrades for work

Apple has just announced two notable improvements to enhance the working capabilities on Mac and iPad, helping users to do their work faster and more efficiently.

On macOS, the Spotlight tool – famous for its search capabilities – now integrates Apple Intelligence to become a proactive agent.

Users can ask Spotlight to perform actions in apps, such as composing and sending emails, without leaving the main interface.

This is considered a strategic step to catch up with competitors like Google, Amazon or OpenAI, companies that are pushing to develop AI not only to answer questions but also to act on behalf of users.

Meanwhile, the iPad – a device that has long been considered “close to a computer” – finally has some worthwhile upgrades in window multitasking.

Users can customize window sizes, keep them when reopening, and easily use multiple windows thanks to the flexible grid interface.

These changes bring the iPad closer to becoming a true laptop replacement, meeting the growing need for mobile work.