Apple’s big software refresh for 2025 is now live: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe (also called macOS 26), iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26 and visionOS all arrived on Monday, offering a unified design to the company’s operating systems.

The centrepiece is “Liquid Glass”, a visual overhaul that aims to bring Apple’s many devices into closer harmony – not just in what they do, but how they look and feel.

It’s the most ambitious cross-platform redesign since at least iOS 7.

Liquid Glass leans heavily on translucency, refraction, depth and fluid motion. User interface elements – icons, sidebars, control centres, widgets – now include materials that let things behind them subtly blur, reflect or shine through, creating layered visual effects that respond to light, content and device mode (light/dark/tinted).

Apple claims this design language serves both beauty and utility: designs are more expressive, but also more consistent across iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, TVs and the Vision Pro.

On iPhones under iOS 26, the redesign includes updated Lock Screen behaviour (the clock adapting to wallpaper, more 3D effects, more dynamic interaction), revised app icons (light, dark, clear and tinted variants), improved Call Screening tools in the Phone app, more ways to reduce distractions in Messages, and Apple Intelligence features such as Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime captions, and even spoken translation during calls. There are also expanded visual intelligence tools: you can take a screenshot, then ask questions about its content, search for similar images or products, or even let Apple Intelligence identify elements (for example, animals and plants).

macOS Tahoe (version 26 for Mac) brings the same Liquid Glass aesthetic to desktops: a transparent menu bar by default, refractive sidebars and toolbars, new “clear” looks for icons and widgets, and colour-tinting. Functionally, Apple has upgraded Spotlight to do more than search – launching apps, executing actions and offering filtered, more context-aware results.

Continuity is extended: there’s a Phone app on Mac (for managing calls via paired iPhone), Live Activities showing up on Mac, and further refinements to Shortcuts and themes. Hardware compatibility is important: only newer Intel Macs plus all Apple Silicon Macs are supported, and this will be the last major macOS release that fully supports Intel Macs.

Read: iPhone Air steals the show at Apple’s 2025 launch event

iPadOS 26 picks up many of the visual cues and adds more powerful multitasking. Think overlapping windows, Mac-style menu bars, more flexible resizing, and improvements to the Files app and better document preview/editing in-place. Performance and interface refinements make the iPad feel ever closer to a hybrid device – not entirely a laptop, but more than just a big phone.

For watchOS 26, the updates include Liquid Glass effects on watch faces and in the UI, new gesture controls (wrist flicks, for example), improved health and fitness features like better sleep metrics and hypertension alerts, and a new “Workout Buddy” feature that gives motivational audio feedback during workouts. Some features may depend on newer watch hardware.

tvOS 26 also gets the design refresh, along with updates that make the interface leaner and cleaner. There are refinements to how Apple TV handles media, updated screen savers and better recommendation layouts. Apple Intelligence and Live Translation features extend to big-screen experiences where possible – including captions and content suggestions.

Legibility concerns

Despite the visual spectacle, not all is unanimously loved. Some early feedback (from reviewers and public beta users) flags concerns over legibility (text on translucent backdrops sometimes gets hard to read), performance on older hardware and the risk that “beauty” might come at the expense of clarity or speed in certain contexts. Apple has reportedly adjusted the transparency and contrast during the beta period to address these complaints.

In summary, Apple’s OS 26 roll-out marks a strong move towards unified aesthetics and smarter cross-device interaction. It’s not a radical reinvention of what iPhones or Macs do – but it is a major refresh. For users with newer devices, it promises a fresher, more consistent experience across the board. Those with older hardware may want to check compatibility and performance before diving in. Either way, Apple’s Liquid Glass era has officially begun. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media

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