Amid expectation in the tech news space of Apple ‘s upcoming talk at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) — opening June 9th, 2025 (next week) in Cupertino, California — there’s a new narrative at play.
For the first time in two years, when huge new technologies like the Vision Pro and the first foray into “Apple Intelligence” were introduced, WWDC 2025 is expected to be more low key with a smaller number of major AI announcements and more focus on the fine-tuning of already existing software platforms.
Some reports have indicated that Apple is being more cautious this year. It is being reported that there are no big new hardware devices prepared for launch, a shift from past WWDCs that have seen very significanthardware announcements.
In addition, there has been a trend within Apple, that people there are starting to feel that Apple won’t be able to prominently demonstrate Their great improvements in artificial intelligence at the same level as companies like Google, or OpenAI.
This possible change in focus does not suggest WWDC 2025 will lack significant updates. We should expect plenty of focus on the major user-interface redesign “Solarium”.
The project is an attempt to bring a consistent visual language to all Apple platforms including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, inspired by the design basement of visionOS. Many exciting new features have been announced, and users can expect to see a more streamlined and contemporary style with things such as rounded icons and transparent menus, which is the single biggest visual change since the release of iOS7.
Aside from the redesign, Apple is expected to roll out the next versions of its main software platforms: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26 and watchOS 26.
The updates are unlikely to bring the best of new OS features but are expected to feature improvement to usability. So perhaps iOS 26 will include easier Wi-Fi sharing between Apple devices, and AI-managed battery life. IPADOS 26 could get a leap toward a more Mac-like interface, including a top menu bar, better multitasking and an Apple News update.
Curiously enough, Apple is also rumored to be opening up its on-device AI base models to third-party developers. The move would enable developers to build apps that take advantage of Apple’s AI technologies, which today are limited to only a handful of specific types of Apple functions — like text summarization and autocorrect.
The on-device models are smaller and weaker than the sort of giant AIs rivals offer as cloud services, which could mean a more privacy-friendly but also less feature-rich approach to third-party AI in Apple gadgets.
Expect WWDC 2025 not to blow our minds in terms of revolutionary AI, but to present a concentrated effort Apple is exerting to enforce its software ecosystem in a fresh, unified design that offers more developers access to the AI infrastructure it already has.
This “gap year” strategy, as some analysts call it, could represent a tactical pause before we see more ambitious AI projects rolled-out at future events. The tech industry will be looking on to see how this smaller WWDC will change today’s Apple in the increasingly important field of artificial intelligence.
