Apple’s developer conference, WWDC will take place in June 2025 and the rumour mill is in full force. At the top of the list of what we can expect are significant changes to the look and feel of macOS, iPadOS and iOS.
Apple is reportedly planning to make its three main operating platforms look more alike so the experience as you move between different devices is less jarring.
Apple does have some consistency across platforms but where there are differences it can be confusing. A good example is the System Settings app. While there are some similarities, there are some annoying defences. For example, macOS has email settings under Internet Accounts. On iOS and iPadOS, you need to go through your list of apps and find the settings for Mail.
It may not seem like a big deal but if you’re someone who flips between different devices regularly then keeping things consistent can be a time saver and lead to less frustration and confusion, particularly for new users.
Apple also needs to make file management more streamlined on the iPhone and, especially, on the iPad. With Apple asking hundreds of dollars of users to buy one of its Magic Keyboard accessories, users deserve a better experience when it comes to accessing and managing files. Hopefully, the Files app is part of whatever Apple is doing to make its personal computing platforms more usable.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says this revamp is coming this year [paywall/subscriber link]. Given Apple makes its big software announcements during the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June each year, we should see the first versions of these changes around that time.
Gurman says:
A key goal of the overhaul is to make Apple’s different operating systems look similar and more consistent. Right now, the applications, icons and window styles vary across macOS, iOS and visionOS. That can make it jarring to hop from one device to another.
There has been lots of speculation over the years that macOS, iPadOS and iOS would merge to form a single operating platform that adapted to different devices. At one level, that makes plenty of sense given that iOS (or iPhone OS as it was called during its early years) was a fork or offshoot of OS X (as the Mac operating software was called at the time). Bringing them back together offers some nice symmetry.
And there’s been plenty of talk about Apple’s efforts to enable Mac apps to run on iPads and vice-versa. But giving the different platforms a more consistent look and feel enables Apple to offer consistency where it makes sense and have differences where it makes sense for each different type of device.
If we’re looking for design cues then visionOS might be the place to start. While the software for the Vision Pro is made for a gesture-driven experience, its round icons, floating menus and layered appearance may give us some clues about what to expect. Those round icons come courtesy of Apple software design boss Alan Dye. He’s the man who brought the round icons we also see on the Apple Watch.
One things is certain though. Many Mac users are very passionate and vocal about what they like and dislike when Apple’s software changes. Apple will need to tread carefully to avoid disenfranchising its long-time users.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.