The tech world is full of cycles. Things are always bundling and unbundling, going from minimalist to maximalist, embracing nostalgia before diving head-first into the future. And right now, it appears, we’re doing glassy again.
David Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David are joined by The Verge’s Allison Johnson and Victoria Song to talk about all the news from Apple’s annual WWDC software extravaganza. There’s no place to start, of course, other than with Liquid Glass, the new design system that Apple is rolling out across all of its platforms. We talk about why Apple made the change, what it looks like so far, and whether this is the right way to approach the future of on- and off-screen digital design.
After that, we do a spin through all of the big platform news. MacOS 26 will come with a huge upgrade to Spotlight, the iPad’s multitasking might actually work, your group chats are about to become either more or less chaotic, your workout buddy has a pep talk ready for you, and there are new things coming to CarPlay, AirPods, and even Photos.
Through it all, we spend a lot of time talking through Apple’s ongoing approach to AI. The supposedly Siri-centric future of everything remains basically on hold, as Apple tries to make the tech work, but Apple Intelligence figures into a lot of the company’s new software. It seems Apple has gotten back to what it does best: making the tech just work for people. But there’s simply no way to watch this year’s WWDC without thinking of Apple’s 2024 pitch for a completely new way to think about and use our devices — and the comparatively straightforward stuff it’s shipping a year later. How you feel about the next era of Apple software will depend entirely on how you feel about what might have been, and what might still be.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
- WWDC 2025: all the news from Apple’s annual developer conference
- Apple WWDC 2025: the 13 biggest announcements
- Apple renames its operating systems
- Apple’s new design language is Liquid Glass
- Apple’s Liquid Glass redesign doesn’t look like much
- Apple’s Liquid Glass was a wild change to my iPhone
- Apple announces macOS Tahoe 26 with new design and revamped search features
- Apple’s Spotlight upgrades in macOS Tahoe have power users in mind
- Apple launches iPadOS 26 with a new look and way better multitasking
- Apple announces iOS 26 with Liquid Glass redesign
- Apple announces watchOS 26 with a wrist flick gesture and AI ‘Workout Buddy’
- Apple’s visionOS 26 adds PSVR2 controller support and spatial widgets
- Apple’s AirPods update adds camera controls and more
- Apple’s new Games app lets you challenge your friends
Most Popular
Most Popular
- Anker is recalling over 1.1 million power banks due to fire and burn risks
- Google is shutting down Android Instant Apps over ‘low’ usage
- Here’s the $2,000 fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA Finals
- Microsoft just teased its next-gen Xbox console, and nobody noticed
- Nintendo Switch 2 review: exactly good enough
