Apple WWDC2025

At 1am Beijing time on June 10th, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2025 (WWDC2025) kicked off. As usual in previous years, at WWDC every year, Apple focuses on introducing new versions of the system. This time is no exception, as Apple has updated a series of software including iOS, watchOS, iPadOS, macOS, and more.
Apple has announced a design update - a new software interface named 'Liquid Glass'. Unlike the existing "flat design", "liquid glass" adopts a design with a gloss and semi transparent effect similar to the surface of glass, presenting a more transparent and layered visual experience. This design will not only be applied to iPhone's iOS 26, but also cover iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, etc., which will achieve a unified visual style for the Apple ecosystem.
In addition to visual design changes, it is widely believed that Apple needs to release some exciting features to improve people's doubts about its Apple Intelligence. However, WWDC2025's updates on AI are very limited, leaving this trillion dollar tech giant further behind in the AI arms race.
Apple investors seem to have a lukewarm response to WWDC2025, with Apple's stock price closing down 1.21% as of the close on June 9th.

Apple AI Upgrade Limited

As the main venue for Apple's terminal operating system updates, although the main characters at WWDC are "various OSs", the most noteworthy aspect of this conference is still Apple's progress in AI.
Shortly after the opening of the conference, Apple executives first introduced their "Apple Intelligence": "The 'Apple Intelligence' in the writing tool suite (which introduces AI editing and rewriting functions) can help users summarize and write in apps such as email; In terms of AI image processing, 'Apple Intelligence' supports functions such as eliminating pedestrians; If you want to learn and prepare for exams, 'Apple Intelligence' can provide targeted test questions; If you want to design a hiking route to a place without internet, just give some ideas and the app can generate a (route) design for you. "
As expected, Apple's upgrades in the field of artificial intelligence are extremely limited, and no new features about Siri have been showcased. As an important voice assistant for Apple devices, the delay in upgrading Siri will affect the user experience. After watching the entire press conference, it seems that Apple's most significant artificial intelligence upgrade is the translation function and visual intelligence of the entire system.
Apple launched the Translate app a few years ago, and now this feature is deeply integrated into its various operating systems as a feature of "Apple Intelligence", mainly used for real-time translation of phone calls and text messages. Many times you want to talk about your thoughts, but due to language barriers, you cannot express them. To this end, Apple provides real-time translation function, where users can input information while translating the received content; in FaceTime (video chat) calls, real-time translation subtitles can also be displayed. "
The visual intelligence function is based on "Apple Intelligence" and allows users to search, ask questions, and process content on the iPhone screen. Users can ask ChatGPT questions about the images or information displayed on the screen, or search for similar products through supported applications such as Google and Etsy. In addition, the system can also detect event information on the screen, automatically extract dates, times, and locations, and suggest adding them to the calendar. However, the Android brand has already been the first to implement similar features in China.
It is worth noting that since ChatGPT sparked the wave of AI big models at the end of 2022, generative AI is evolving at an unprecedented speed, entering various terminals and affecting various industries. Major mobile phone manufacturers are shouting 'All in AI'. However, Counterpoint Research stated in its latest report that "so far, Android phones have achieved significant first mover advantages in the field of Gen AI (Generative Artificial Intelligence), and their functional system continues to expand, far surpassing Apple in maturity, including innovative features such as conversational chat assistants and AI personalized interactions. "
Compared to top Android phone brands, "Apple Smart" not only started relatively slowly, but the current AI functionality of the Android system is generally superior to Apple in terms of comprehensiveness and maturity. Counterpoint pointed out that "Android supports third-party application integration, while Apple has not yet opened it up; Android has significant advantages in system integration, application ecology, device compatibility, and personalized customization. However, Apple adheres to the principle of terminal side processing priority and strictly guarantees the privacy of all ecological data. These priority principles also bring urgent limitations for AI landing. "
However, at this conference, Apple launched its basic model for developers. It is reported that Apple's new Foundation Models framework will allow third-party developers to leverage the Large Language Model (LLM) that Apple Intelligence relies on. With the help of the basic model framework, developers can directly integrate Apple's device built-in models into application apps, thereby developing based on "Apple Intelligence". App developers will soon be able to access pre installed LLM. Apple believes that this will create a new wave of intelligent experiences in the apps that users use on a daily basis. "
At WWDC a year ago, "Apple Intelligence" was released, which once made "Apple fans" boil, but in reality, many promises have not been fulfilled. Even now, users of the domestic iPhone 15 Pro series/iPhone 16 series still cannot experience Apple's AI functions. Compared with the rapidly iterating AI technology of other manufacturers, Apple's speed seems unusually slow.
For users of the domestic iPhone 15 Pro series and iPhone 16 series, what they may be more concerned about is not more AI features, but the official launch time of Apple Intelligence in China.

Various OS' squeeze toothpaste 'style updates
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n addition to AI, the highlight of this conference is the upgrade of iOS 26. Apple executives spent a lot of space detailing the multiple improvements of iOS 26.
In terms of functional applications, in the phone app, Apple integrates personal favorites, recent calls, and voice messages on the same page. Users can block interference based on the call filtering function of live voice mailbox, collect caller information, and decide whether to answer or ignore the call; IOS 26 also provides an enhanced user experience for conversations, including custom backgrounds and the ability to create votes.
In the map app, the "Places Visited" function can help users record the places they have visited. IPhone can also use device intelligence to better understand users' daily commuting routes, present them with preferred routes when they go home or to work, and notify them and provide alternative routes when congestion occurs.
In watchOS 26, Apple introduced some features including "smart stacking". It is reported that the prediction algorithm of the "intelligent stacking" function has been improved by integrating more contextual data, sensor data, and data from users' daily use to form intelligent stacking prompts. For example, when users arrive at the fitness studio at their usual time, they will receive prompts about Pilates training.
In addition, Apple has upgraded iPadOS, MacOS, etc., but more of it should be considered as Apple's patchwork, and overall it is still seen as a "squeezing toothpaste" update.
For example, Apple has changed the naming convention of traditional operating systems, adopting a unified naming scheme by year, such as renaming iOS 19 to iOS 26. Other systems will also adopt a consistent naming convention, such as iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, etc.
In fact, compared to WWDC in the previous two years, the upgrade of WWDC2025 can be simply summarized as: changing the name of the system, changing the appearance of the icon, adding a small feature to AI, etc. As a highly anticipated technology giant, the disruptive innovation that people expected has not yet arrived.

On the eve of the opening of WWDC2025, Guo Mingchi, an analyst at Tianfeng International, stated on social media: "Many people have always believed that Apple, with its advantages in ecology, chip development, and product design, can ultimately gain a foothold in the AI trend. This idea can be concluded without in-depth research. But Apple's existing advantages can only guarantee that its hardware products will be a good AI service channel, which does not mean that Apple can create differentiation or sustainable competitive advantages through AI. "