With just a few days left until WWDC 2025, details of Apple’s comprehensive redesign for the iOS 26 operating system have emerged. The source of this leak was former Apple designer and creator of the Halide camera app Sebastiaan de With.
Former Apple employee reveals iOS 26 design
The iOS 26 operating system will undergo a radical change in order to create a more consistent and compatible design language between iOS, iPadOS and macOS. Inspired by visionOS in the design, Apple will make innovations in icons, menus, applications, window structures and system buttons. This will be the biggest visual change to be made for the iPhone since iOS 7 and for the Mac since Big Sur.
Sebastiaan de With reminds us that from the first versions of iPhone OS to iOS 6, design approaches that resembled real-world objects with detailed shadows and gradients were used. In the “flat design” period that started with iOS 7, new visual details such as parallax effects and dynamic blur came to the forefront by separating layers. This approach allowed the screen elements to give a sense of depth and movement.
The evolution that continued from iOS 7 to iOS 18 enabled the interface elements to be increasingly rounded and enriched with blurring techniques that would integrate more with the content. With VisionOS, Apple developed a brand new operating system design language suitable for the spatial computing era. iOS 26 is also fed by this vision.
De With predicts that a concept he calls “Living Glass” will come to life in iOS 26. In this concept, it is stated that the interface will be covered with transparent, light-reflecting materials like glass and changing color and texture with environmental effects.
Apple’s new design principles are expected to create a dynamic and interactive user experience beyond just static visuals. Interface elements will react according to the surrounding light sources or the position of the device. Thus, classic fixed interfaces will look increasingly lifeless and old.
All the details of iOS 26 are expected to be announced at the WWDC 2025 event. So what do you think about this? You can share your opinions with us in the comments section below.
