Apple is gearing up to introduce UI design changes for the iPhone as part of iOS 18 with early work kicking off on a comparable macOS redesign to be released later, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
In the paywalled Q&A section of the latest edition of the weekly Power On newsletter, it is said that iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will bring forward notable design updates across the system. The expected design revisions will somewhat be based on the design language Apple introduced with visionOS, although iOS 18’s redesign will not be a “carbon copy” of the company’s spatial computing operating system.
This means that iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 are unlikely to feature 3D buttons and translucent glass-like windows from visionOS like some earlier concepts have imagined. Nevertheless, an anticipated design overhaul for iOS is sure to be welcomed by most users, especially since the system’s look and feel remained relatively unchanged since iOS 7’s massive redesign more than a decade ago.
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Apple has also ramped up work on a similar redesign for macOS, the report adds. Unlike iOS 18, the macOS design changes are not expected to be ready in time for WWDC 2024. Instead, Apple is said to be targeting a release date of 2025 or 2026 for its macOS redesign. This would represent the most significant design update since macOS Big Sur’s introduction in WWDC 2020, which coincided with the company’s announcement of transitioning from Intel-based CPUs to in-house Apple silicon.
Beyond the expected design updates, iOS 18 is strongly rumored to introduce generative AI features across the board for the iPhone. These capabilities are said to span Siri, Spotlight, Messages, and Apple Music, with developer-specific features also heading to Xcode. The breadth of changes heading to iOS 18 has made some people within the company refer to the update as one of the biggest in iPhone’s history.
