Apple's WWDC is approaching!  

Apple's Annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2025) will kick off at 1 PM Eastern Time next Monday afternoon.  

 

Compared to the past two years when the capital market had extremely high expectations for Vision Pro and "Apple AI," this year's buzz is undoubtedly much quieter. That said, Apple's annual software updates and technological advancements remain events worth paying attention to in the consumer electronics market.  

 

Today, based on the information I've compiled, let's take a look at what to expect in advance.  

iOS will undergo a disruptive design revolution  

When Apple launched iOS 7 in 2013, it introduced a complete overhaul of its design language, shifting from the gradient and realistic texture of skeuomorphic design to a more colorful but flatter style. This reflected then-Chief Design Officer Jony Ive's pursuit of minimalism.  

 

Years after Ive left Apple, the consumer electronics giant has finally decided to drastically redesign the appearance of its operating system this year.  

 

According to leaks, this year's new series of systems will borrow elements from Apple's head-mounted display system visionOS, comprehensively updating the styles of icons, menus, applications, windows, and system buttons. This means the new system will feature semi-transparent menu interfaces, more circular icons, and more prominent 3D depth-of-field and shadow effects.  

(visionOS interface example, source: Apple)

AirPods become simultaneous interpreters  

The most interesting new feature at next week's launch event is likely the real-time translation function for AirPods, which will be used in conjunction with iPhones upgraded to iOS 26.  

 

It is reported that this function works as follows: Suppose an English-speaking user wearing AirPods hears someone speaking Spanish, the iPhone will translate the speech into English and deliver it to the user through the AirPods. At the same time, the user's English speech will be translated into Spanish and played to the other party through the iPhone.  

 

The exact number of supported languages and the user experience will require more comprehensive information after next week's Apple event.  

 

Given that AI translation has now reached a fairly high level of usability, Apple's update is also expected to drive the consumer electronics market to break through language barriers.  

 

There are also reports that AirPods may add new head gesture controls, automatic music pause when falling asleep, and other functions.  

New exclusive gaming app  

For Apple's "Game Center," which has a low profile, Apple will launch a dedicated gaming app this year to replace it, integrating features such as gaming achievements, leaderboards, and social interactions, possibly in a form similar to Microsoft Xbox's game launcher.  

 

It is reported that this app is more intended to integrate Apple's gaming subscription service Apple Arcade and highlight gaming apps on the App Store. On the Mac platform, this app will have the function of accessing "games downloaded from channels outside the App Store."  

 

So far, information on these three aspects is relatively reliable. As for Apple's progress in AI this year, there may be no major developments—or there could be "surprises." We'll have to wait and see.