Apple is gearing up to launch the biggest overhaul to iOS in over a decade — and your iPhone could look unrecognisable. That's according to the latest bombshell report from Bloomberg, which spoke to people working on a massive redesign of all Apple operating systems coming this autum.
According to those inside the secretive Cupertino company, everything will be changed — app icons, menus, windows and system buttons. The update aims to simplify how you navigate and control your device, potentially making the Settings app and menus more intuitive.
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For clues about exactly what this rumoured redesign will look like, look no further than the software running on Apple Vision Pro.
This £3,500 Spatial Computer uses circular icons for applications and translucency throughout the operating system to overlay windows and panels on top of the real world.
And now, sources speaking to Bloomberg suggest this look is coming to iPhone, iPad, and Mac later this year. The work has been described as "one of the most dramatic software overhauls" in the history of Apple.
The introduction of iOS 7, pictured on the right, was a dramatic overhaul compared to every version of iOS that has gone, which were characterised by the skeuomorphic design — where digital elements mirror their real-world counterparts, like the leather texture to the notebook in the Reminders app and fake wood in Newsstand
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The last time we saw a shake-up of this magntiture was the unveil of iOS 7.
Launched in September 2013, iOS 7 was the boldest redesign of the iPhone software since its launch. Under the direction of Sir Jony Ive — the man behind the design of the iMac, iPhone, and iPod — it ditched the skeuomorphic textures that had characterised iOS until that point. In their place, Ive brought in a sleek, flat, and modern approach with vibrant colours.
The radical visual shift divided opinion — some loved it, while others found it jarring. However, its influence extended across Apple’s ecosystem and pushed the entire industry toward minimalist UI design. Love it or hate it, the influence of iOS 7 can still be seen in Apple's software today.
Vision Pro conjures up its circular app icons and translucent menus and applications into your surroundings
APPLE PRESS OFFICEThis isn't just a facelift — sources say Apple is using the overhaul as an opportunity to “simplify the way users navigate and control their devices.”
It will also make the design consistent across all Apple devices. As it stands, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro rely on circular app icons, while the iPad, iPhone and Mac use a rounded square (sometimes referred to as a "squircle"). With a refresh to all of these devices, moving between these different operating systems should become more of a seamless experience.
Given the Apple Vision Pro is the first new device in an all-new product category since the launch of the Apple Watch 10 years ago, it makes sense that this product sets the look for the next evolution of iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.
The most recent iOS apps introduced by Apple were Apple Invites and Apple Sports.
Both of these applications have a slightly different design to what we're used to from the teams in Cupertino, with greater use of translucency and navigation handled by a drop-down list accessed at the top of the page — instead of the more traditional tabbed interface that runs along the bottom of the screen found in other Apple-designed apps (Music, Clock, Phone).
Apple Invites, the most recent addition from its internal teams, has a more transparent design reminiscent of visionOS
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Whispers suggest Apple will use the opportunity to overhaul the built-in Camera app, with new ways to switch between the growing number of modes (Photo, Video, Portrait, Pano, Cinematic, Spatial, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse) or make more granular adjustments to shooting settings.
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 19 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which is usually held in June, although the exact dates remain unconfirmed for the latest event. Following the announcement, the software will undergo several months of beta testing so developers behind some of the biggest apps can integrate new technologies. The final iteration will likely be released in September, coinciding with a new iPhone lineup.
Rumours of work on a ground-up redesign to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS comes as Apple confirmed that it had indefinitely delayed its promised AI-powered Siri update. The revamped Siri with personal context, originally expected this year, may not arrive until iOS 19.
"It's going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features," an Apple representative told Daring Fireball's John Gruber last week. Apple teased the arrival of this superpowered new Siri, which could extract information from multiple apps to take action from commands like "What was that document that John sent me last week?" and "When does Mum's flight land?".
The full statement from Apple reads: "Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we’ve made Siri more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge, and added an integration with ChatGPT. We’ve also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year."
Apple recently confirmed plans to bring Apple Intelligence features, including Writing Tools and AI summaries for notifications and email, which rolled-out to iPhone, Mac, and iPad in the UK at the end of last year, to its Vision Pro in the coming months.
