19 hours Ago
One of the most dramatic software overhauls in Apple’s history is coming, a new report says, which will “transform the interface of the iPhone, iPad and Mac for a new generation of users,” it’s claimed. The iPhone software is about to change radically, a new report claims. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that while the iPhone changes which will come in the next tranche of software, iOS 19, will be the “biggest overhaul in a dozen years,” there will also be big alterations in software for the iPad and Mac, to “make Apple’s various software platforms more consistent.
” The dozen years mention refers to iOS 7, released in September 2013, when 3D-style app icons on the iPhone were replaced by layered and flatter imagery. It was a radical change which quickly became accepted and mimicked by much of the smartphone industry. This time, it seems, the updating will be similarly widespread.
It “includes updating the style of icons, menus, apps, windows and system buttons,” Gurman said, and includes a move to simplifying the way people navigate their devices and control them. It’s thought that the look will be loosely based on the way the Vision Pro software appears—notably with circular app icons, translucent panels and prominent use of shadow, though not all elements will apply on the iPhone, iPad and Mac, it’s thought. “A key goal of the overhaul is to make Apple’s different operating systems look similar and more consistent.
Right now, the applications, icons and window styles vary across macOS, iOS and visionOS. That can make it jarring to hop from one device to another,” Gurman says. I get that, but personally I like the distinct styles that exist on the different devices, especially the Mac, and have never had a problem with the differences.
There are enough similarities, such as the use of consistent colors, to make transitions easy. So, I take heart from something else Gurman says. “Still, Apple is stopping short of merging its operating systems—a step other tech giants have taken.
The company believes it can make better Macs and iPads by keeping their operating systems separate,” he believes. The good news is there’s not long to wait to see exactly what this looks like. Apple will almost certainly reveal the changes on the first day of its World Wide Developers Conference, likely to be in one of the first weeks in June, so probably just a dozen weeks away.
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