The Biggest Apple Interface Update in Years (Thoughts on WWDC 25)

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Thoughts on WWDC 25

There are some really interesting design choices that came out of Apple’s WWDC25 event this year. Some of it I’m excited about, some of it I’m a little skeptical about, but it’s all pointing to where things are headed next. So here’s my take.

Liquid Glass as a Material Metaphor

First of all, liquid glass as a material metaphor. What does it feel like? Its influence on the buttons and the backgrounds, the depth and the motion, it seems pretty significant. And honestly, it reminds me of the evolution from skeuomorphism to flat design to this new expressive material.

I remember when iOS 7 came out, I had a visceral negative reaction to the flat design. It was like a full rejection of what came before and I just really did not like it. I was sort of hoping for slightly reduced skeuomorphism, but not fully flat. I think that could have been a better move, but I’ve always been a little bit salty from that moment.

So when I see this liquid glass concept now, it feels like they’re closing the loop a little bit. It’s new, but it’s also sort of a return to that visual tactile metaphor. They could have just gone with a blurry background, but instead they gave it a little more form, a little more depth, and some personality. And that refractive, reflective texture is pretty cool. I think it’s a very interesting way to treat the next evolution of their UI.

And that’s what makes it feel a little bit more meaningful. It’s not just like a new visual flourish to be different. Apple is sort of telling us that this is the new surface of everything, and this is how we build from now on. And I’m pretty much into it.

Motion-Reactive, Context-Aware UI

Okay, let’s talk about motion, but not just for the sake of motion alone. It’s more about the responsiveness tied to the context that we’re in with these new interfaces. This whole liquid metaphor, it kind of gives real-time feedback that actually makes the interface feel alive.

That’s what we’re starting to see here, the evolution of the UI and how it reacts to what’s underneath it. It responds to what you’re doing, and it feels less like a screen of buttons to tap on, and more like a system that’s aware of what’s going on.

It feels a lot more like a heads-up display, and a lot less like an old-school, tactile, calculator-style interface from the past. It’s more ambient. More adaptive. And I think that’s only going to grow. We’ve already got Meta Ray-Ban glasses. We’re probably going to get AR windshields, AR windows, headsets. The world is already moving toward this HUD-style interaction model.

And this is a really interesting way to see it show up on a mobile device. Because a heads-up display is always contextual. It’s always tuned to what you’re doing right now.

Even that small detail on the iPad, the red, yellow, green stoplights tucking away and then popping back up when you need them, it’s pretty elegant. Minimal when it can be. Present when it needs to be.

And that’s what I love about this. These aren’t just animations. They’re more like emotional cues or visual permission slips within the UI itself. It shows how tightly intertwined the interaction and the user experience really are with the UI design itself.

Hardware-Inspired Geometry

One thing Apple does really well is let their hardware inform the software. And that’s always been the case.

Their interfaces have always sort of been shaped by the hardware. And you can feel it, in the corners, in the layouts, in the way it behaves around the edges of the device.

It’s all kind of becoming one thing, even more so than it has in the past. The shape of the device and the interface are all working together now. They’re not a separate thing. That just seems like a really smart move.

Everything needs to fit together, and it needs to respond to real contextual situations. Like, I’m holding the phone in my hand. I’m looking at a photo or a video. I’m swiping something away. And that physical moment should inform the shape of what I’m seeing on the screen while I’m using it.

And when it does that, the interface just feels appropriate. It doesn’t need to explain itself.

So whether you’re designing a product, a website, an app, anything, you have to ask, what’s the actual context someone’s in when they’re using this interface?

Because if you ignore that, you’re missing a huge opportunity. That is pure design gold.

Content-First Layouts and Grouped Controls

When you start designing from a metaphor like liquid glass, it doesn’t just affect how things look. It starts to really influence everything in the entire system.

It forces you to think differently about how layouts work, how the elements are grouped together, and how much interface should be visible at any given time. I think we’re seeing a new evolution of hyper-contextual situations and how that informs the interface itself.

Not just a new visual style, but a full shift in structure. Because if the surface is fluid and reactive, the layout has to support that. It can’t be a rigid UI that’s always persistent.

And now that everything is a little bit more modular, controls are grouped, and the layout starts to feel more nested and more intentional. Things are available when you need them, and they go away when you don’t.

That’s what I mean when I say content-first and context-first. You’re giving the screen back to the user. You’re letting the content be the focus, and designing the controls to support that rather than compete with it.

When you design from that perspective, the interface can get dramatically cleaner. You’re not just trying to make it look nice. You’re trying to let it guide itself.

Adaptive App Icon Styles

I personally don’t like changing any of my icons. I never have. It always felt like the home screen is the home base. These are your launch points. Once everything starts changing based on theme or wallpaper or whatever, that anchor kind of disappears.

Because right now, at the home screen, we have no context. All of the app icons are the context. It’s a clear starting point. There’s nothing behind it yet. And when everything changes, it becomes much harder to navigate. You lose your ability to scan for meaning.

It’s almost like walking into a huge building where all of the signs are the same. No red exit sign. No reception desk. No restroom labels. Everything looks the same, and nothing grabs your attention.

You just feel a little bit lost.

Now, that’s my take. It’s subjective. But I think the reasoning is grounded.

We’re using the home screen to generate our own context. We’re scanning for shapes, colors, and placement to build muscle memory. So when everything starts adapting to the environment instead of being a consistent landmark, that context starts to fall apart.

And that’s why this part doesn’t quite sit right with me.

Spatial Persistence and App Continuity

I had a Vision Pro. It was cool for a while. Super well-designed. Technically impressive in every way. But honestly, I just don’t use it anymore.

It’s not that it doesn’t work. It’s just that I haven’t found a reason to strap a headset to my face on a regular basis. It still feels more like a novelty to me.

But what they’re doing with it is incredible. The persistence, the way apps stay in place, layouts carrying across devices, all of that is super interesting.

It points toward something bigger. This whole idea of contextual design and hyper-contextual interfaces starts to make more sense when you see it stretch across form factors.

The metaphor of liquid glass extends into this — you can imagine it being applied to your car, your phone, your glasses, your desktop, even your windshield. That kind of continuity could be huge. But only if it’s actually solving something.

Otherwise, it risks becoming a gimmick. So it feels like a glimpse of what’s possible. And I’m excited to see where it goes.

User-Modifiable Layouts (CarPlay Ultra)

With CarPlay Ultra, Apple’s introducing more layout flexibility. And I think that makes a lot of sense, especially for something like this.

When you’re designing for a dashboard or a utility interface, you have to decide how much to lock down and how much to let people change.

You can’t give people unlimited customization. That turns into chaos. But forcing a single rigid layout doesn’t work either.

So this feels like a smart middle ground.

Define a handful of key templates. Let people choose what matters most. Speed. Range. Maps. Whatever. That level of control feels good without being overwhelming.

And once you’re taking over things like the speedometer or the gas gauge, it becomes even more important to get the balance right. You can’t just throw widgets on a screen and hope it all works.

So yeah, user-modifiable layouts like this feel like a natural next step. And the way they’re approaching it seems really thoughtful.

Visual Intent and Emotional Context

This one’s more personal.

Apple is starting to treat shared spaces — like Messages — as something you can decorate, style, or vibe inside of. You can change the background, set a mood, set the tone for a group chat.

I get why people would love that. It’s expressive. It’s social. A little more like Snapchat or WhatsApp.

But personally, I’ve never liked customizing the background in my messages. I prefer extreme utility. I don’t want to hang out in my messaging app. I want it to be clean and focused on what I’m doing.

That’s just me.

I think it’s great that the option is there. And I think the design team did a fantastic job. It’s just not how I like to communicate.

Depth-Based Control Surfaces

This brings us back to the liquid glass metaphor.

There’s this layering now, where things like playback controls sit on top of the content, but they don’t block it. You can still see through them. The video still plays underneath.

It makes everything feel more fluid. More immersive. But it also raises a question — how much should we let the content show through?

There probably needs to be a dial for this.

On one end, everything is fully solid. On the other, it’s completely transparent and floating. Right now, it feels like Apple has it set around a six or seven.

Personally, I’d probably dial it back a little. Maybe to a four or five. Just enough to help with clarity and accessibility, without losing that sense of lightness.

That could be personal preference. But it’s something I’d be thinking about if I were designing this. How much translucency is actually helpful? And when does it start getting in the way?

That balance is tricky. But when it works, it’s really nice.

Cross-Device Interface Fluidity

This is one of those features that feels small, but says a lot about the direction Apple is headed.

Spotlight’s getting smarter. You can launch iPhone apps on your Mac. You can run actions and shortcuts straight from the search bar. It all works without changing modes or moving between apps.

And that’s a big deal.

The system is starting to behave like a single operating layer across all your devices. Less like a bunch of platforms. More like one unified surface.

It feels like a return to command-line computing. Terminal inputs. Keyboard-driven control. Except now it’s modernized. There’s no syntax. Just fast, flexible, system-wide execution.

And that feels really good. Especially when it just works.

Final Thoughts

The liquid glass. The motion. The geometry. The layouts.

All of it points to how tightly everything is starting to work together. UI isn’t just about interface anymore. It’s about context. It’s about feedback and hardware and memory and intention.

I don’t think Apple is doing this just to be different. I think they’re designing under real constraint. With real goals. Real usage.

It’s the next step in how they build systems.

And when you see it through that lens, it all makes a lot more sense.

Designing with extreme intention. That’s the thread running through all of it.

And I’m into it. I’m excited to see where it goes.

If this got your gears turning, you’re exactly who I built Shift Nudge for.

If you’re serious about designing for what’s next, I’d love to see you inside.