For a 2025 occasion, this 12 months’s Worldwide Builders Convention was a tad underwhelming. For Apple customers although, it was every thing they may have requested for. Final 12 months was a impolite awakening for the corporate, however it was precisely what it wanted to get off its excessive horse.
False guarantees
At its annual software program convention final 12 months, Apple teased a myriad of AI-powered options. These options have been additionally touted as the primary promoting level of the iPhone 16. It took a very long time for the corporate to confess that the flashiest options would not be delivery anytime quickly. Not solely was this an admission that it was combating AI however it additionally raised hypothesis that it had solely promised vaporware, although the corporate insists that is not true.
Both method, the scenario was fairly embarrassing for the corporate, which might be why it reversed course this 12 months and made interface makeovers the focus of its software program presentation.
Apple’s failure was a victory for iPhone and iPad customers
Apple has launched some helpful options for iPhone and iPad customers this 12 months. | Picture Credit score – Apple
Apple had put itself on a excessive pedestal and sometimes chased gimmicky options as a substitute of rolling out those customers wished.
That strategy seems to have blown up in its face. For years, the corporate bought away with overpromising however after the AI debacle of final 12 months, it is making an attempt to make up for it by giving prospects what they’ve at all times wished.
The largest spotlight of this 12 months is the clear Liquid Glass design. Whereas customers are divided on whether or not it is a stroke of genius or a letdown, it is arduous to disclaim that it is a step ahead. We’ve caught with static interfaces for a lot too lengthy and whereas Apple’s implementation will not be excellent, it has proven the trade the best way ahead.
One other large change Apple introduced this 12 months is a Mac-like interface for the iPad. This comes after years of insistence that the iPad is not precisely a pc. And whereas the pill nonetheless would not run MacOS, with iPadOS 26, it would just about act like a pc, due to a brand new windowing system, drag-and-drop assist, and improved file dealing with.
Some iOS 26 options have been out there on Android handsets for years and the iPhone ought to have gotten them way back. These embody spam administration, maintain help, real-time translation, and charging time estimate.
Formidable AI options can wait
Most customers will take an improved iPad expertise over overhyped AI options any day. | Picture Credit score – Apple
Apple did ship lots of the AI options it previewed ultimately 12 months’s WWDC. What nonetheless hasn’t arrived is an upgraded Siri. So whereas the AI expertise on the iPhone is on par with different telephones, there’s nothing distinctive about it and that is okay.
In a bid to show that it wasn’t behind different firms, Apple promised options that weren’t prepared. The corporate appears to have realized its lesson, which explains why AI took a again seat throughout WWDC 2025.
If that weren’t the case, Apple customers may nonetheless be with out the options that they had been asking for through the years. If the trade-off for the primary design overhaul in years, much-needed name and messaging options, and a Mac-like iPad interface is delayed AI options, most customers will gladly take it.
