Apple is preparing one of the biggest software updates in the company’s history, a move aimed at changing the interface of the iPhone, iPad and Mac for a new generation of users, Bloomberg reports, citing its own informed sources.
The report says that Apple plans to release an update at the end of the year that will radically change the appearance of the company’s operating systems and make their interfaces more consistent with each other. Among other things, changes are expected to the style of icons, menus, application design, windows and system buttons. Due to this, Apple wants to simplify navigation and control of devices. According to sources, the upcoming changes are largely based on the design of software products for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset.
Apple is betting that the new interface will help spur demand for its devices after a period of decline. The developer’s revenue has slowed recently after a surge in consumer spending during the coronavirus pandemic. The company’s software platforms iOS 19 and iPadOS 19, which are being developed under the code name Luck, as well as macOS 16, which has been given the internal name Cheer, should help accelerate revenue growth.
The upcoming updates are expected to be the biggest for the Mac since macOS Big Sur in 2020, while the iPhone will see its biggest update since iOS 7 in 2013. Apple will detail the upcoming updates at its annual WDC developer conference in June. It will also help the company divert consumers’ attention from the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, which has been a challenge for Apple. Last week, the company indefinitely delayed the launch of a new version of its AI assistant, Siri.
Apple’s key goal with the upcoming update is to make the company’s different operating systems more similar and consistent. Currently, icons and window styles vary greatly across macOS, iOS, and visionOS, which can be jarring when switching from one Apple device to another. However, the company has no intention of merging its operating systems, as other tech giants have done in the past. The company believes that keeping the operating systems separate is essential to creating the best Macs and iPads. Another benefit to the company from this approach is that it encourages consumers to buy two devices instead of one.
VisionOS was created for the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, a device that combines virtual and augmented reality. The product hasn’t sold well since its debut last year, but its software includes innovative elements that should eventually appear on other devices from the company.
According to the source, developing updates has become one of the main activities of Apple’s software division, as well as the user interface development team. Alan Dye, who has held a senior position at Apple for quite some time, is responsible for software development. More than a decade ago, Jony Ive, the head of the design group, entrusted him with developing the OS for the Apple Watch, as well as iOS 7. After Ive left in 2019, Dye began to occupy an increasingly prominent place in Apple. Now he has more than 300 employees reporting to him, who determine how the software looks and works, and even what sounds it makes. Dye reports to Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and works together with Molly Anderson, who is responsible for industrial and hardware design.