Answers
Apple's next-generation operating system for the iPhone, coming in fall 2025.
At a Glance
- iOS 19 is the next version of iOS that Apple will preview in June 2025 with a smarter, more capable Siri and other features.
Expected Features
- Major design overhaul
- Staggered feature rollout
- visionOS-style Camera app
- June 2025 preview
- September 2025 launch
iOS 19 - What's Coming in 2025
Apple doesn't plan to unveil iOS 19 until the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on June 9, but some details about the next-generation operating system update are already starting to leak out, and we're hearing a big design change is coming. Apple will update iOS 19's interface, introducing visionOS-like design changes that will also extend to iPadOS 19 and macOS 16.
iOS 18 focused heavily on Apple Intelligence, Apple's version of artificial intelligence, and it should come as no surprise that iOS 19 will further Apple's push into making its devices smarter. iOS 19 was supposed to be focused on new Siri functionality, but some of those features have been delayed and will instead come in iOS 19.
With iOS 18, Apple rolled out AI features over several months and across multiple updates rather than releasing everything at once in the 18.0 update, and it's sounding like Apple will use the same tactic with iOS 19. In fact, rumors suggest that Apple's continued work on iOS 18 features is pushing back development on iOS 19, so we will likely see new iOS 19 capabilities come out on a rolling basis like we did for iOS 18.
This roundup includes all of the iOS 19 tidbits that we've heard so far. As with all iOS updates, iOS 19 will be accompanied by iPadOS 19, a version of iOS with some features that are specific to the larger displays of Apple's iPad lineup.
Major Design Changes
iOS 19 and iPadOS 19 will "fundamentally change" the look of the operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience.
Apple will update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system buttons, with plans to simplify navigation and control. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman described the design change as the biggest update to iOS since iOS 7.
iOS 19 is expected to feature a visionOS-like design, adopting design principles adopted with the Vision Pro. visionOS has an emphasis on translucency and UI elements that kind of fade into the background to put the focus on content. iOS 19 could lean heavily into that translucency, with Apple also opting for a floating look for navigation bars, windows, and other parts of the UI.
iOS 19 has been described as having glass effects or as being glossy, with menu elements that can "reflect" light based on iPhone tilt. The "glassy" look involves subtle lighting changes, such as a slight glint for some UI elements when you move the iPhone. The Flashlight and Camera controls on the Lock Screen reportedly have a glass-like sheen that shimmers with movement, for example.
Image via Front Page Tech
Along with a soft, floating look, navigation bars and buttons could have more rounded edges that blend better with the content behind them. In the Photos app, for example, photos could be full screen with controls in a slimmed down menu bar at the bottom rather than a full navigation strip. Haptic Touch menus, Control Center options, and permission prompts apparently have more rounded corners, too.
Image via Front Page Tech
Leaker Jon Prosser says that Apple is going to make the iPhone's icons rounder, though he is unclear if they will be entirely circular or some kind of cross between a circle and the current squircle.
Image via Front Page Tech
visionOS-Style App Redesigns
iOS 19 will overhaul apps with a glassy, floating look that's reminiscent of visionOS, with Apple focusing on a more rounded, translucent design that puts content front and center.
Leaker Jon Prosser shared several mockups based on images of iOS 19 that he allegedly saw, though Gurman says that the mockups are out of date and not representative of what we'll actually see. Still, these could give an early look at the design direction that Apple is planning, if they are in any way accurate.
Prosser showed off a redesigned Camera app, featuring a design that provides more screen space for the photo preview, with translucent pop-out menus that can be swiped through to select various camera modes.
A render of iOS 19's alleged redesigned Camera app, from Front Page Tech
There are separate menus for photo and video categories, and the options change based on what's selected. The menus appear to be similar to the translucent menus that visionOS uses.
Prosser's Messages app mockup shows an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper blue shade that has a bit of a glow about it, but Prosser's mockup does not show fundamental changes to the layout.
Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup
Many apps like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Photos, Phone, and more have been described as having pill-shaped tab bars at the bottom for accessing controls. There's also less transitioning. Search, for example, doesn't have its own dedicated interface, and instead expands out from the tab bar.
The design of Apple's most recent apps, Invites, Apple Sports, and Apple Playground, could hint at the visionOS-like redesign we could see in iOS 19. The apps have more translucent user interface elements, expanding buttons, and an emphasis on content.