Apple readies its biggest software redesign in a decade

Remember the shock when iOS 7 flattened your entire phone back in 2013? Apple is reportedly getting ready to shake up your screens again on an even bigger scale.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is preparing one of the most dramatic software redesigns in its history. The overhaul is planned for iOS 19 and iPadOS 19, code-named Luck, and macOS 16, dubbed Cheer.

This will mark the biggest Mac redesign since Big Sur in 2020, and the most aggressive iPhone interface change since iOS 7 over a decade ago. It is expected to headline the company's WWDC showcase in June before rolling out later this year.

Bringing visionOS vibes down to flat screens

Insiders say the overhaul goes well beyond minor aesthetic tweaks. Apple is remaking icons, menus, apps, windows, and system buttons, with a major focus on simplifying navigation across everyday tasks.

The new look is loosely inspired by visionOS, the software behind the Vision Pro headset. While gesture controls won't map to glass screens, elements like translucent floating panels, deeper shadows, and circular app icons are expected to make their way to 2D displays.

The main objective is visual consistency. Switching between a Mac, iPad, and iPhone currently feels visually disjointed, and Apple wants a coherent design language across the ecosystem.

Yet, Apple is stopping short of merging macOS and iPadOS. Keeping them distinct lets the company tailor interactions, while ensuring customers still have a clear reason to buy both machines.

The effort is led by Alan Dye, Apple's VP of interface design. A veteran who helped craft iOS 7 and the Apple Watch under Jony Ive, Dye now commands a team of over 300 designers steering Apple's digital look and feel.

Why it matters

The timing here is impossible to ignore. Just last week, Apple indefinitely shelved major AI upgrades for Siri, leaving its artificial intelligence narrative in turmoil. Meanwhile, iPhone sales took a surprise dip during the recent holiday season. A massive visual refresh gives Apple a flashy, crowd-pleasing headline for WWDC when its AI story is wobbling.

For everyday users, a unified visual identity could make juggling Macs and iPhones feel much smoother. But pushing radical UI shifts across more than 2 billion active devices is an enormous gamble. Users revolted over minor tweaks to the Photos app last year; overhauling navigation for the entire operating system carries ten times that friction.

In our view, borrowing design DNA from the commercially slow Vision Pro is clever, because it salvages valuable R&D and brings a futuristic coat of paint to flat screens. However, the risk is real. If translucent layers and 3D depth end up hurting usability or battery life on older hardware just to look modern, Apple could face a serious backlash from its core user base.