👀 WWDC 2025 Preview, Jony Ive & OpenAI Working on AI Device

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Hey there!

We’re just 11 days away from WWDC! 🔥

Here’s what I have for you in this packed WWDC preview edition:

• Apple’s skipping 19 and going to 26

• A new look and feel is coming

• Stage Manager updates

• New AI features

Also, Jony Ive & OpenAI are working on an AI device. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one, so be sure to take the poll! 

And there’s a new word scramble puzzle and plenty more news you should know about!

Let’s go!

👀 WWDC 2025 Preview

We're less than two weeks from WWDC, with the keynote on June 9 at 10 AM PT. 

Here's what we're expecting so far:

Apple is moving to a new naming convention

A big change is coming to Apple’s naming convention for its software versions. Bloomberg reported yesterday that Apple will begin using a new year-based naming strategy.

Rather than iOS 19, iPadOS 19, watchOS 12, macOS 16, tvOS 19, and visionOS 3, all of them will jump to 26 this year, 27 next year, and so on. I think this makes sense. Apple has a lot of operating systems and having different version numbers can be confusing. This will simplify things.

A significant update to the look and feel of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS

• Apple aims to improve platform consistency with updated interfaces codenamed 'Solarium."

• The new look reportedly borrows from visionOS with glassy effects, rounded icons, floating navigation bars, and more.

• Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports this will be the biggest visual overhaul since iOS 7 and since Big Sur for macOS.

Elements of the UI may also appear in watchOS and tvOS.

I'm excited about a UI refresh because things have gotten a little stale. Plus, visionOS is beautiful so this is promising.

Stage Manager Updates

Stage Manager is a multitasking feature for iPad and macOS that organizes windows into groups for focused workflows. 

Apple introduced it in 2022 and released it to the public on October 24, 2022. The first version was awkward and limited and didn't work very well, but Apple improved things somewhat in subsequent releases. However, I still find it too limited and fidgety.

According to rumors, Apple is planning an update to Stage Manager for iPadOS that will include a Mac-like menu bar. 

Apple added a menu system to iPadOS 15, which appears when a user holds down the command key on an attached keyboard. I hardly use it, and I wonder how many people even know it's there. 

Many iPad users are also Mac users, so should Apple add the menu bar to iPadOS, it will be immediately familiar to them. If it behaves like the Mac's menu bar, it will show the name of the frontmost app, but most importantly it will give a persistent home to the menu system. While we're dreaming big, I'd love to see menu bar items like we have on the Mac.

iOS may be getting Stage Manager as well, though it could be less powerful than the iPadOS implementation. The idea is that you connect your iPhone to an external display over USB-C, and it will go into Stage Manager mode like the iPad. Samsung's Dex system has done this for years, and I'd like iOS to have this ability.

Apple Intelligence/AI

Will Apple update us on the major Siri update that has been delayed? We'll see, but there are rumors of other AI features that will be discussed.

It's been reported that Apple plans to give developers access to its on-device AI models for use in their apps. If true, I like this move.

The Health app is full of data, and I've long wanted Apple to provide better insights and guidance. If the rumors are true, Project Mulberry will do this by delivering AI-powered health coaching based on that data. I'm all-in on Apple's health features and would be thrilled to have this.

It also sounds like we'll see some improvements around battery management thanks to AI.

I'll have a complete wrap-up of what you need to know heading your way after the announcements.

🤖 Jony Ive and OpenAI

Jony Ive had a legendary career at Apple, designing the original iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and more. He left Apple several years ago to start his own design firm, LoveFrom, and has been somewhat under the radar since.

So, last week, when Ive and OpenAI's Sam Altman announced OpenAI would be acquiring io, Ive's AI devices company, for $6.4 billion, it was big news and garnered a lot of attention. The two companies will work together to bring a new AI-centric device to market. Just what is it?

Even though the two teased the idea, no one knows. It doesn't appear to be a phone or glasses, and it's been reported that Ive doesn't like the idea of a wearable AI device, like the Humane AI pin that failed miserably. 

There's genuine interest and curiosity around the upcoming product, as well as a healthy dose of skepticism. More than a few people felt Ive had gone off-course at Apple after Steve Jobs' passing: the charging port for the Magic Mouse, the "never too thin" approach to the MacBook Pro line that led to any connector other than USB-C being left out of the product, and so on.

I'm intrigued by the announcement and curious to see what they come up with. But I'm also skeptical. People, myself included, love their phones, and I'm not convinced there's a market for a new type of device.

What do you think? Let me know in the poll!

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🧩 Word Scramble Puzzle

🎙️ Basic AF Show: WWDC 2025 Preview with Riley Hill

Riley Hill returns to the show to join us for a preview of WWDC 2025. What's coming from Apple? What kind of AI company should Apple be? And is there less hype than normal for this year's event?

We throw around some thoughts on the Jony Ive and OpenAI announcement mentioned above and sprinkle in some highlights from Google's IO event last week.

Chapter Listing:

00:00 - Intro

00:41 - Hello Again, Riley Hill!

02:25 - WWDC 2025 Preview

34:56 - Jony Ive & OpenAI

53:37 - Close

Episode Transcript

Listen to and follow the show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the other podcast apps, as well as on YouTube and YouTube Music.

📣 News to Know About

Here’s a quick rundown of other recent and noteworthy news, hand-selected just for you:

🧩 Word Scramble Answer

Apple Arcade is a game subscription service with access to hundreds of ad-free games. It works across iPhone, iPad, Mac, visionOS, and Apple TV.