iOS 26 Unveils Liquid Glass & AI-Powered Xcode 26 Chat

At WWDC 2025, Apple unveiled iOS 26 with a major design overhaul and introduced powerful AI capabilities in Xcode 26.

Liquid Glass: a translucent, adaptive design

The most striking change in iOS 26 is the new Liquid Glass design — a translucent material inspired by visionOS that gives the interface a fluid, glass-like look. Apps now feature digital “glass” elements that dynamically adapt to the content behind them. Buttons, icons, widgets, and other UI components appear to be made of glass, reflecting and refracting their surroundings while subtly shifting color between light and dark modes. The familiar feel of iOS is maintained, but with added depth and vibrancy. This is Apple’s broadest design update in years, extending a unified aesthetic across platforms (including iPadOS and the new macOS Tahoe) while respecting each device’s uniqueness. In practical terms, a Liquid Glass navigation bar can shrink or morph as you scroll, keeping the focus on your content in an almost magical way, yet remaining intuitive.

Xcode 26: coding with AI assistance

Apple also supercharged its developer tools with Xcode 26 by integrating AI directly into the development workflow. The latest Xcode now includes a built-in coding assistant powered by large language models (with ChatGPT support out of the box). Developers can generate code snippets, get real-time suggestions, fix bugs, or even have documentation written by simply asking the AI in plain English right within the IDE. These new Coding Tools work inline in the code editor: for instance, you might highlight a block of code and ask the AI to optimize it or explain what it does. By default, Xcode uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT with no external setup required, but developers can also plug in other models via API keys (including local models running on Apple Silicon) if desired. The aim is to boost productivity by handling tedious tasks and providing helpful insights, all while keeping the developer in control.

By combining a cutting-edge visual design with AI-driven development tools, Apple is enhancing both the user experience and the developer experience. iOS 26’s refreshed interface makes apps more engaging and immersive, while Xcode 26’s AI integration helps developers build those apps faster and more easily. In short, WWDC 2025 delivered a one-two punch: an iOS that looks sleeker thanks to Liquid Glass, and an Xcode that works smarter thanks to AI.