iOS 19 could bring a whole new look to your iPhone, according to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg.
Gurman, who has a solid track record when it comes to Apple's developments, predicts a redesign impacting the software's "icons, menus, apps, windows and system buttons" is on the way.
"Apple is preparing one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history," says Gurman, "aiming to transform the interface of the iPhone, iPad and Mac for a new generation of users."
The goal is to make iOS, as well as macOS and iPadOS, resemble each other's design more closely. Apparently, this could involve taking cues from the Apple Vision Pro's visionOS interface, which we take to mean circular icons for apps and menu functions, and new animations for moving around the interface.
Gurman points out this would be the first major redesign of iOS' basic design in over ten years. After seven generations of the original "skeuomorphic" design of the iPhone's menus, iOS 7 in 2013 introduced the flat, streamlined look that we associate with iPhones today.
But you'd better prepare yourself and your friends and family for big changes going forward.
A new coat of paint for all your Apple stuff
macOS 16 and iPadOS 19 share a lot of iOS' look and feel, so it makes sense they would change at the same time. But they're not so desperate for a design switch-up. macOS received its last major overhaul much more recently, with macOS 11 Big Sur in 2020.
iPadOS meanwhile has only technically existed for five years, as before iPadOS 13, iPads ran a slightly modified version of regular iOS.
Gurman makes no mention of Apple's other operating systems like watchOS for the Apple Watch or tvOS for Apple TV boxes.
We would assume that they would also change to match Apple's big three OSes at some point too, although they tend to change less regularly due to the design restrictions that a small watch face or TV remote-based navigation enforces.
Apple tends to save its software announcements for WWDC 2025, which should be happening this June going by Apple's usual schedule. So look out for official news of these alleged redesigns coming then. In the meantime, we'll keep looking out for more rumors and report back as we hear more.
iOS 19 has already been rumored to bring Apple Intelligence to more apps (although there won't be new functionality it seems), and be reworking the look of the Camera app in particular.
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