If you’ve noticed your iPhone and MacBook operating systems are increasingly looking the same, then you’ll be pleased to know they’re all getting a new look this year.

While macOS has increasingly begun resembling iOS – and the tablet got its own iPadOS that looks a bit like both – Apple has clearly decided to rationalise this even more.

It’s also conscious of a new generation of computer users, who have grown up on Instagram and TikTok – not desktop computers and 2G cellphones. (I had to teach Microsoft Word that “cellphones” was not a spelling mistake, kinda making my point.)

Apple’s planned refresh – expected later this year – is therefore not only a reorganisation of the operating system but a major visual refresh.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that this is the “most dramatic software [overhaul] in the company’s history” and the design is “loosely based on the Vision Pro’s software”.

Apple is betting that “a breakthrough new interface can help spur demand after a sluggish stretch. Its revenue slowed following a pandemic-era surge in technology spending, and growth is only returning gradually,” Bloomberg reported.

Proof of that was the usually reliable iPhone, which makes Apple its largest profit. It, as Gurman politely says, “suffered a surprise dip in sales” over the Christmas period when it always sells well.

The design refresh is part of the new version of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 – which are usually announced in June at the big Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Apple’s staff clearly have a sense of humour because the first two mobile operating systems are code-named “Luck” while the Mac update is called “Cheer”. (If only they called it Cheers, after the hilarious TV show, then us headline writers could’ve had a field day.)

“The software will mark the most significant upgrade to the Mac since the Big Sur operating system in 2020. For the iPhone, it will be the biggest revamp since iOS 7 in 2013.”

I didn’t know that either. But now we both do.

Upgrade cycle

Apple’s recent spate of launches – of the iPhone 16e, new iPad Air M3, new entry-level iPads, new iPad keyboards, new MacBook Air M4, and a new Mac Studio – have filled in its product offerings to match the Pro and Air ranges.

The big software announcement expected in June “could help distract from the company’s tumultuous push into artificial intelligence,” Gurman adds.

While AI is the talk of the town for every Big Tech firm, last week, Apple “indefinitely delayed its AI upgrades for the Siri digital assistant, confirming a report that the enhancements were in jeopardy”. Ouch.

“A key goal of the overhaul is to make Apple’s different operating systems look similar and more consistent. Right now, the applications, icons and window styles vary across macOS, iOS and visionOS. That can make it jarring to hop from one device to another.”