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Apple has already started working on iOS 19 for release in 2025 — with a new suite of features coming to the iPhone and iPad family.
Codenamed “Luck,” the next iOS version is likely to bring Apple Intelligence even closer to iPhone and iPad users, as well as focus on privacy and UI improvements.
Below, we explore the expected iOS 19 release date, new features, and our own wishlist, just in case Apple is listening.
What is Apple iOS 19?
iOS 19 is the operating system that will bring new features to your iPhones and iPads in September 2025.
Apple’s strategy is now about making devices last longer, so continuously breathing new life into older devices with new features and improvements around Apple Intelligence has never been more critical. We expect iOS 19 supported devices to include all devices from the iPhone 15 onwards.
Anyone who remembers the days when the highly anticipated Windows XP replacement was referred to in Microsoft development circles as “Longhorn” will know that tech companies love a code name. Apple is no different. Deep inside Apple Park, developers are working on iOS 19 (“Luck”), macOS 16 (“Cheer”), watchOS 12 (“Nepali), and visionOS 3 (“Discovery”) that will bring your next Apple product to life.
Expected Apple iOS 19 Release Date
September 2025
Apple is expected to reveal the developer beta of iOS 19 at WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference), which usually takes place in early June each year.
The final version will be released alongside the new iPhone 17 in September 2025.
The developer work officially started by June 2024, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
However, he added in November 2024 that a “larger-than-usual number of features scheduled for iOS 19 (beyond the new Siri) are already postponed until spring 2026”.
He did not clarify what these were, but it sounds like we can expect a staggered feature release schedule.
Expected?iOS 19 Features
While iOS 19 rumors are only just beginning to take form, Apple can be fairly predictable when its entire strategy is around Apple Intelligence and playing catch-up on artificial intelligence.
Here are a few areas that we believe will be a big focus for iOS 19.
Apple Intelligence
An extended roadmap means Apple fans must wait until March 2025 to get their hands on an AI-enhanced Siri. By this time, iOS 19 will be just a few months away.
Behind the glitz and glamour of the keynotes, Apple was caught napping on AI and reportedly considers itself “two years behind the competition”.
The announcement of Apple Intelligence arrived with some big claims, and what we have seen so far has failed to live up to the hype. An underwhelming start means that Apple will be under pressure to deliver the wow factor so that we can expect many more new AI-style features in iOS 19.
Expect more AI to dominate every aspect of iOs 109, from photos and videos to Siri and Messages.
Speaking of Siri, Mark Gurman also suggested that “The revamped Siri will rely on new Apple AI models to interact more like a human and handle tasks in a way that’s closer to ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
“It also will make expanded use of App Intents, which allow for more precise control of third-party apps.”
However, he warned that these features will not come straight into iOS 19 but follow in Q2 2026.
Privacy
While AI is exciting, increasing concerns surround protecting user data and privacy. Apple always makes a big deal about its commitment to privacy (and usually delivers), and it will be expected to deliver on this promise as AI everywhere expands across the Apple ecosystem.
The big talking point for every tech company in 2025 will be whether the data processing for AI features will occur on the device or be sent to the cloud, and the follow-up from an Apple point of view is whether iPhones will have the processing power required to perform AI tasks entirely on the device. This is a debate to watch very closely in 2025.
iOS 19 Wishlist
If anyone from Apple is reading this article, many tiny improvements can be made to the iOS experience without relying solely on AI.
Clear the App Badge Count
Many Apple users are happy to have multiple apps on their phones with a red number badge showing 782 unread emails and other alerts (I am not one of these people).
Although buried in the settings menu, there is an option to remove the app badge from every app — there must be a better way than this “all or nothing” approach.
Some apps hide their notifications in the app, meaning it can take several minutes to have a clean slate and zero notifications on app badges again.
Solving this first-world problem once and for all would be a simple way to clear all notifications.
Wallet Improvements
Now that many Apple users leave their physical bank cards hidden away in a drawer, there is an increasing reliance on Apple Wallet or Apple Pay.
For these reasons alone, there are tiny tweaks that could make users’ lives so much easier, like featuring Apple Account transactions in the Wallet app or being able to copy transaction amounts in the Wallet app.
Scan Your Face For a Memoji
Apple loves a gimmick that nobody asked for. This has never been more evident than Animoji, Memoji, and Genmoji.
Anyone who has invested considerable time editing a Memoji so it looks like you has usually had a moment of self-reflection.
If Apple must go all in on AI, dare I ask for the ability to create a Memoji by simply scanning my face? Although with great power comes excellent responsibility, so there may be ramifications of unleashing this on the world.
Safari Improvements
MacOS Safari has had Favicons in Safari bookmarks since 2003. But for some reason, these are still missing from the iPhone.
It’s just one example where we think Safari could do with an upgrade to make it suitable for 2025 and make the browsing experience on an iPhone more user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.
Revamp The Alarm Clock
One of the most used features on every iPhone is the alarm clock. But many in the Apple community feel it’s been neglected and is long overdue for an update.
The Bottom Line
Apple will continue its AI everywhere theme with new iOS 19 features. However, Apple must be mindful of the inevitable backlash against AI and pushback on enforced digital dependency, especially after it failed to read the room with its iPad Pro ad, which famously missed the mark in 2024.
The iPhone and iPad are no longer the star of the show. It’s the software and new features it brings that everyone is talking about. However, the obsession with AI often makes the iPhone feel like it’s in constant beta.
I hope that Apple remembers to fix real problems and implement new improvements rather than get too focused on new AI features.
