iOS 19 latest: Big interface changes, RCS 3.0, delayed Siri updates, and more

Macworld

Every year, we are introduced to a new version of iOS (alongside Apple’s other operating systems) at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. It then marches through an extended beta-testing period before being released in September.

But all the new features don’t come with that initial release; over the months that follow the initial release more features will be pushed out to iPhones in iOS 19.1, 19.2, and so on.

While Apple hasn’t officially announced iOS 19, it has been hard at work on the big iPhone upgrade for quite a while and some rumors have started to leak out. It looks like iOS 19 will be a bigger change than we’re used to. Based on the most reliable leaks and rumors, here’s what you can expect when it arrives later this year.

Updated April 24, 2025: The latest rumors describe big changes to iPadOS when docked, including a menu bar and “Stage Manager 2.0” as well as enhanced iPhone capabilities when plugged in to an external display.

iOS 19: Release date

Apple typically released the latest version of iOS to the public on the Monday following the iPhone launch event. Here are the release dates for the most recent versions of iOS:

iOS 18: Monday, September 16, 2024

iOS 17: Monday, September 18, 2023

iOS 16: Monday, September 12, 2022

iOS 15: Monday, September 20, 2021

Based on recent history, we expect iOS 19 to release to the public on either Monday, September 15, or Monday, September 22.

iOS 19: Developer and Public Betas

However, you won’t have to wait until the full release to try the new software out. Apple will run a developer beta as well as a public beta during the summer months, so if you want to try out the new features before they are released to the general public you can do so.

After Apple announces the new version of iOS at WWDC in June it will then release an iOS Beta to developers, with a public beta released about a month later.

The first developer beta is usually shipped at the beginning of WWDC. This year the WWDC keynote will take place on June 9. The public beta usually comes a month later.

Between WWDC and the official release in the fall, Apple will release beta updates to developers and the public. Expect a string of beta releases, typically eight or so in total, before the software releases in September. You can get ready for the beta by signing up for the iOS beta program now.

Anyone using the beta is encouraged to file bug reports using the included Apple’s Feedback Assistant app so that the company can address them.

If you want to learn more about the beta read: What’s in the latest iOS beta and how to get it. You can also learn more about participating in Apple’s beta software program so you can test the new software as soon as the beta arrives.

iOS 19: New features

Major design overhaul

The headline feature of iOS 19 (and iPadOS 19, macOS 15, tvOS 19, watchOS 19…) is said to be a massive change to the user interface. We’re talking about the biggest change since iOS 7, when Apple dropped the skeuomorphic design in favor of flat symbolic icons, changed the lock screen, notifications, and more.

We don’t know what this new interface will look like or what interaction changes it will bring with it, but the rumors say it is loosely based on some of the concepts in the Vision Pro interface. New apps like Apple Invites and Apple Sports may give us some clues to the interface conventions we can expect, as they don’t have have interfaces that fit in with most of Apple’s older apps.




Apps like Invites and Sports may offer clues to the interface elements we can expect in iOS 19.Apple

A key feature of the new interface is supposed to be more consistency across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, along with a major improvement to the productivity features of iPadOS. For example, one rumor says the iPad will get a menu bar when docked to a Magic Keyboard, and that Stage Manager is being overhauled. The iPhone, meanwhile, is said to get a “Stage Manager like” multi-app view when hooked up to an external display.

Siri delays and other Apple Intelligence features

Apple has been having trouble with some of it’s AI efforts, especially the Siri features that were supposed to come in iOS 18.4 (personal context, screen awareness, and in-app actions). These features have been pushed back until next year, which means they should come as an update to iOS 19 in early 2026.

A bigger Siri update, based on large language models (LLMs), that can hold natural conversations with the user, is now expected to come perhaps as part of iOS 20, where it was once thought to be an update to iOS 19.

So Siri will get new capabilities that we were supposed to have by now, and Apple is also said to be expanding the use of Apple Intelligence in more of its apps. We haven’t heard of specific examples, but Apple Intelligence could be used for things like Apple Music playlist generation, suggesting apps in the App Store, or in the Health and Fitness apps.

RCS 3.0

Apple’s current implantation of RCS (Rich Communication Services, used to offer more advanced texting features with Android users) is based on the GSMA Universal Profile version 2.4, which is a little dated. Version 2.7 came out last year, but hasn’t been implemented by Apple yet. It adds support for custom emoji reactions, editing editing and deleting messages, and improved spam handling. RCS 3.0 adds encryption for 1-to-1 messages.

Apple has announced support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages on all it’s platforms “in future software updates,” so it is likely to add support for all the feature in RCS 2.7 and 3.0 in the iOS 19 cycle.

Home app upgrades

While not specifically mentioned in any of the current leaks or rumors, we find it hard to believe that Apple won’t have some significant improvements to the Home app, HomeKit, and related services in iOS 19.

Why? Well, Apple is expected to release a wave of new smart home products throughout 2025 and 2026. A new smart home hub is first: it’s rumored to be an affordable 7-inch tablet that runs a custom operating system (code-named Pebble). It will support Apple Intelligence, FaceTime, and tie in with other Apple services but isn’t expected to have an App Store.

After that, likely in 2026, Apple is said to be working on a new indoor smart security camera and a smart doorbell that would use Face ID to unlock your door the way it unlocks your phone. Further down the road, a smart home product with a movable screen on a robotic arm has been rumored, all of which will require deep integration with the iPhone and Home app.

The rumored “HomePad” was rumored to launch in the spring of 2025, but was delayed to the fall so it can have an interface that aligns with the big iOS 19 / macOS 15 interface changes. It’s hard to imagine Apple pushing a product like that into the market without some significant changes to the look and feel of the Home app.

Updated Camera app

Jon Prosser claims to have seen the Camera app in iOS 19, which is completely redesigned with a somewhat visionOS-inspired design. Options are condensed, the viewfinder takes up more space, and there’s lots of transparency.




Jon Prosser

AirPods live translation

One rumor from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg says iOS 19 is going to get “bolstered translation technology” and, as part of it a live translation feature for AirPods. The AirPods will need a firmware update as well, and it’s not clear which models will support the feature.

Your AirPods would send text to your iPhone where the foreign language would be recognized and translated in the Translate app (or the under-the-hood service that powers it), and translated audio sent back to your AirPods. Other earbuds have had similar features for years, so it will be interesting to see if Apple goes further or has superior functionality.

iOS 19: Compatibility

We expect iOS 19 to be compatible with every iPhone that supports iOS 18. That includes:

iPhone 16

iPhone 16 Plus

iPhone 16 Pro

iPhone 16 Pro Max

iPhone 15

iPhone 15 Plus

iPhone 15 Pro

iPhone 15 Pro Max

iPhone 14

iPhone 14 Plus

iPhone 14 Pro

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 13

iPhone 13 mini

iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone 13 Pro Max

iPhone 12

iPhone 12 mini

iPhone 12 Pro

iPhone 12 Pro Max

iPhone 11

iPhone 11 Pro

iPhone 11 Pro Max

iPhone XS

iPhone XS Max

iPhone XR

iPhone SE (2nd generation)

Of course, it will also support the new iPhone 17 models that will launch around the same time, and the new iPhone 16e.

As always, some features won’t be available on older models, as they lack the hardware resources for it. We do think the Apple Intelligence and Siri improvements will be available for all iPhone 16 and later models, though.