Updated Siri? A Major Redesign? Everything We Know about iOS 19

With Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference coming up, in June, we'll soon get details on what this year's operating system update is bringing to our iPhones. The update is expected to drop in the fall and we could see some of the features promised in iOS 18 finally become available, as well as a major redesign. Let's take a look at what people are saying Apple's fall update will send our way.

iOS 19 Rumors

iOS... 26?

When looking at rumors for an update, we rarely anticipate a change in the naming order. Up until recently, we had no reason to doubt that this fall would bring us iOS 19. However, a new report from Bloomberg tells us that Apple will actually be releasing iOS 26, a change to align the OS names with the year, similar to how car models are identified.

Smarter Siri... Finally

The biggest expectation when it comes to iOS 19 is that we'll see some of the features that were supposed to come in iOS 18 but were delayed, primarily the Siri upgrades. These include personal context, which would allow you to search with voice commands that include names of contacts, such as: "Siri, what restaurant did Olena recommend?"; onscreen awareness, which will help Siri integrate with whatever your screen is displaying at that moment; and deeper app integration, which will let you do things like move files from one app to another. While these were promised to us in iOS 18, the fact that they weren't ready also casts doubt on whether they'll be ready this time around, but it seems like a strong contender for what we'll see.

A Major Makeover

Another major rumor is that we will see a major redesign. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg says the design revamp will "fundamentally change" the way the operating system looks, and compares it to the one in iOS 7. He reports it will resemble the display seen in Apple's AR headset, the Vision Pro. Apple leaker Jon Prosser leaked a redesigned camera app that includes a full screen photo/video display with a control panel floating toward the bottom on the screen on a transparent background. This aligns with the Vision Pro-style redesign idea, as the general design of the Vision Pro display is more transparent in general. Prosser also claims we'll see rounded icons, though Gurman insists Prosser's mockups are out of date. According to MacRumors, the overall look will be soft and glossy, with a display that changes based on how you tip your iPhone.

Amped Up Accessibility

One thing we know we're getting is expanded adaptability features which Apple itself has already announced. These include things like "Nutrition Labels" in the app store that tell you how accessible that app is, the Magnifier feature coming to Mac, an Accessibility Reader feature on all devices to help dyslexic users and ones with low vision, Live Captions on Apple Watch, Large Text in CarPlay, and more.

Stage Manager for the iPhone

Apple leaker Majin Bu is telling us to expect the currently iPad- and Mac-exclusive Stage Manager to come to the iPhone. In a blog post citing anonymous sources, Bu details that this multitasking powerhouse will come to all iPhones with a USB-C port, so Stage Manager can integrate with external displays. It is unlikely to be the full version of Stage Manger (though Bu does say we can expect "Stage Manger 2.0" for the iPad, complete with auto launch features when a keyboard is attached), but some version of it may be coming to the smartphone.

AI Battery Management

Having AI help manage your battery life just makes sense, and according to Bloomberg, the new OS update will bring this productivity feature to life. In this new battery mode, Apple Intelligence will supposedly analyze battery usage and cut use of apps and features that are draining your battery. This mode was reportedly designed to help optimize the rumored iPhone 17 Air, but seems a no brainer as Apple Intelligence develops and Apple looks to keep up device efficiency.

Coming Soon... But Not Yet

Apple is also reportedly redoing the Health app with personalized health recommendations and food tracking features, though this might not come out just yet. There's also speculation Apple will release a Large Language Model (LMM) similar to ChatGPT or Gemini, but again, this likely won't be ready just yet. Gurman claims we'll see a "larger-than-usual" amount of features that were supposed to launch this round that will be pushed to 2026 and later. He goes on to say that Apple is moving away from the batch release with new features and instead moving toward a model where they're launched as they become available.

Which iPhone will Be Obsolete?

This time around, Apple is likely to drop support for the XS, XS Max, and XR. The iPhone 11 is likely to squeak by for another year.

AirPods Live Translate

Bloomberg reports that we will see a live translate feature for AirPods that listens to and translates conversations in real time. We might see a demonstration of this at WWDC if this feature is indeed going to happen this round of updates. I would guess that initially this feature would only be available in a handful of languages, but this could be a really cool tool for travelers and more if implemented correctly.