Apple’s WWDC25 came with a wave of announcements with promises of big changes. But will any of this affect your app marketing plans?
For app marketers and growth teams, these updates open exciting new opportunities to enhance discoverability, conversion, and user experience.
Below, we explore the three major takeaways, and how to prepare for these shifts.
1. Liquid Glass: A visual overhaul
The big changes that Apple at WWDC25 first announced was iOS 26 and Liquid Glass. Apple has introduced a brand-new visual language with iOS and iPadOS 26, dubbed Liquid Glass. This design update brings glossier, more translucent elements, softened gradients, and dynamic lighting effects that react to movement and environment. It’s not just a cosmetic upgrade; it changes the expectations for app UI and App Store presentation.
Key changes:
- A new glass-like material across UI elements that adapts to light and surroundings
- Glossy, layered icons with less saturated colours and silhouetted shapes
- Better depth through multi-layer rendering in widgets and apps
- Option for translucent app icons (functionally identical)
Apple has also launched a new Icon Composer app for Mac, allowing developers and marketers to preview app icons in different environments. The Human Interface Guidelines have been updated to include recommendations for tinted and dark mode-compatible icons.
Why it matters
Historically, Apple favours apps that align with its latest design standards, both in editorial selections and feature placements. Also, making sure your app icon stands out on a user’s screen is even harder now if you rely on your colours. Making sure your icon stands out even in this ‘liquid glass’ look will help improve engagement.
Yodeller insights
“If you’re a brand with a simple, recognisable logo like Netflix, you’ll likely be fine. But apps with more complex icons, like Google Chrome, will need to think carefully about shades and shapes to stay visible against the new Liquid Glass home screen in iOS 26. As always, after any visual update, keep a close eye on your app’s usage metrics to understand how users are responding. It’s also worth proactively communicating the change, in a push notification, for example, to help users recognise your updated icon and avoid confusion.”
– Jessica Spivey, Senior ASO Executive at Yodel Mobile
2. Custom product Pages are now mandatory
With iOS 26, Custom Product Pages (CPPs) are becoming significantly more powerful. Allowing more flexibility and personalisation with your CPPs can help improve the conversion rate. Apple is now allowing:
- You can now match certain search terms with your specific CPPs, even from your keyword field
- And you can A/B test your CPP variations to measure conversion performance
Apple’s expansion of CPP capabilities transforms them from mid-funnel conversion tools into top-of-funnel discovery assets. This is a big win for marketers looking to target specific segments or use cases
Yodeller insights
“These updates open up a broader range of opportunities; you’re essentially casting a wider net. The more flexibility you have to tailor the experience for each user segment, the better. It creates a more seamless journey from discovery to download. However, simply having a Custom Product Page is no longer enough. With CPPs now playing a greater role in App Store search and Search Tab ads, marketers need to dig deeper into research and optimisation to stay competitive.”
– Nat Abell, Senior ASO Manager at Yodel Mobile
3. Smarter insights with the AdAttributionKit
Apple has introduced a wave of new improvements to the AdAttribution Kit enabling more flexibility within your campaign measurement. The key updates include:
- Multiple active re-engagement conversion windows – You can now track several re-engagements at once, rather than being limited to just one active window.
- Configurable attribution windows – Define how long an ad impression can be considered valid for attribution, customisable by ad network and interaction type.
- Attribution cooldown controls – Prevent conversion overlap by setting a post-conversion cooldown period in your app’s info list.
- Country-level granularity in postbacks – Postbacks now include anonymised country codes, allowing for geo-specific performance tracking while preserving privacy.
- In-device development postback testing – You can now simulate postbacks directly in the iOS Settings app, making server-side implementation testing more efficient.
This feature gives you more control over your campaign, but their impact depends entirely on whether ad networks adopt the latest framework and sign postback accordingly.
Yodeller insights
“The updates to AdAttributionKit are exciting because they hint at a future where retargeting on iOS becomes more feasible. With re-engagement windows and configurable attribution settings, we’re hopefully moving closer to a place where we can serve ads to users who’ve already interacted with our campaigns. Something we’ve not been able to do effectively on iOS since the introduction of iOS 14.5 over 4 years ago.”
– Joel Saunders, Paid UA Account Manager at Yodel Mobile
Final thoughts
WWDC25 has shown that Apple is leaning heavily into personalisation, discoverability, and performance insights. App marketers who act early to align with iOS 26’s updates will be in a strong position to grow visibility and conversions.
From updating your UI and store assets to building keyword-rich CPPs and optimising campaign measurement, there’s plenty to get started on now.
Stay ahead of the curve, and make the most of what Apple’s evolving ecosystem has to offer.
Want to learn more about the new iOS changes and need help growing your app? Get in touch with us today.
