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Introduction: Apple’s WWDC 2025 Explained
Apple’s WWDC 2025 brought several updates that directly impact passkey adoption, security and user experience across iOS, macOS and iCloud. For developers and product managers building authentication systems, understanding these changes is crucial for offering users a seamless, secure passwordless sign-in. This article summarizes the essential new features and their practical impact on passkey implementation in Apple’s ecosystem.
Passkeys in iOS 18 and macOS 15: Key Upgrades for Developers
Apple continues to prioritize passkeys as the default authentication method on its platforms. With iOS 18 and macOS 15, the autofill experience for passkeys is now faster and more reliable, dramatically reducing login friction. System-level improvements mean users receive clearer, more actionable prompts, which helps drive passkey adoption over traditional passwords.
Additionally, new passkey management APIs give developers greater control over credential creation, rotation and revocation. This is particularly relevant for apps handling sensitive data or operating in regulated environments — support for automated passkey management can help fulfill compliance requirements without sacrificing usability.
iCloud Keychain: Enhanced Passkey Sync and Recovery
iCloud Keychain now offers improved backup and sync options for passkeys. Users benefit from end-to-end encryption and device onboarding flows have been optimized — making it easier to access passkeys across iPhone, iPad and Mac. For developers, this means fewer support requests about lost credentials and a reduced need to rely on insecure fallback methods like SMS OTP.
A significant update is the expansion of Family Sharing for passkeys: users can now delegate account recovery or passkey transfer to trusted contacts, streamlining recovery in case of device loss.
New Passkey APIs and WebAuthn Support
Apple’s updated WebAuthn APIs, introduced with Safari’s new release, further align with the latest FIDO standards. Browser-based and native app implementations now support conditional UI and explore new flows for cross-device passkey registration. As a result, developers can offer more consistent passkey experiences, regardless of whether users sign in via the web or a native app.
Safari’s improvements also address key pain points around fallback and device compatibility. There is now improved support for external security keys and the registration experience is more robust when users switch between Apple and non-Apple devices.
Passkey User Experience: Autofill, Recovery and Onboarding
With the 2025 updates, Apple improved the UI for passkey creation, making the option more visible during account sign-up and settings. The autofill mechanism now better distinguishes between accounts with similar names or domains, preventing common user errors and increasing confidence in passwordless sign-in.
Apple also focused on making recovery after device loss easier. Coupled with enhanced family sharing and account recovery hooks, users are less likely to be locked out of their accounts — an essential aspect in achieving higher passkey login rates and reducing password fallback reliance.
Practical Impact for Product Teams and Developers
These WWDC updates simplify cross-device passkey adoption for both new and existing users. Developers can utilize updated documentation and SDKs to integrate the improved APIs, taking advantage of automatic passkey enrollment, easy recovery and a more robust fallback experience for users who haven’t yet migrated fully to passkeys.
However, important implementation nuances and best practices — for example, maximizing enrollment during onboarding or optimizing fallback flows for enterprise contexts — require a closer look.
By staying ahead of Apple’s constant evolution in authentication technology, developers and product leaders can build more secure, user-friendly systems while future-proofing their businesses for the era of passwordless authentication. For a deeper dive into technical details, migration strategies and case studies from early adopters, visit our full blog article: https://www.corbado.com/blog/wwdc25-passkeys-os26