Apple’s 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 10, but this year there will be no new hardware announcements like in previous years, instead, we will see a plethora of software updates across its ecosystem. There, Apple will debut iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, tvOS 18, watchOS 11, visionOS 2 and HomePod Software 18.
YouTube, Apple’s website, the Apple TV app, and the Apple Developer app are to be hosting the event which will be Livestream straight from Apple Park located in Cupertino California. While there have been plenty of rumors about what’s set to come, the scope of the updates likely means Apple has a few surprises in store.
All About the Apple WWDC 2024 Keynote
iOS 18 and iPad 18
Some standout announcements include the new slate of AI-powered features expected to debut in iOS 18 under Apple’s “Apple Intelligence” moniker, which will supposedly bring profound new levels of improved ease of use and functionality to end-users.
Siri and Spotlight
A major overhaul of Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, is expected with the inclusion of large language models (LLMs) that will allow for more natural interactions and other capabilities, including app-embedded tasks and summaries. Spotlight search will also be better under the hood, with similar AI-powered improvements giving you more intelligent results and better-sorted results.
OpenAI Integration
Apple finally leverages ChatGPT, in a surprising twist to pair with OpenAI and ChatGPT tech based over large-language models (LLMs) as an opt-in chatbot functionality to iOS 18 to catch up with changing user requirements and to compete with social media.
New App Features
Apple has also ensured that AI has been implanted in all of its built-in apps such as Safari, Mail, Apple Maps, Photos, Apple Music, Notes, Voice Memos, Calendar, Calculator, iWork, Shortcuts, Health, and Settings. Updates within them come with a registration promising better functionality, efficiency, and user experience across parts of the Apple landscape.
Desktop & Control Center
The home screen is to become a lot more flexible on iOS 18, offering users new app icon layouts and color customization. Alongside features for how we might access notifications, the Control Center is in for an update, with a new drag-and-drop interface and widgets to make it that much more user-friendly and smarter to boot.
Passwords
This release at WWDC 2024 will have a new Passwords app on iOS 18, iPad 18, and macOS 15 as a stand-alone application for a Passwords app with the full features of password generation and iCloud Keychain syncing the passwords for password managing.
Messages
In Messages, the AI will be used to offer improved suggestions and auto-responses, as well as AI-custom emojis and new Tapback icons, published messages, and better interactivity with Android devices through Rich Communication Services (RCS) support.
Accessibility
Vehicle Motion Cues, Eye Tracking, Music Haptics and hearing aid mode for AirPods Pro 2 are some of the possible accessibility highlights that enrich user experience across the board.
Compatibility
iOS 18 is anticipated to be available for all iPhone-compatible phones with iOS 17, while some machine learning features will not be available for older models, like the iPhone 15 Pro.
macOS 15
With iOS 18, we will see many of the AI improvements also on macOS at WWDC 2024, such as a new Calculator app, new wallpaper packs, and perhaps more reorganized settings options, making the Apple ecosystem more cohesive.
watchOS 11, tvOS 18 & visionOS 2
Major upgrades and feature enhancements will be seen on watchOS 11, tvOS 18, and visionOS 2, putting AI-driven powers in more of Apple’s arsenal of products than ever. We don’t know exactly what these updates will entail, but they are likely to improve user experience and open up Apple’s platforms in a few ways.
