Apple Intelligence AI, iOS 18 expected

Four months after the initial release of VisionOS, Apple vice president Mike Rockwell announced the next version of the OS for Vision Pro, called VisionOS 2. Rockwell also said there will be 2,000 apps available for Vision Pro.

Vision Pro will also be available in China, Japan and Singapore from June 28. It will be rolled out to Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the UK on July 12.

Here are some of the new features:

• photograph: VisionOS 2 uses AI to convert regular photos into spatial photos that are compatible with Vision Pro.
• New gestures: VisionOS 2 also introduces new gesture-driven controls.
• Ultra Wide Display: Vision Pro now supports ultra-wide displays, which Apple says is the equivalent of two 4K monitors side-by-side.
• Train support in Travel mode: Apple is adding support for trains to Travel Mode, which previously only supported airplanes.

Rohan Goswami

Apple's SVP of Worldwide Marketing, Greg Joswiak, posted a tweet teasing an AI announcement, saying that tuning in to the event was a “smart move.” It's no surprise: everyone expects AI these days.

This is a very important event for Apple, as the company is under pressure to show off its artificial intelligence technology and how it is integrated into its products and software. The company has long eschewed the use of the acronym “AI” when talking about artificial intelligence, preferring the term “machine learning” instead. But as companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta have popularized the term and raced to add AI to their core services, the payoff has mainly gone to Nvidia, the company behind it.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted at “big plans” that mark a change of tack for a company that doesn't like to talk about products before they're released, and today we're finding out what those plans are.

–Kif Leswing

Let's take a look at how Apple's stock price is doing ahead of the event. The company is the third largest company in the United States after Nvidia and Microsoft. Nvidia overtook Apple to become the second largest company on June 5, and its stock price continues to rise on the back of the artificial intelligence boom.

Also check out its comparative performance against Microsoft and Nvidia over the past year.

Not surprisingly, the tweet suggests that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be there. Bloomberg has previously reported that Apple will partner with OpenAI to provide some of its artificial intelligence capabilities. Altman has been there before, taking the stage in 2008 to show off his app, Loopt.

Todd Haselton

Just sat down. People are milling around, waiting for the event to start. The audience will be watching a recorded video of the event, so don't expect much live commentary from Apple executives. Judging from the conference schedule, the event will last about 2 hours.

Also check this out: Apple opens up giant doors at its headquarters so people can sit inside or outside and watch the screens.

There are expected to be a lot of big announcements on Monday, and I'm excited to hear what new changes iOS 18 will bring to the iPhone, especially how artificial intelligence will work in iOS 18. I'll be interested to see if Apple will use its partnership with OpenAI to create chatbots, or focus on using AI for other tasks like summarizing notes, providing live translations, and recording voice notes.

But beyond iOS 18, I'm also curious to see what changes Apple will make to iPadOS, which is still very similar to Apple's iPhone software. The new iPad Pro has Apple's latest M4 chip, and it would seem like Apple should use that extra power to make the tablet's software more similar to a MacBook. That probably won't happen, but we can dream.

Todd Haselton

As always, Apple CEO Tim Cook is almost certain to open and close the keynote. And like most events these days, it's pre-recorded, so he won't be taking the stage live as he has in the past. Instead, everyone in attendance will watch the same video, which you can watch on YouTube above. Cook will typically give a short introductory speech, play a short teaser video, then introduce another executive and switch to other topics, like iOS 18, a new version of macOS, or iPad software updates.

— Todd Haselton

CNBC technology reporter Steve Kovach arrived at the Steve Jobs Theater early this morning in preparation for CNBC's live coverage of the event. Kovach snapped this photo before the throngs of developers and press arrived.

Todd Haselton