It's WWDC 2024 keynote time! Every year, Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developers Conference with hours of announcements, including the long-awaited Apple Intelligence and a refresh of its smart AI assistant, Siri. We expected a lot of it to be about the company's artificial intelligence ambitions (and here), and Apple did not disappoint. We also have news about Vision Pro, as well as a ton of feature updates.
Here's how to watch the WWDC 2024 archives:
Developers can expect the usual hardware and software updates, as well as other items we initially expected to see announced. Brian Heater also appeared on Equity to share the news. Sit back, relax, and let the team bring you a quick digest of all the major news.
Apple Intelligence News
There was a lot going on. Apple's AI push was front and center at WWDC 2024, and after taking some time to process all the announcements, our AI expert, Kyle Wiggers, created a guide rounding up all the news about Siri, Genmoji, ChatGPT integration, photo editing, and more. read more
Apple to collaborate with AI partners beyond OpenAI
At the post-keynote event, Apple senior vice president Craig Federighi confirmed that the company will work with third-party models beyond OpenAI, citing Google's Gemini model as the first example. He stated that Apple “has nothing to announce right now, but that's our general direction.” read more
Elon Musk lumps OpenAI and Apple together
Tesla, SpaceX and xAI executive Elon Musk has used X to continue his campaign against rival OpenAI, threatening to cut Apple devices out of his business “if Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level,” among other responses to conversations around WWDC about X. read more
(Limited) Availability of Apple Intelligence
Before you get too excited about testing out Apple Intelligence, make sure your device is new enough: Only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, as well as iPads and Macs with M1 or newer chips, can run the new features coming with Apple's AI push. read more
ChatGPT on Siri
Apple is bringing ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot experience that leverages OpenAI's GPT-4 and other generative AI models, to Siri and other Apple apps. read more
Apple Intelligence is a playground for images and emojis
One of the Apple Intelligence-powered features coming to iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to create AI portraits of the people they're messaging with, sort of like an AI-upgraded Bitmoji — with the goal, of course, to “make everyday conversations more fun.”
Apple Intelligence understands who you're talking to in a Messaging conversation, so if you want to personalize your chats with custom AI images, you can create them on the fly. read more
Apple TV+
For Apple TV+ subscribers, there's a new feature called InSight that lets viewers see the names of actors and songs as they appear on-screen. Lauren Forristal writes that this is similar to Amazon's X-Ray technology, which lets Fire TV users get a rundown of actor bios and behind-the-scenes information while watching a TV show or movie.
But InSight's standout feature is its Shazam-like functionality, which highlights songs playing in TV shows and movies and gives users the option to add them to an Apple Music playlist for later listening. read more
Siri
Apple has also made some improvements to its smart assistant, Siri, including the addition of generative AI features that make Siri more natural and personal. There's also a new glowing light. Siri now also addresses speech stumbling and understands context better. Plus, it now also types for you, for those who prefer to type. read more
Introducing Apple Intelligence
The new feature is called Apple Intelligence (AI, get it?), and the company promises it will deliver a highly personalized experience with safety at its core.
“Most importantly, it needs to understand you and be rooted in your personal context: your daily life, your relationships and your communications,” CEO Tim Cook said at WWDC on Monday. “And of course it needs to be built from the ground up with privacy in mind. All of this goes beyond artificial intelligence. It's personal intelligence, and it's the next big step for Apple.” read more
While that's on the consumer side, WWDC is a developer conference, and Apple revealed how developers will be able to bring Apple Intelligence experiences into their own software. A slew of AI features will be added to the existing SDK, enabling things like AI image generation and new prompts for Siri, allowing developers to expand the Apple Intelligence footprint. read more
Apple's new password app
While you can already store and sync passwords across devices using your iCloud account, figuring out how to use it has not been easy. Now, the company is introducing a Passwords app. Some of the features include a new column on the left that lets you navigate your password collection more easily. For example, you can view all passwords, or only Wi-Fi passwords (a new addition), passkeys, or codes that are not related to websites or services. read more
Smart Scripts for iPad
The new “Smart Script” feature makes your handwriting look better when you write in Notes with Apple Pencil. Apple says it makes your handwriting smoother and straighter in Notes. The feature uses on-device machine learning to recreate your handwriting from your notes, improving the look of your writing as you write. Your handwriting will look smoother and easier to read. read more
Calculator for iPad
Who would have thought that a calculator would liven up a developer conference? Apple's new Calculator app for the iPad has got everyone excited.
The classic iOS tip calculator finally comes to the big screen. It takes advantage of the expanded screen real estate to provide new features that weren't available on the iPhone. The biggest new feature is the addition of Math Notes, which does the math for you. read more
macOS Sequoia
The latest operating system version is called macOS Sequoia.
One of the biggest features of this new OS is iPhone mirroring. With macOS Continuity, you can now mirror your iPhone screen and control it directly from your Mac. A notification from your Mac will switch your iPhone into Mirror Mode, and your iPhone audio will also be heard through your Mac, but your paired iPhone will remain locked while in Mirror Mode. read more
Now, let's take a closer look at iPhone Mirroring. Apple hasn't detailed many use cases for the feature, but Sarah Perez writes that by launching an iPhone app as if it were another app on your Mac, it seems likely to make it easier to demo apps over video calls or in person, by letting you move between slideshow presentations and live demos. read more
Message via satellite
The new feature is very similar to Apple's Emergency SOS feature: if you don't have a signal, you'll get the option to search for satellites to relay your data. You'll need to keep your phone pointed in the right direction during this time, but an overlay will appear on top of the message to remind you. read more
Photo App
Apple has unveiled a new Photos app coming to the next release of its iOS software. The new app introduces new navigation, new organization features, and more ways to find your favorite photos, including those of friends, family, pets, travels, and more.
What you need to know: The new design means you'll spend less time searching for photos because everything you need is right at your fingertips.
One of the big changes is that the app has been consolidated into a single view, with a photo grid at the top and a thematically organized library at the bottom. read more
Tap to cash
One of the most interesting additions is “Tap to Cash,” which, as the name suggests, lets you make payments by tapping two iPhones together.
According to Brian Heater's article, this feature is effectively a spinoff of Apple Pay's long-standing Tap to Pay feature. Similarly, this new feature will likely use the device's NFC capabilities. Apple says that this feature will allow you to send money without sharing any personal information, which is a nice privacy feature. read more
iOS18 Update
Users can now lock apps when they hand over their phone to show them photos or let them play a game. When you lock an app, any time someone tries to tap on your phone they'll need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. While the App Lock feature is enabled, information within the app won't appear in searches, notifications, or anywhere else. read more
Apple also shared some early details about the upcoming major release of iOS, the operating system designed specifically for iPhone. As expected, a lot of it is related to artificial intelligence. Remember when icons were fixed to a grid? Now you can arrange them however you like on your home screen, without them obscuring the background photo.
“iOS 18 is a big release that gives you more ways to customise your iPhone, stay connected and relive special moments,” said Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of Software Engineering. read more
Speaking of icons, most of these updates are long-requested features, like the ability to place app icons and widgets anywhere on your home screen, as well as support for dark mode icons with different color schemes. read more
Vision OS2
visionOS 2 comes with productivity improvements and “new immersive experiences.” One of them is leveraging AI technology to “spatialize” your photos from a regular photo. Another is new navigation options. With visionOS 2, you can switch to the home screen with just a tap or flip your hand to bring up the control center with notifications, shortcuts, and more. read more
One of the big announcements today is the ability to turn existing images into spatial photos. This new feature uses machine learning to build additional angles and marks a change from the existing method, which required taking the image with the iPhone 15 Pro or Vision Pro itself. read more
If you're outside the US, Vision Pro headsets are now available in eight new countries. read more
Useful AI, not flashy AI
Apple is lagging behind in the AI race and may feel the need to go all out to impress fans and shareholders, but that shouldn't mean overpromising on features. read more
Generative AI
For smart assistants: Rumor has it that the company is moving some employees into generative AI after the EV collapse, but all signs point to Apple having ceded a significant edge to its competitors, so the most logical strategy for the company would be to partner with a leading player like OpenAI. read more
Might not be compatible with iPhone 15: Rumor has it that once this generative AI is deployed, a limited number of older devices will be able to run the system, including iPads and Macs with M1 chips and above, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro, meaning the standard iPhone 15 could be left behind in this one. read more
