A look back at this week's Apple and WWDC news and headlines, including Apple's AI concerns, iPhone owners missing out on AI, Apple's private cloud, iPhone's new Game Mode, the biggest changes to the iPad, Apple blocks PC emulation, and more.
The Apple Loop is here to keep you up to date on some of the many discussions surrounding Apple over the past seven days, as well as Forbes' weekly digest of Android news.
Apple CEO Tim Cook (Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)
iPhone and iOS Updates from WWDC
Tim Cook's team made AI a central theme in its initiatives at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference this week, along with talk of a new version of Apple's operating system that will be released to the public in September. Until then, beta tests and developer releases will reveal the software that will power Apple's iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro devices, including new accessibility tools.
“Eye tracking lets people control their iPhone using just their eyes.19 Music Haptics syncs the Taptic Engine on iPhone with the rhythm of a song so people who are deaf or hard of hearing can enjoy the Apple Music catalogue.20 And Vocal Shortcuts helps people with severe atypical speech disorders record audio that triggers specific actions on iPhone.”
(apple).
Weaknesses of Apple Intelligence
Of course, the biggest story is Apple's introduction of artificial intelligence (or Apple Intelligence, as its branding team has dubbed it) into its various operating systems. Tim Cook believes that artificial intelligence will be a benefit by saving users time, but in an interview with The Washington Post he acknowledged that Apple has concerns about AI.
“We're not 100 percent, but we've done everything we need to do, including really thinking about whether the technology is ready in the areas that we're using. So we're confident that it's going to be very high quality. But to be honest, we're nowhere near 100 percent. I would never say we're 100 percent.”
(The Washington Post)
Exclusive information for iPhone users
There are two main requirements for Apple's artificial intelligence software to run on the iPhone: First, iOS 18, which is due out in the second half of the third quarter and will run on iPhones from 2018's iPhone XR onwards, will require at least the latest A17 Pro chipset, which means all current iPhones except the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are excluded.
Apple said the limitation is a result of the massive computing power required to run the artificial intelligence models underlying the new features. “The core underlying models behind these experiences require massive amounts of computing power,” said John Giannandrea, Apple's senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy. “What's really limiting us is the amount of computing required.”
(The Independent).
Further AI support for iPad and MacBook
There's less confusion and limitations surrounding Apple's artificial intelligence software on the iPad and Mac platforms: Essentially, any hardware running any of the Apple Silicon Mxx series can access its features, which includes several iPad Air and iPad Pro models, and all Macs going back to the 2020 MacBook Air.
“As for the MacBook Air, it was equipped with the M1 chip in 2020. The M1 MacBook Air (2020), M2 MacBook Air (2022), M2 MacBook Air (2023) and M3 MacBook Air (2024) all feature the Apple Intelligence features introduced.
“MacBook Pro laptops also got the M1 upgrade in 2020. This applies to the 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2020) and M2 MacBook Pro (2022), as well as the 14-inch and 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro (2021), M2 MacBook Pro (2023) and M3 MacBook Pro (2023).”
(TechRadar).
Apple’s AI Server
With shiny AI tools, emoji creation, text generation and more, perhaps the biggest announcement at WWDC came from the team behind Private Cloud Computing, Apple's solution for processing user data in the cloud, balancing the need to process information off-device with protecting the privacy of that information. The secret is in the details… and in the code.
“But you don't have to trust Apple on this,” Federighi argued. Because the server code that private cloud computing uses is publicly available, “independent experts can inspect the code that runs on these servers to verify this privacy promise.” The entire system is encrypted and configured, meaning that Apple devices “will refuse to communicate with a server unless the software is publicly logged for inspection.”
(Ars Technica).
A new way to play games on your iPhone
Apple continues to push iOS as a gaming platform, and while the catalogue of major titles is only a fraction of other platforms, Tim Cook and his team continue to build out the platform in anticipation of these titles coming in. Debuting in iOS 18 is Game Mode. When your phone recognizes that a demanding game is running, it will switch to Game Mode and do the following:
“We minimize background activity on your iPhone to help maintain a consistently high frame rate even after hours of play. We also significantly reduce latency when using a Bluetooth game controller, as well as when using AirPods for audio.”
(9to5Mac).
The biggest changes to the iPad
It took just 14 years, but the iPad software suite is finally here: Following the release of Weather in 2022, an iPadOS update was delivered at WWDC that added a calculator. Did it really take that long to add support for a stylus?
“At first glance, the app looks a lot like the calculator you're familiar with from iOS. But it also supports Apple Pencil, so you can jot down math problems and the app will solve them for you thanks to a feature Apple calls “Math Notes.”
(The Verge).
And finally…
While emulation of retro gaming systems is now allowed on Apple's App Store (and can then be installed on iPhones), emulation of retro PC systems is still blocked. The developers of the open source app UTM have no plans to appeal this ruling (in part because Apple didn't allow JIT on iOS), but many would be tempted by a more subtle approach… Apple has also blocked the app from appearing in third-party app stores.
“The open-source app was submitted to the store in light of recent rule changes that allow retro game console emulators such as Delta and Folium. App Review determined that 'PC is not a console' and rejected the UTM. What's even more surprising is that the UTM states that Apple is also blocking the app from being listed on third-party app stores in the EU.”
(9to5Mac).
Apple Loop brings you 7 Days of Highlights every weekend on Forbes. Be sure to follow us so you don't miss any of our upcoming articles. You can read last week's Apple Loop here, and this week's Loop's sister column, Android Circuit, is also on Forbes.
