It’s WWDC 2024 keynote time! Every year Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developers Conference with a couple of hours of just straight announcements, just like the long-awaited Apple Intelligence and a makeover for smart AI assistant, Siri. We expected much of them to revolve around the corporate’s artificial intelligence ambitions (and here), and Apple didn’t disappoint. We also bring you news about Vision Pro and numerous feature refreshes.
Here’s watch the archive of WWDC 2024.
Developers should expect hardware and software updates, per the same old, and another items we initially thought could be unveiled. Brian Heater also went on Equity to dish. Now sit back and chill out while the team runs down all of the largest news in an easy-to-skim digest.
Apple Watch is finally adding a feature I’ve been requesting for years
Brian Heater writes about consistently requesting this certain feature from Apple: the flexibility to pause your activity rings. In case you’re down as a result of a chilly, on a global flight, or find that you simply’re vigorously shaking your wrist at 9 p.m. just to complete closing your rings, you’ll be able to now pause progress via the Watch or through the connected iPhone app. Read more
The apps that Apple Sherlocked at WWDC 2024
Apple has been on a spree of late, announcing a number of recent features for its various devices earlier this week. But plenty of those features were already available to some extent on Apple devices through third-party apps. So, identical to the past few years, we are going to examine the ideas that Apple “Sherlocked” on this yr’s updates. Read more
Why Apple is taking a small-model approach to generative AI
The corporate has since revealed a few of what makes its approach to generative AI different. At the start is scope. Lots of probably the most outstanding firms within the space take a “greater is best” approach to their models. Read more
Apple’s AI, Apple Intelligence, is boring and practical — that’s why it really works
As an alternative of attempting to overwhelm users with too many AI features to count, the Cupertino tech giant is fastidiously rolling out AI where it believes it may very well be useful. Meaning the tech won’t be included where it may very well be much of a threat to the fastidiously crafted consumer experience of using an Apple device. Read more
Apple’s Messages app will support RCS and scheduling texts
Apple delivered two of the largest features iMessage and its Messages app that customers were wanting for a very long time: the flexibility to schedule messages to send at a later date and time and support for RCS, the next-gen messaging standard and substitute for SMS that can make texting with Android folks much less painful. Is it the top of the green bubbles? Read more
More App Store improvements
Apple is giving developers more tools to extend their app revenues and promote their apps with win-back offers and the discharge of a brand new commerce API. Read more
iOS 18 compatible devices
Among the many highlights of the brand new operating system version are a set of customization options, reminiscent of having the ability to arrange apps and widgets on the Home Screen and customize buttons. Other features include latest text effects, the flexibility to lock and conceal apps, latest ways to administer your Mail inbox, the introduction of iMessages over satellite, a big redesign of the Photos app and more. Now let’s see in case your device is compatible. Read more
All of the Apple Intelligence news
There was so much, wasn’t there? Apple’s AI push was at the guts of WWDC 2024, and our AI expert Kyle Wiggers took a while to process the entire announcements before bringing together a guide to the entire news across Siri, Genmoji, ChatGPT integrations, photo editing and beyond. Read more
Apple to work with AI partners beyond OpenAI
In a post-keynote event, Apple SVP Craig Federighi confirmed that the corporate would work with other third-party models beyond OpenAI, with Google’s Gemini model being highlighted as the primary example. He clarified that Apple had “nothing to announce at once, but that’s our general direction.” Read more
Elon Musk lumps OpenAI, Apple together
Tesla, SpaceX and xAI exec Elon Musk took to X to proceed his campaign against rival OpenAI, threatening to ban Apple devices from his businesses “if Apple integrates OpenAI on the OS level,” amongst other responses and reactions to the conversations around WWDC on X. Read more
Apple Intelligence’s (limited) availability
Before you get too enthusiastic about putting Apple Intelligence to the test, check in case your devices are latest enough. Only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, together with iPads and Macs with M1 or newer chips, will find a way to run the brand new features coming alongside Apple’s AI push. Read more
ChatGPT in Siri
Apple is bringing ChatGPT, its AI-powered chatbot experience, to Siri and other Apple apps, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 and other generative AI models. Read more
Apple Intelligence is a picture and emoji playground
Considered one of the Apple Intelligence-powered features coming in iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to create AI images of individuals they’re messaging with — a feature that works something like an AI-upgraded Bitmoji. The goal, in fact, is to make your “on a regular basis conversations more enjoyable.”
Apple Intelligence could have an understanding of who you’re talking with in a messaging conversation, so if you must personalize that chat with a custom AI image, you’ll be able to create one on the fly. Read more
Apple TV+
For those of you who use Apple TV+, there’s a brand new feature called InSight. The feature will allow viewers to learn actor names and song titles as they seem on the screen. Lauren Forristal writes that it’s much like Amazon’s X-Ray technology, where Fire TV users get an outline of actor bios and behind-the-scenes information while watching TV shows and flicks.
What stands out about InSight, nonetheless, is its Shazam-like functionality, which highlights the song playing within the TV show or movie and offers users the choice so as to add it to an Apple Music playlist to take heed to later. Read more
Siri
Apple also made some enhancements to its smart assistant, Siri. These include adding some generative AI features that make Siri seem more natural and more personal. There’s also a brand new glowing light. And, Siri also can handle stumbles in speech and higher understand context. Plus, for individuals who would fairly type, you’ll be able to try this now. Read more
Apple Intelligence is here
The brand new feature is known as Apple Intelligence (AI, get it?). The corporate promised the feature shall be built with safety at its core, together with highly personalized experiences.
“Most significantly, it has to know you and be grounded in your personal context, like your routine, your relationships, your communications and more,” CEO Tim Cook noted at WWDC Monday. “And naturally, it must be built with privacy from the bottom up together. All of this goes beyond artificial intelligence. It’s personal intelligence, and it’s the subsequent big step for Apple.” Read more
That covers the patron side of things, but WWDC is a conference for developers, and Apple revealed how developers will soon find a way to bring the Apple Intelligence experience into their software. Quite a lot of AI features shall be added to existing SDKs, allowing for generative AI image generation, or latest prompts to Siri, to permit devs to expand the Apple Intelligence footprint. Read more
Apple’s latest Passwords app
While you’ll be able to already use your iCloud account to store and sync passwords across your devices, it wasn’t easy to determine. Now, the corporate introduced a Passwords app. A few of the features include a brand new column on the left that enables you to more easily navigate your password collection. As an example, you’ll be able to view all of your passwords or simply Wi-Fi passwords (a brand new addition), passkeys or codes that aren’t related to an internet site or service. Read more
Smart Script in iPad
A brand new “Smart Script” feature will clean up your handwriting when using an Apple Pencil to jot down in Notes. Apple says it’s making handwriting your notes even smoother and straighter. The feature improves the looks of your writing as you write by utilizing on-device machine learning to recreate your handwriting out of your notes. You’ll see your personal handwriting, just smoother and more legible. Read more
Calculator for iPad
Who would have thought a calculator would enliven a developer’s conference? Well, Apple’s latest Calculator for iPad app got everyone excited.
iOS’ perennial suggestions calculating app is finally coming to the larger screen. The feature utilizes the extra screen real estate to bring latest features that the corporate couldn’t really jam into the iPhone. The most important arrival here is the addition of Math Notes. The extra feature does the maths for you. Read more
macOS Sequoia
The most recent operating system version is known as macOS Sequoia.
Considered one of the largest features of this latest OS is iPhone mirroring. Now, through macOS’ Continuity feature, you’ll be able to mirror your iPhone’s screen and control it right out of your Mac. Notifications on Mac pop you into iPhone mirror mode, and iPhone audio comes through the Mac as well, however the paired iPhone stays locked while in mirror mode. Read more
OK, let’s do somewhat deeper dive into iPhone mirroring. While Apple didn’t detail many use cases for the feature, Sarah Perez writes that it seems it could make it easier to demo apps over video calls or in person, as users could move between a slideshow presentation and a live demo of the iPhone app by launching it as if it’s one other app in your Mac. Read more
Messages via Satellite
This latest feature works very similar to Apple’s emergency SOS feature. When you could have no signal, you’ll be given the choice to seek out a satellite to relay the info. You’ll need to keep the phone pointed in the suitable direction when you do it, nonetheless, there’s an overlay above your messages to remind you. Read more
Photos app
Apple showed off the brand new Photos app as it should appear within the upcoming release of the iOS software. The brand new app introduces latest navigation, latest organizational features and other ways to find your favorite photos, including those of friends, family, pets, trips and more.
Some things to know: The brand new design will result in less time looking for photos because it puts all the things you wish inside easy reach.
One major change involves how the app has been unified right into a single view with the photo grid at the highest and the library, organized by theme, below. Read more
Tap to Money
Considered one of the more interesting additions is Tap to Money, which is kind of what it seems like, letting users pay for things by tapping together a pair of iPhones.
As Brian Heater writes, the feature is effectively an outgrowth of Apple Pay’s longstanding Tap to Pay feature. Similarly, the brand new addition likely uses the device’s NFC functionality. Apple notes that the feature transfers money without having to share any personal info — a pleasant added privacy element. Read more
iOS 18
Users will now find a way to lock an app after they hand over their phone to do things like show someone an image or allow them to play a game. If you lock an app, if someone tries to tap your phone, they shall be required to authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID or their passcode. While you could have the app lock feature enabled, information from contained in the app won’t appear in different places, like search and notifications. Read more
Apple also shared some initial details for the upcoming major release of iOS, which is its operating system specifically designed for the iPhone. As expected, much of this involves artificial intelligence. Remember when icons were locked to the grid? Well, they will now be laid out nonetheless you wish on your house screen in order that they don’t hide your background photos.
“iOS 18 is a giant release that delivers more ways to customize your iPhone, stay connected and relive special moments,” Apple SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi said. Read more
Speaking of icons, most of those updates are those long-requested functionalities, like the flexibility to set app icons and widgets wherever you wish on the Home Screen, plus support for dark mode icons with different color schemes. Read more
visionOS 2
visionOS 2 brings with it productivity enhancements and “latest immersive experiences.” One enables you to “spatialize” photos from regular photos, leveraging AI tech. One other is a brand new navigation option: visionOS 2 enables you to switch to the house screen by just tapping, or flip your hand over to bring up the control center with notifications, shortcuts and more. Read more
Considered one of the larger announcements with this includes the flexibility to show existing images into spatial photos. The brand new feature utilizes machine learning to construct out additional angles, marking a change from the present method, which required images to be shot on an iPhone 15 Pro or the Vision Pro itself. Read more
For those of you outside of the U.S., the Vision Pro headset shall be available in eight latest countries. Read more
Useful AI, not flashy AI
Apple has fallen behind its peers within the AI race, and it probably looks like it needs to drag out all of the stops to impress fans and shareholders. But that shouldn’t mean overpromising on features. Read more
Generative AI
For smart assistants: While rumors point to the corporate transitioning quite a lot of employees to generative AI operations following its electric automotive implosion, all signs point to Apple having ceded a big head begin to the competition. As such, its most sensible play is a partnership with a reigning powerhouse like OpenAI. Read more
Possibly not for iPhone 15: Another rumors say that when this generative AI comes into play, a limited variety of older devices may even find a way to run the system, including iPads and Macs running an M1 chip or higher and the iPhone 15 Pro. Meaning the usual iPhone 15 could also be omitted within the cold on this one. Read more
