It’s WWDC 2024 keynote time! Annually Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developers Conference with just a few 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 a lot of feature refreshes.
Here’s how one can 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.
Highlight Search gets higher at natural language queries in iOS 18
Apple is making it easier for people to find the content inside their apps using natural language — or “semantic” — queries. Already, Highlight has been capable of seek for content in developers’ apps, however it would only return results when search terms matched exactly. With this 12 months’s addition of semantic search capabilities, people will have the ability to go looking for content in apps using search terms which might be just similar in meaning. Read more
Listed here are the very best WWDC 2024 features you missed
Now that individuals are using developer betas and exploring the sessions on the event, more features that weren’t announced onstage are surfacing. Keep in mind that only certain devices will probably be compatible with iOS 18 when it’s released later in the autumn. Read more
iOS 18 cracks down on apps asking for full address book access
As an alternative, Apple is adding a brand new two-step permissions pop-up screen that may first ask users to permit or deny access to their contacts, as before, after which, if the user allows access, will allow them to decide on which contacts they need to share, if not all. Read more
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 power to pause your activity rings. In case you’re down resulting from a chilly, on a global flight, or find that you just’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 numerous those features were already available to some extent on Apple devices through third-party apps. So, identical to the past few years, we’ll examine the ideas that Apple “Sherlocked” on this 12 months’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 first is scope. A lot of probably the most outstanding corporations within the space take a “larger 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 rigorously rolling out AI where it believes it may very well be useful. Which means the tech won’t be included where it may very well be much of a threat to the rigorously 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 buyers were wanting for a very long time: the power 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 may make texting with Android folks much less painful. Is it the tip 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, resembling having the ability to arrange apps and widgets on the Home Screen and customize buttons. Other features include latest text effects, the power to lock and conceal apps, latest ways to administer your Mail inbox, the introduction of iMessages over satellite, a major 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 quite a bit, wasn’t there? Apple’s AI push was at the center of WWDC 2024, and our AI expert Kyle Wiggers took a while to process all the announcements before bringing together a guide to all the 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 have the ability 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
Certainly 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, after all, 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 should 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 just 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 hearken 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 may handle stumbles in speech and higher understand context. Plus, for many who would somewhat type, you’ll be able to do this now. Read more
Apple Intelligence is here
The brand new feature known as Apple Intelligence (AI, get it?). The corporate promised the feature will probably be built with safety at its core, together with highly personalized experiences.
“Most significantly, it has to grasp 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 needs to 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 buyer side of things, but WWDC is a conference for developers, and Apple revealed how developers will soon have the ability to bring the Apple Intelligence experience into their software. Quite a lot of AI features will probably 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 work out. Now, the corporate introduced a Passwords app. A number of the features include a brand new column on the left that permits you to more easily navigate your password collection. For 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 write 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 individual handwriting, just smoother and more legible. Read more
Calculator for iPad
Who would have thought a calculator would brighten up 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 largest arrival here is the addition of Math Notes. The extra feature does the mathematics for you. Read more
macOS Sequoia
The most recent operating system version known as macOS Sequoia.
Certainly 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 a bit of deeper dive into iPhone mirroring. While Apple didn’t detail many use cases for the feature, Sarah Perez writes that it seems it might 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 like Apple’s emergency SOS feature. When you might have no signal, you’ll be given the choice to seek out a satellite to relay the info. You’ll should keep the phone pointed in the correct direction whilst 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 can 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 the whole lot you would like 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
Certainly one of the more interesting additions is Tap to Money, which is roughly what it feels 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 have the ability to lock an app once they hand over their phone to do things like show someone an image or allow them to play a game. Whenever you lock an app, if someone tries to tap your phone, they will probably be required to authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID or their passcode. While you might have the app lock feature enabled, information from contained in the app won’t appear somewhere else, 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’ll now be laid out nonetheless you would like on your private home 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 power to set app icons and widgets wherever you would like 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 permits you to “spatialize” photos from regular photos, leveraging AI tech. One other is a brand new navigation option: visionOS 2 permits 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
Certainly one of the larger announcements with this includes the power 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 will probably 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 a variety of employees to generative AI operations following its electric automobile implosion, all signs point to Apple having ceded a major head begin to the competition. As such, its most obvious play is a partnership with a reigning powerhouse like OpenAI. Read more
Perhaps not for iPhone 15: Another rumors say that when this generative AI comes into play, a limited variety of older devices can even have the ability to run the system, including iPads and Macs running an M1 chip or higher and the iPhone 15 Pro. Which means the usual iPhone 15 could also be ignored within the cold on this one. Read more
