Everything goes like clockwork at Apple, so it’s no surprise that the company is hosting its annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) between June 10 and 14. What makes this year’s event special is a nod to the company’s artificial intelligence ambitions. Apple’s marketing boss Greg Joswiak has said the event will be “Absolutely Incredible”. That’s not a subtle hint!
Last year, WWDC was about announcing Vision Pro spatial computing headset and its visionOS operating system. This year, it’s very different. Of course, you can anticipate big announcements around iOS and iPadOS 18, macOS 15 and watchOS 11, among others. We’re also expecting visionOS 2.0 to be formally unveiled
Here’s what to expect at WWDC:
Software release Since WWDC has always been about software, this time it will not be an exception. The company is expected to reveal details about operating system updates for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, HomePod, and Apple Watch. After the announcement, the updates will be issued to developers as a beta and then a few weeks later, a public beta will start. Finally, the new software will be available for everyone to download in the fall, which is usually September when new iPhones are launched.
iOS 18 is going to be the focus because that’s where the bulk of the users are. As always, if you have an iPhone manufactured in the past five years, you should be able to get to install the upcoming update.
As part of iOS 18, we are expecting AI-specific features, including generative-AI updates to Siri, Pages, Numbers and Keynote. AI can also be incorporated to auto-generate Apple Music playlists based on user input. It will be interesting to see how Siri improvements can integrate large-language models (LLMs), such as natural conversation capabilities and improved user personalisation.
There could be more control over how app icons are arranged. Though we expect app icons to remain locked to an invisible grid but there could be options to create blank spaces, rows, and columns between app icons. iOS 18 is likely to bring the most significant update to the Home Screen that we’ve had in years.
RCS support is also said to be coming to iPhones, improving conversations between iPhone and Android users. Sending photos and videos to Android users from an iPhone should not result in errors and group chats will have better performance. Features like cross-platform emoji reactions, read receipts, and real-time typing indicators may also be added.
CEO Tim Cook has already promised “groundbreaking innovation” from Apple this year. But are we going to see a rumoured Google Gemini partnership for the iPhone come to fruition?
iPadOS 18iPadOS 18 will probably incorporate most of the new features of iOS 18, adapted to a larger-screen interface. But expect some unique software updates.
macOS 15 It’s likely that quite a few of the AI features will be available on Apple’s Macs. Already, we have seen the MacBook Air M3, which can take on most hard-hitting AI tasks. So, we won’t be surprised to find a slew of AI features coming our way. As for a name, Apple is still using California landmarks. Apple has trademarked several California-related names over the years. Condor, Diablo, Shasta…?
What about hardware? Nothing can be heard on the grapevine but many refreshes are pending. The company is yet to update the Mac Studio, Mac mini, or Mac Pro with M3 chips, so there is a possibility that some of these new Macs will see a debut at WWDC.
And Swiftly… Apple holds a Swift Student Challenge when the WWDC dates are announced, but the challenge kicked off earlier this year. Winners will be announced on March 28 and they will be eligible to attend the special event at Apple Park and 50 Distinguished Winners will be invited to Cupertino for a three-day experience.
How to watch it? Apple is yet to announce broadcast platforms but one can safely say that you’ll be able to watch it on at least Apple’s website, as well as the company’s YouTube channel. The event usually starts at 10 am PT but we’ll know more as we get closer to the conference date.
