For fans of Apple products and services, there’s always anticipation leading up to the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. This year, that tension is in high gear as the world awaits Apple’s answer to the AI boom sweeping the tech industry.
The iPhone maker was characteristically tight-lipped about what’s to come during its WWDC keynote, but there was plenty of speculation about what the company might show off. Here’s what we know so far, starting with how to watch the event.
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How to watch Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote
The WWDC keynote kicks off at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on Monday, June 10. You can see it on Apple’s event website or on the company’s YouTube channel.
What should I expect?
WWDC is a software-focused event, which means we don’t usually see many hardware updates (you’ll probably have to wait until Apple’s anticipated fall event to hear about the next iPhone). Last year’s developer conference was a notable exception with the introduction of Vision Pro. But based on rumors and speculation, it’s likely that Apple will focus this year on promoting its AI-powered software capabilities and updates.
AI
Amid a wave of AI releases from companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Samsung and Google, Apple undoubtedly has some catching up to do. That’s why AI is likely to be the focus of this year’s WWDC.
We expect to see these new AI capabilities woven into iOS 18, albeit perhaps more subtly. A Bloomberg report suggests that Apple will incorporate AI through features like voice memo transcriptions, faster search, and a more conversational Siri. It could also introduce an AI feature that summarizes news, documents, and notifications, essentially giving you an “intelligent summary” of what you’ve missed. Bloomberg also notes that Apple’s AI will “create custom emojis on the fly, based on what users send.”
Some of these updates will reportedly be powered by the device’s AI, which works without an internet connection, allowing the company to focus on privacy and security. AI capabilities will also appear in MacOS 15, according to Bloomberg, with the Apple Watch also getting an upgraded Siri.
Read more: From iOS 18 to Siri upgrades, new AI features to expect on iPhone
There are also reports that Apple is working with OpenAI to integrate the company’s technology into iOS 18. Previous reports have indicated that Apple is in similar talks with Google to include its Gemini AI system, but it appears that those discussions may eventually have not resulted in a partnership.
Apple may provide more details on how the iPhone will support RCS texting, which should improve texting between iPhones and Android phones.
Other software updates, from messaging to accessibility
In addition to iOS and MacOS, we expect updates to arrive on the company’s other operating systems, including iPadOS and VisionOS.
Some of these updates have already been announced and are scheduled for release later this year, such as Eye Tracking on iPad and iPhone and Live Captions on VisionOS. So we may learn more about these accessibility updates and an exact timeline of their availability.
Another feature we may be getting updates for is RCS messaging on the iPhone. Late last year, Apple said it would adopt RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging, a protocol that replaces SMS (Short Message Service) and is capable of many of the same features as iMessage, including input indicators, high-resolution multimedia sharing resolution and end-to-end encryption. Since RCS is now available on a number of Android devices, it should make texting between Android phones and iPhones more seamless (although it’s unlikely those pesky green bubbles will ever go away).
Apple’s adoption of RCS would be a timely change that should be reiterated given the Department of Justice’s ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Apple. The lawsuit accuses the iPhone maker of hindering competition and says the company is “undermining cross-platform messaging” by not making its iMessage service available on Android. WWDC would be a good time for Apple to highlight its efforts to bridge this gap.
New chips with artificial intelligence
It wouldn’t be WWDC without chip talk. We’ll likely hear about the next iPhone processor, possibly called the A18. It’s expected to bring — surprise, surprise — better AI performance, according to Taiwan’s Economic Daily News and analyst Jeff Pu. This will align with Apple’s new M4 chips in its updated iPad Pro tablets, which the company says are more powerful, efficient and feature improved machine learning for AI-based tasks. Now it’s the iPhone’s turn to get an AI upgrade.
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