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What to expect at Apple’s WWDC 2024

Every year, Apple’s WWDC comes third behind Google I/O and Microsoft Build, and there’s hardly ever been a need for Apple to announce a product in response. This time, however, things are different.

Over the past month, Apple’s biggest rivals have unveiled bold AI plans, with Google showing off its latest Gemini models and Microsoft unveiling powerful Copilot features like Recall. Now Apple needs to step up to the plate and show that it’s not far behind in providing its customers with useful generative AI experiences.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off on Monday, June 10, with a keynote at 1pm ET / 10am PT. Here’s what to expect at Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote.

AI, AI and more AI

At WWDC, Apple was rumored to be infusing its operating systems with AI — with Siri being the focal point. According to Bloomberg, Apple redesigned Siri using large language models to better understand what users want and better respond to their queries. The new version of Siri will reportedly be able to take actions for you in Apple’s own apps, potentially making the assistant much more capable than it is today.

Apple will apparently brand the AI ​​features as “Apple Intelligence” and build them into its apps, Bloomberg reports. Other AI features may include AI summaries of messages and web pages and real-time transcriptions into notes and voice memos, according to Apple Insider. A custom emoji generator is in the cards, and the Photos app will reportedly let you use AI to remove objects and people from images.

Partnership with OpenAI

Apple is also said to have been looking into partnerships with third parties to bolster its AI prowess. The company has reportedly been in talks with Google and Anthropic, but the only deal it seems to have struck is with OpenAI, which recently showed off a powerful personal assistant-like conversational feature for ChatGPT. Some kind of chatbot similar to ChatGPT is now heading to Apple devices, according to Bloomberg.

Green bubble intensifies

Apple is finally adopting Rich Communication Services (RCS) as the default fallback for iMessage, and we’ll likely see it as part of iOS 18. This means that soon iPhone and Android users will be able to put away their blue and green bubbles and instead, send each other longer text messages and higher-quality photos—hopefully all of which remains end-to-end encrypted.

Apple had previously ignored Google’s (sometimes naïve) pleas to adopt RCS and ditch the old and privacy-deprived fallback SMS. It took some regulatory pressure to get Apple to rethink its position. As for the green bubbles, they will stick around. But they will be good green bubbles.

A more customizable home screen

Finally, Apple may finally allow users to arrange apps to their liking. MacRumors reports that you’ll finally be able to leave blank spaces between apps in iOS 18. And Bloomberg reported that Apple will integrate a theming system into the operating system that allows you to recolor icons to match each other.

Lots of app updates

As part of operating system updates for Mac, iPhone, iPad and more, Apple is also expected to debut new and improved versions of its built-in apps. Rumor has it that the Calculator app will be revamped and finally debut on the iPad, a password manager launched across Apple platforms, and a redesign coming to the cluttered Apple Settings and Control Center screens.

Mac updates are coming… but maybe not at WWDC

Apple’s redesigned iPad Pro launched in May with a new AI-focused M4 chip — marking the first time an M-series chip didn’t appear on a Mac first. I’m not going to discuss what a PC is, but I’d bet we’ll see M4 chips in Macs soon. All of Apple’s MacBooks come with M3 chips, while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro continue to lag behind with M2 chips.

So far, however, there are no rumors that refreshed machines will appear at WWDC, so we may have to wait until later this year.

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