It’s almost the end of developer conference season, and Apple is the latest to kick off. Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDCexpected to be ready with announcements for iOS, macOS, iPad OS, and the rest of the software that keeps the walled garden fresh—even Vision Pro.
Unlike last year’s WWDC, expect little in terms of physical devices. Vision Pro has come and gone, and now it’s time to talk about “Apple Intelligence.” What does Apple have planned for its AI developers, especially with the rumors of all the partnerships going on behind the scenes? We’ll find out soon enough.
When and where to watch WWDC
WWDC will be held June 10-14 at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. We’ll be there in person for the opening keynote, though you can follow along online. After the event, people who cannot attend the conference can attend sessions at Apple website.
If you want to watch the keynote in real time, set your bookmarks to Apple event website or official YouTube channel. The main note begins Monday, June 10 at 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET. Allow about two hours to watch the event.
What will Apple announce at WWDC?
AI: Apple Intelligence
There are rumblings that WWDC is shaping up to be unstoppable compared to last year’s red carpet presentation for the Vision Pro. This is only if you don’t care about AI. Biggest AI Infusion – Sorry, Apple Intelligence— will happen on iOS 18.
Bloomberg’s Mark German, who everyone flocks to for hints on what’s to come from Apple, said that this will be a catch-up year for the iPhone operating system for AI. Don’t expect it to be as obvious like what Google weaves into the Android operating system. But expect it to be there. Apple Intelligence will be separated from the chatbot that it is rumours will be released in partnership with OpenAI. Its features will be sold as Samsung’s Galaxy AI on Android devices, with tools for assisted writing, photo editing and summarization. (I wonder if Apple asked Google for help with this.)
iOS 18 will heavily emphasize customization that looks like Apple way of acting as it allows users to change Lock screen with dynamic elements. iOS 18’s Home screen is rumored to be improved in flexibility, including the ability to place icons and widgets wherever you want instead of relying on the icon rail. There might even be redesigned gadgets to enjoy in the Control Center. iOS 18 may also get a handy password manager for the operating system that will make packages like LastPass and 1Password redundant.
Green Bubble, are you ready?
The green bubbles aren’t going anywhere, but we expect they’ll work better with the iPhone’s messaging protocol. Apple’s perception of RCSthe forced successor to SMS and MMS thanks to Google, will help improve messaging between friends from different platforms.
Vision Pro Update
Vision Pro may not generate so much noise like the first launch in February, but WWDC will share some of the stage with VR/AR headsets. We’ll likely get another update on the headset’s sales and a peak at what developers can tinker with in Vision OS. Don’t expect second-generation hardware—it’s only been four months.
The iPad Calculator app
Those of you who have been die-hard iPad users since the beginning have probably found yourself in a situation where you had to add and subtract numbers from each other, only to find that Apple never released a calculator app for its tablet users. Hopefully this year’s WWDC will finally a debut official calculator app from Apple.
iPad OS 18 will share a lot of other DNA with iOS 18, especially related to Apple Intelligence – perhaps even more so because of the larger screen and the M chip in iPad Pro models. One expected feature is an accessibility option that allows people to control the iPad with eye tracking. An apple mildly announced feature last month, along with music haptics and vocal shortcuts. We’ll get the full picture at WWDC.
What’s new in macOS?
Typically, WWDC is light on Mac features and heavy on the mobile realm. However, with AI being the name of the game this year, Apple will likely have a say in how MacOS will interpret all of this.
Also, this will be a big year for System settings. I’m starting to think that Apple is nurturing its users by tweaking some of the simple parts of its ecosystem before rolling out all this AI. Will it make it more user-friendly? Time will tell after WWDC.
Learn more soon
watchOS 11 and tvOS 18 will get minor mentions during the keynote. We don’t expect any significant software updates to the Apple Watch or Apple TV. But we expect quality of life improvements for these particular platforms. Stay tuned as we’ll be covering everything from WWDC 2024.
