WWDC, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, is always a big highlight of the annual tech calendar. Although ostensibly aimed at developers, as the name suggests, Apple has previously announced major new hardware lines like the Vision Pro, HomePod, and a variety of Macs, giving the keynote conference a big consumer-facing advantage.
WWDC also sees previews of the year’s big software updates. This year, that means iOS 18, an especially significant release given Apple’s plans to go big on artificial intelligence this year with Siri. But that’s not all, as the conference is also expected to feature updates with iPadOS, watchOS, HomeKit, and more.
Naturally, the conference announcements will have a greater impact on the respective hardware they are intended for, such as the iPhone 16, the iPad Pro with M4 chip, and the Apple Watch 10. This is what we expect from WWDC 2024.
When is WWDC 2024?
Apple has set a date for WWDC 2024, and the week-long conference will begin on June 10 and run through June 14. That opening day is the one to pay attention to: that’s when Apple holds its WWDC keynote, with all those software previews plus any product announcements.
Expect the event to be livestreamed and the keynote to begin at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT.
Will we have new hardware at WWDC 2024?
In the past, Apple has introduced interesting new hardware at WWDC, including the Vision Pro and the first-generation HomePod.
It’s certainly possible we’ll see hardware again this year, though likely generational upgrades rather than entirely new lines, with both the new MacBooks and iMacs. However, ahead of WWDC 2024, Apple will make a separate announcement called its “Let Loose” event on May 7. The invitations sent indicate that Apple is expected to announce a new iPad Pro OLEDandiPad Air.
Apple’s separate event outside of WWDC shouldn’t be a surprise, given that that’s what happened with the launch of the MacBook Air M3, and that WWDC 2024 could be all about software. This is especially plausible given that this is a year in which Apple is expected to make a breakthrough in artificial intelligence with iOS 18.
What to expect from iOS 18 at WWDC 2024?
Typically, WWDC is when Apple releases the first developer beta of its upcoming iPhone operating system, and according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, iOS 18 is shaping up to be “one of, if not the, biggest iOS updates yet.” in the history of the company. “
While we know that part of this update will include the introduction of the RCS text protocol for better communications with Android devices, the most important update should involve the buzzword of 2024: artificial intelligence.
According to GurmanApple’s Craig Federighi has given an “edict” to the team to ensure iOS 18 is packed “with features that run on the company’s large language model.” And since Apple is reportedly offering millions of dollars to publishers for AI training purposes, it’s possible that The results will be quite different from the ChatGPTs of this world in terms of reliability.
What does that mean in practice? Well, based on code found in the latest iOS 17.4 beta, it appears that the AI, codenamed Ajax, will be able to summarize content and answer questions based on user prompts.
There also appear to be references to iMessage integration in the code. This makes sense, as Gurman had said previously indicated that Ajax would work with the Messages app to “answer questions and automatically complete sentences.”
In other words, it looks like Siri is going to get a significant and long-awaited upgrade in terms of intelligence. But the big question is whether it will need new hardware to run. Siri creator Dag Kittlause, co-founder of the artificial intelligence startup acquired by Apple in 2010, believes that Apple’s assistant is a “dark horse” in the space of large language models, and that Siri will be a huge force in the artificial intelligence space.
Generative AI features are also expected to be a major part of iOS 18, as a report indicates that even the base model of the iPhone 16 will come with additional storage and RAM to accommodate them.
While Apple has a proud history of bringing the latest versions of iOS to its older iPhones, artificial intelligence might be a bridge too far for older generations, especially since the company reportedly prefers on-device AI to cloud-based solutions. , this could require the grunt of the upcoming A18 processor.
That said, given that the iPhone 16 won’t arrive until September and an early beta will arrive in June, it would make sense for Apple to have some cloud-based versions for older iPhones, and one rumor suggests that’s how things will play out. . with on-device AI for 2024 models and a cloud-based version for older ones. Hopefully, we’ll see the last six years of iPhone models supporting iOS 18, as some rumors have claimed.
We’ll find out on June 10 at the WWDC keynote.
