It’s WWDC 2024 keynote time! Each year Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developer Conference with a few hours of just straight announcements, and this year, we expect much of them to revolve around the company’s artificial intelligence ambitions (and here), Vision Pro, lots of feature refreshes and perhaps some new Macs.
Here’s how to tune in.
Developers should expect hardware and software updates, per the usual, and some other items we initially thought would be unveiled. Brian Heater also went on Equity to dish. Now sit back and relax while the team runs down all of the biggest news in an easy-to-skim digest.
VisionOS 2
VisionOS 2 brings with it productivity enhancements and “new immersive experiences.” One lets you “spatialize” photos from regular photos, leveraging AI tech. Another is a new navigation option: VisionOS 2 lets you switch to the home screen by just tapping, or flip your hand over to bring up the control center with notifications, shortcuts and more. Read more
One of the bigger announcements with this include the ability to turn existing images into spatial photos. The new feature utilizes machine learning to build out additional angles, marking a change from the existing method, which required images to be shot on an iPhone 15 Pro or the Vision Pro itself. Read more
For those of you outside of the U.S., Vision Pro headset will be available in eight new countries. Read more
Useful AI, not flashy AI
Apple has fallen behind its peers in the AI race, and it probably feels like it needs to pull out all the stops to impress fans and shareholders. But that shouldn’t mean overpromising on features. Read more
Generative AI
For smart assistants: While rumors point to the company transitioning a number of employees to generative AI operations following its electric car implosion, all signs point to Apple having ceded a significant head start to the competition. As such, its most logical play is a partnership with a reigning powerhouse like OpenAI. Read more
Maybe not for iPhone 15: Some other rumors say that when this generative AI comes into play, a limited number of older devices will also be able to run the system, including iPads and Macs running an M1 chip or higher and the iPhone 15 Pro. That means the standard iPhone 15 may be left out in the cold on this one. Read more