WWDC 2024 Live blog: Apple Intelligence, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 reveals, as they happened
WWDC finally showed off what’s in store for Apple’s software this year.
And that's a wrap on the WWDC 2024 keynote. After a year of speculation as to what Apple has in store for its artificial intelligence powered next generation of software, Apple finally showed off how it's going to get AI into its best iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and more.
Introducing ‘Apple Intelligence’, a system-level AI overhaul of basically every way you interact with your iPhone, iPad and Mac.
From Siri improvements, to new apps for iPad, software updates for Apple Watch, and more there's a lot to take in. It's all coming later this year (or sooner, if you like testing your luck with the pre-release betas, you crazy thing, you). Follow along with every announcement Apple made, and keep eyes locked here for our analysis of the key unveilings.
Rewatch the WWDC 2024 keynote with us right here!
WWDC 2024: What’s coming up?
- WWDC 2024 — Everything you need to know about this year's showcase
- Apple AI — What will “Apple Intelligence” look like?
- iOS 18 — What’s coming to iPhone this year?
- iPadOS 18 — How is iPad going to change?
- watchOS 11 — What’s new for Apple Watch?
- macOS 15 — All the latest on the Mac operating system.
- Vision OS 2 — How will Apple improve its latest device?
Here we go!
Hey there folks, Gerald Lynch, Editor in Chief for iMore kicking things off with the WWDC live blog this morning. We're expecting a mammoth showcase from Apple today, as it looks to play catch-up in the AI arena that's dominating the tech industry at the moment. We'll be bringing you every announcement straight from the Cupertino stage, alongside our analysis of all the biggest news. We've heard rumor that it's a two hour showcase today, so get settled in!
How to watch WWDC 2024
The easiest way to watch Apple's WWDC 2024 keynote is via YouTube, as you'll find the app on most platforms, whether that's a TV or a game console. Apple showcases live events directly on the platform, and you can watch it below from 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST.
Read more: How to watch WWDC 2024 — iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, Apple Intelligence, and more
AI is coming (if you're ready for a beta-like experience)
The months leading up to WWDC has seen Apple come under fire from competitors and investors alike as it, at least from an outsider's perspective, seems to have been caught off guard in regards to the wider tech industry's AI acceleration.
That could all change today — Apple is expected to announce a partnership with OpenAI that will bring supercharged artificial intelligence features to Siri and other apps across Apple's different device platforms.
But is it ready for the masses? Perhaps not for a while — Apple insider Mark Gurman has suggested that, even after the full iOS 18 launch in the Fall, AI features on Apple devices will be in a 'beta' state, suggesting Apple is still racing to catch up with this trend, even as it prepares to show its hand.
Some early WWDC 2024 CarPlay announcements have already been made
Apple is getting some of its smaller news out of the way ahead of the keynote address at WWDC today. In a press release, it's already revealed a suite of new accessibility features coming to CarPlay via iOS 18, improving Apple's in car smart display system.
"Accessibility features coming to CarPlay include Voice Control, Color Filters, and Sound Recognition," the release explains.
"With Voice Control, users can navigate CarPlay and control apps with just their voice. With Sound Recognition, drivers or passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing can turn on alerts to be notified of car horns and sirens."
Color filters and bold text will also be introduced soon to aid those with visual impairments. Still no word of the wider "next-generation CarPlay" rollout teased at WWDC two years ago, though...
Apple Intelligence: What to expect
OK, so the focus is going to be on AI — that's no surprise at this point. But what are the specifics of what's going into Apple's AI overhaul of its software and devices. Here are a few topline details that you should be aware of — based on the most up-to-date news and rumors we've seen ahead of the grand unveiling:
- It's not fully homegrown — a partnership with OpenAI will bring a ChatGPT chatbot-style experience to Apple's software, with voice assistant Siri the likely focal point.
- AI features will start as a beta offering, making them opt-in. You'll need a newer device, like an iPhone 15 Pro or M1-generation Mac and above to take advantage of them.
- Existing Apple apps will get AI features built into them, rather than being all-new apps or services. Siri will be able to go deeper into these apps and intuitively use their features on your behalf, contextually aware of your needs.
- Don't expect image or video generation, or AI song-making. Apple considers those sort of tools gimmicky — or at least not core to what will make its iPhone experience fundamentally better for the majority of its users.
The key AI features heading to your devices
If we know broadly what Apple's approach is going to be to AI, how about the individual features set to land? Here's some of the key additions we're expecting to come to Apple's apps:
- Photos: AI-based enhancements, such as Google Pixel style 'Magic Eraser' features to remove unwanted objects from an image, or to add user-defined edits to an image without direct manipulation by the user.
- Voice Memos: Automatic transcriptions of voice memos — another thing that Google phones and many third-party transcriptions apps have offered for a long time.
- Mail and Messages: AI will be able to compose appropriate replies to your messages automatically, ready for you to send in the Messages and Mail app. Mail will also be able to intelligently sort your mail based on its content, too.
- Emoji: AI generated emoji! For when that cartoon aubergine eggplant just doesn't hit the spot, based on the content of the preceding messages.
- Safari: Article summarizations, read out by Siri. There's also rumor of an AI-powered ad blocker, which has worried many online publishers.
- Xcode: Auto-completing code based on a developer's prompts. This one's already being used internally, though it won't reach third party developers for some time to come.
AI security — will it stay private?
Though Apple has been slow to capitalize on the AI boom, one area that it's always lead the charge has been with security and privacy features. It does well to defend its users against app and website tracking, and puts a high value on an individual's right to be as anonymous as tech allows for.
AI potentially changes this position, as so much of the heavy lifting of AI models is usually done server-side by mega computers, with outputs then sent back to a user over the internet. That's a far cry from Apple's own systems, which usually prioritize on-device processing.
It's not clear yet how much of Apple's AI processing will be done privately and securely on device, and how much will be filtered through cloud services — certainly, a large amount of what a standard user can recieve from ChatGPT (run by OpenAI, the AI company Apple is supposedly partnering with) takes place on servers via the cloud. Will the latest Apple silicon have enough neural processing power to handle this all on device? Will Apple run OpenAI's model on its own cloud servers to control at least where your off-device processing happens? It'll be a key point Apple will have to reassure users on.
Which iPhone generations will get iOS 18?
As new software rolls out, some older iPhones inevitably get left behind. And with iOS 18 bringing new AI features that rely on the most advanced features of Apple's silicon, it's thought that some devices may get cut out of the iOS 18 upgrade than usual.
An early leak puts a positive spin on things though: apparently, every iPhone that can run currently run iOS 17 will be eligible to jump to iOS 18. That means owners of the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone SE 2022, as well iPhones 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. The iPhone 16 of course will get iOS 18 at launch, too.
But the devil may be in the details — other reports suggest that, when it comes to whatever new AI features are revealed (thought to be key to the overall update), only iPhone 15 Pro devices and above will get the full suite of artificial intelligence features. It'll be one of the more severe software splits for Apple.
No hardware, but an international launch for Vision Pro?
Vision Pro — lots of hype, but little love. Apple's long-gestating AR / VR hybrid headset launched to great fanfare, but a restrictively high price and a lacking app library have meant it's yet to really take off.
While that's unlikely to change unless a massive price cut or weight-shaving hardware revision happens, Apple will likely be hoping that getting a few more users into its headset may lift the future fortunes of the device. It's expected to today announce an international launch for