Apple WWDC 2024: the 13 biggest announcements

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote came to an end – and the company had a lot to share. We got our first look at AI capabilities coming to Apple devices and some major updates to the company’s operating systems.

If you missed the live keynote, we’ve rounded up all the biggest announcements which you can check out below.

Apple’s first AI system is coming to iPhone, iPad and Mac

With almost every major technology joining the AI ​​boom, it’s no surprise that Apple is launching its own AI system. Apple Intelligence is the company’s new personal intelligence system “that puts powerful generative models at the heart of your iPhone, iPad and Mac.” This enables several new features in Apple’s native apps, such as the ability to generate images or summarize text.

Apple Intelligence places a strong emphasis on security, as the system will automatically decide whether it needs to use on-device processing or contact Apple’s private cloud computing server to fulfill your request. The system will be available for free on the iPhone 15 Pro, as well as on iPads and Macs with an M1 chip and later.

Apple’s big push into AI also includes Siri. The updated voice assistant will now be more deeply integrated into iPhone, appearing as a pulsing light on the edge of your device. This will give you more control over your apps, allowing you to ask the voice assistant to find information within a certain email or even display a photo of one of your friends. Apple is counting on LLMs to help Siri better understand what you say and keep track of follow-up requests and questions.

Apple is incorporating ChatGPT into Siri

Siri’s big AI update also includes an integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. With the new integration, Siri will automatically determine whether a query would be a better fit for ChatGPT. It will then ask for your permission before sending your request to ChatGPT. You can use ChatGPT through Siri for free and without an account.

Apple is rolling out several new AI features to its apps in iOS 18, including a way to summarize emails and generate replies. The company showed off its new Genmoji feature, allowing you to create custom emojis based on a text prompt, along with a new AI image generator called Image Playground.

Apple is also bringing AI to the Photos app, offering the ability to search for photos using natural language. You can also clean up objects in the background of your photos, similar to Google’s Magic Eraser. Additionally, Apple is adding AI-powered transcriptions and summaries to the Notes and Phone apps.

The iPhone becomes more customizable in iOS 18

In addition to all the AI, Apple is introducing a new, more customizable Control Center in iOS 18. It’s also rolling out a way to freely place app icons on the Home screen. The company will also let you lock certain apps with the next update, preventing others from using them when you hand your phone over to them.

Other key changes include a redesign of the Photos app and a new iPhone Game Mode that minimizes background activity to optimize gameplay.

The iPhone is finally getting RCS support

After announcing support for RCS last year, Apple confirmed that it would arrive with iOS 18. However, it did not expand on any other details beyond that.

iMessage is also getting other updates, including the ability to schedule texts and support for satellite SMS messaging. Apple is also launching colorful Tapback options and will allow bold, underline, and italics.

Apple TV Plus adds “inSights” to tell you which actor is on screen

Apple TV Plus is getting a new feature that will let you slide the remote down to show the actors and their characters in the movie or TV show you’re watching. You can also discover the song currently playing and add it to your Apple Music playlist. Apple TV Plus will automatically show subtitles when you mute a program and supports 21:9 projectors.

A password app to monitor your logins

As rumored last week, Apple revealed a new passwords app that will let you keep track of your login details across different devices. The app will allow you to generate and store passwords similar to other password managers like LastPass and 1Password. Passwords will be available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS and even Windows.

iPadOS 18 adds a Calculator app with Apple Pencil support

The iPad is finally getting a Calculator app more than a decade after its launch. It comes with a new feature called Math Notes, which lets you use your Apple Pencil to write equations on your iPad and have the app solve them for you.

Apple is also launching a Smart Script feature, which uses machine learning to make your handwriting look better and spell check your notes.

macOS 15 will let you mirror your iPhone

Apple’s next macOS update will let you mirror your iPhone to your Mac. You’ll be able to interact with your iPhone directly from your Mac, allowing you to view notifications and hear audio playing on your mobile device.

There’s also a new Highlights feature coming to Safari, which uses machine learning to select interesting parts of a page.

Apple will automatically display widgets in watchOS 11

There are lots of new features coming to watchOS 11 too, including a new feature that automatically adds widgets based on when you need them. Apple is launching a new Vitals app that will let you “explore your most important health metrics at a glance,” as well as new cycle tracking features, live activities, and Check In support, letting your loved ones track you during the train. .

visionOS 2 adds space photos and an ultrawide Mac display

Apple announced visionOS 2, its first major update to the operating system. One of Vision Pro’s new features uses machine learning to add depth to an existing photo. The update will also introduce support for an ultra-wide virtual Mac display, more intuitive gestures, and support for train travel mode.

Apple also plans to bring Vision Pro to more countries, including China, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

The next AirPods Pro update will let you silently respond to Siri

Apple is rolling out Siri Interactions in its next AirPods Pro software update, letting you shake your head yes or no to respond to Siri announcements. AirPods Pro also feature voice isolation to improve voice quality and reduce background noise.