Apple has announced the dates for its Worldwide Developer Conference – otherwise known as WWDC – with the week-long affair kicking off a little later than usual on 10 June 2024.
In the past (the last two years excluded), WWDC has traditionally been all about software, with Apple using the conference to show off the features coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. The beauty of Apple devices is that they have long offered multiple years of software updates so even when you don’t have the latest model, you can still get that new device feeling in September when the new software launches.
For the last couple of years, the software announcements at WWDC have been somewhat overshadowed by hardware. Apple Vision Pro stole the show in 2023, while the announcement of the M2 chip and the redesigned MacBook Air were the talk of the town in 2022.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
For 2024 however, I think WWDC will return to shining a light on software, with no “One More Thing” stealing the limelight.
Boring, you might think, and you might not be wrong. But you could look at it another way. This could be the year Apple catches up with Google when it comes to computational photography and it might be the year that AI (the most irritating buzzword of the century) is translated into something useful.
The first time ever seen on an iPhone
Apple is very good at announcing “new” features and creating hype around them, even if those “new” features have been around for years on non-Apple devices. Apple is also very good at is marketing those features, to pique interest in a way other brands don’t – or can’t – always master.
Most rumours suggest iOS 18 – the next major software update for iPhone – will have a big focus on AI and so it’s not a huge leap to assume that AI will be the focus of WWDC, even if Apple calls it something else, packages it up with a ribbon and pops a pretty bow on top.
And this is where Apple’s skill at launching new features will be key – even if they have been done elsewhere in the past. Whether intentional or not, Apple is not leading the AI revolution, but that’s not to say it won’t bring it to the masses in a way that resonates with people.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
Take Google’s Magic Eraser and Magic Editor – both of which are excellent – as an example. For months, I’ve been sending photos to Chris Hall to erase people or things out of the background of the photos I capture on my iPhone, longing for the day I can do it on my own. But there will be a significant number of people who are unaware that these kinds of AI features are possible on a phone without the need for Photoshop or other expensive editing software – simply because they don’t have a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy S24.
If Apple announces something like Magic Editor or Galaxy AI during WWDC for iPhone and iPad, I suspect it will be pitched as something fresh and exciting – possibly even ‘new’. It won’t matter that it was done years ago, or that Google was first, because it will be the first time it has been available on iPhone and therefore for any loyal iPhone users, it will be ‘new’ and exciting.
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While Apple might not be leading the pack, its marketing might be the key to AI becoming less, well, awful, or at least more approachable and that is almost as exciting as Vision Pro and the 15-inch MacBook Air were at WWDC 23.
It’s not just the computational photography side of things that could be exciting at WWDC. If Apple goes all in on AI for iOS 18, there are likely to be a number of features that utilise AI but in a user-friendly way. And so, while Apple might not be leading the pack, its marketing might be the key to AI becoming less, well, awful, and that is almost as exciting as Vision Pro was at WWDC 23.
What else might appear at WWDC 24?
While I foresee AI being the focus, I’m hoping for some other features for Apple too. I’d love to see something like Garmin’s Body Battery on Apple Watch, or at least a feature that indicates time to rest or daily readiness. I’d also love to see user profiles on iPad – my kids using my iPad Pro is exceptionally annoying. And while I’m asking, the ability to add steps as a complication on Apple Watch faces would be most welcomed too.
There have been reports of a more flexible Home Screen within iOS 18 as well, which would be a huge change for iPhone users given the Home Screen really hasn’t changed much since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
While everything mentioned so far is speculation, we do know that Apple will definitely “spotlight the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS advancements” so whatever happens, there will be new features coming to all of Apple’s devices before the end of the year and WWDC will be the first time we will officially hear about them.
WWDC takes place from 10 June to 14 June. The main keynote will take place at Apple Park on 10 June and this is the one you’ll want to tune in for.
