Apple held its highly anticipated annual developer conference at Apple Park in Cupertino with a grand opening. CEO Tim Cook announced the arrival of new Apple Originals slated to debut on Apple TV Plus, the company’s OTT streaming service. Among the highlights was the revelation of “Lady in the Lake,” a captivating series featuring renowned actress Natalie Portman.
Apple unveils visionOS 2.0: The company announced a visionOS 2.0 with significant updates. Among its key features, the Photos app will receive an update allowing users to transform existing 2D photos into spatial photos, alongside the addition of SharePlay functionality. Apple has also brought train support to the Vision Pro, following the previous introduction of plane support. It aims to simplify the app development process for the headset, with the introduction of new APIs including the Enterprise API. Creators will also find it easier to produce spatial videos for the Vision Pro, with added support for Vimeo and enhancements to Apple’s immersive video content, including upcoming releases such as “Submerged,” an Apple scripted short film.
The new Vision Pro is coming to eight more countries: China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Apple announces more personalisation for iOS 18: Apple announced improved customisation options for iOS 18. Giving more power to iPhone users, Apple will now let them personalise their Home Screen by arranging app icons to their liking. For visual aesthetics, there is a new and improved dark mode late night iPhone users. Apple also announced a new Control API for developers to let them craft tailored experiences for their apps and services. In iOS 18, iPhone users gain the ability to secure individual apps with biometric authentication, such as Face ID or Touch ID. Tapbacks receive an update, now allowing for an unlimited number of emojis, while text formatting includes the option to set message tones. Apple also unveiled a new game mode for iPhone with iOS 18. The Photos app also gets an extensive redesign with the app now showing a unified grid layout, with the ability to filter screenshots and customise albums.
Apple has revealed that its Messages app will integrate RCS support in iOS 18, marking a significant shift from SMS to the RCS standard as the primary communication protocol for interactions between Android and iOS devices.
Apple has also announced a new Game mode which when activated reduces background activity to boost frame rates and improves responsiveness with AirPods and game controllers.
AirPods updates: The latest AirPods updates bring a range of enhancements including a new feature that lets users to nudge to decline calls in noisy environments. Additionally, AirPods Pro now boast voice isolation technology, effectively eliminating background noise for clearer audio.
tvOS 18 arrives for Apple TV: Apple’s latest tvOS update introduces a new InSight feature for Apple TV Plus. With InSight, viewers can access additional information about the actors and music featured in the show they are watching. This feature will be available on the TV app for both tvOS and iOS devices such as iPhone and iPad. Apple at the WWDC 2024 also announced that the Enhance Dialogue feature will now be accessible when using TV speakers, receivers, or Bluetooth audio output. Another enhancement includes support for 21:9 projectors so that users do not have to compromise on the original aspect ratio of the movie.
tvOS 18 will incorporate a range of new screensavers, including a new animated Snoopy screensaver. However, this update is expected to roll out later this year.
watchOS 11 arrives for Apple watch: Apple’s latest OS version for its smartwatch is finally here- watchOS 11. While the developers get to try their hands on the new OS starting today, the final stable release is expected to arrive alongside the new watches this fall.
Apple Watches are known for their health tracking features and the new update ensures users stay ahead with their health updates. The company announced a new Vitals app for the Apple Watch for more granular tracking and view important metrics.
iPadOS 18 unveiled at WWDC 2024: The new update brings exciting updates for iPad users. There’s a new floating tab bar, which will be available in various apps on the iPad. The update also marks long-awaited arrival of the calculator app to the iPad. Additionally, a new Math note feature within the calculator app will allow users to create and save notes using the Apple Pencil. This functionality will also extend to the Notes app. There is a new Smart Script feature that utilises on-device machine learning to enhance your handwriting as you write.
macOS 15 Sequoia: Apple announced the next significant update to the macOS operating system and it is called Sequoia. According to Apple, Sequoia enhances “continuity” features, introducing seamless conveniences like iPhone mirroring. Additionally, the update includes presenter preview for video calls on FaceTime and Zoom, allowing users to preview their appearance before initiating a call. macOS Sequoia debuts a new Passwords app for password synchronization across devices, extending compatibility to iPhone and iPad.
Apple Intelligence: Apple is calling its collection of generative AI features as “Apple Intelligence.” The company describes it as “the personal intelligence system for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence that’s incredibly useful and relevant.” It includes features like summaries and the ability to create images in various styles such as sketch, illustration, and animation. Apple is relying on on-device machine learning for majority of tasks harnessing the power of A17 Pro or later chip. For cloud-based tasks, iPhone users can control their data through private cloud computing powered by Apple silicon. Apple assures users that their data is never stored or accessed by the company, ensuring privacy.
Siri updates: Powered by Apple Intelligence, Siri becomes more deeply integrated into the system experience, says Apple. Siri now has richer language-understanding capabilities, making interactions more natural, contextually relevant, and personal.Users can type to Siri and switch between text and voice communication seamlessly.With onscreen awareness, Siri can perform actions related to information on the screen, like adding an address from Messages to a contact card.Siri can now take hundreds of new actions within and across apps, such as finding book recommendations or scheduling tasks mentioned in messages or emails. With Apple Intelligence, Siri delivers tailored intelligence based on on-device information, like playing recommended podcasts or providing flight details without needing to specify the source.
Apple OpenAI partnership: As widely reported, Apple joins hands with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT within iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. Users will have free access to it without having to create an account. The GPT-4 powered ChatGPT will come to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia later this year.
