WWDC it’s always where we learn about the year’s biggest innovations Apple’s operating systems. Given that the iPhone is Apple’s most important product, it’s no surprise that iOS gets the lion’s share of attention every June. WWDC 2024 is no exception, as Apple has had many new features and updates, most of them related to artificial intelligence (or Apple Intelligenceas the company calls it).
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence is all over iOS 18, as well as iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. Apple uses a mix of its own technology and capabilities OpenAI (as in widely expected). ChatGPT It will also be integrated into Apple Intelligence.
As part of this new era, Siri is undergoing a major overhaul. The voice assistant will be able to do more because it will be more deeply integrated into your applications and have more contextual awareness. You’ll be able to use Siri to edit photos, rewrite emails, and prioritize notifications. There’s also an option to type your Siri commands, which is a nice accessibility improvement.
Language models can rewrite, proofread, and summarize text for you in apps like Mail, Notes, Safari, Pages, and Keynote, as well as third-party apps. Image creation will also be available in sketch, illustration and animation styles – so you won’t be able to create realistic images using Apple technology. Image creation is built into apps like Notes, Freeform, and Pages.
You’ll be able to use natural language suggestions to search for photos of specific people. There’s also call transcriptions and Voice Memos for smarter search and (finally!) access functionality in the browser. Pixel devices have been around for a while.
Although Apple Intelligence will take your personal information to make sure the systems are right for you, it will be aware without collecting your personal information, according to Apple SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi.
Apple uses a mix of both on-device and cloud-based AI processing. Your iPhone will handle as much work locally as possible, with more complex operations sent to Apple’s processing centers. This raises some questions about privacy, one of Apple’s central selling points to prospective customers (especially since Apple has publicly scrutinized competitors who use cloud servers to process data), but Federighi provided some answers.
First, the company built something called Private Cloud Compute. Apple says the goal is to harness the power of the cloud for more advanced AI processing to make sure your iPhone data stays safe and secure.
To use these new features on iOS, you’ll need a device with at least the Apple A17 Pro chipset — in other words, an iPhone 15 Pro or one of this year’s upcoming models. Apple Intelligence features will be available for free this fall in US English on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.
Personalization
Apple also focused on customization. You will be able to make your home screen more like your atmosphere than ever before. When you enable Dark Mode, you’ll be able to change the colors of app icons, which can automatically take on a different look. Your applications will also no longer need to be locked within a rigid network. Your home screen can almost be seen as messy as you like.
The Control Center is making some big changes. You’ll be able to access things like media playback and smart home controls from here. Developers will be able to take advantage of this and offer Control Center management for their applications as well. You’ll be able to pin individual controls to the home screen for the apps and features you use the most (so, for example, you’ll be able to turn off the flashlight control for something else). Custom controls can also be mapped to the physical activity button as you see fit.
Messages
As for messages, there’s another nice update in the form of scheduling. When you’re running errands late at night, for example, you’ll be able to set aside time to send in the morning. Those who use emoji reactions in messages (aka Tapbacks) are also getting a nice update. Instead of the five basic reactions that Apple has offered for years, you’ll be able to choose from any emoji.
Text effects (little animations that appear when you type a certain phrase) are also improved. Meanwhile, Apple will offer satellite messaging support on iPhone 14 and later devices. This is a big update, especially for those who go offline often, as messaging will be more useful after emergencies. You’ll be able to send and receive texts, emojis, and Tapbacks via iMessage and SMS.
There is also a major AI-related change in the Messages app. Your iPhone will be able to create custom emoji based on what you type. You might need a PhD in semiotics to decipher some of the “Genmoji” you receive.
There’s another big update for Messages in iOS 18: Apple will add support RCS (Rich Communication Services) To messages. RCS is a more advanced messaging protocol than SMS. It provides better media sharing, Wi-Fi messaging, group chats and most importantly better security thanks to end-to-end encryption. This should enable more secure, media-rich messaging between iPhone and Android devices.
Apple has refused to support RCS for years to keep iMessage in a walled garden. But after being persistent Pressure from Google – and more importantly, new EU laws come into force – Apple promised start supporting RCS this year. Never one to mince words, Apple almost completely hid the addition of RCS in its keynote. drops it into a three-word register.
Programs
The The Photos app is the biggest redesign ever, says Apple. It’s getting a visual overhaul, and one of the main goals is to help you find your photos easier (it should be easy to filter screenshots, for one thing). Your Snaps will be organized around memorable moments. Apple Intelligence will effectively power features like Google’s Apple version of Clean Up Magic Eraser instrument.
The Mail app will soon be able to categorize emails – just like Gmail has been doing for years. Apple will also organize emails by sender, making it easy to archive or delete each email you receive from a specific company. This will be optional, so you can stick to a single inbox if you prefer.
Maps, meanwhile, will offer more detailed topographical maps to make the app more compatible with the Apple Watch. This should be useful for planning routes while hiking. As for the journal app, it will now show stats for things like the daily writing bar.
The wallet is getting a new useful feature that allows you to send cash without changing your personal information. All you need to do is tap your phones together. This may come in handy for splitting the bill after dinner with a new acquaintance. Tickets stored in a wallet can now include stadium details, recommended Apple Music playlists and other information.
The calendar can display events and tasks from the Reminders app, while the notes app can automatically solve any math equations you enter. The Home app will offer guest access
Another welcome change is the introduction of a special Passwords program. It will work on iOS, iPadOS, visionOS and macOS and will make it easy to find passwords saved from iCloud Keychain. Better yet, there will also be Windows support via the iCloud for Windows app. We hope this makes things easier for everyone use a password manager and we have unique passwords for each account – something we have strongly recommends.
This being Apple, of course iOS 18 has some new privacy controls for apps. When you transfer your iPhone to someone, you’ll have the option to lock apps behind an authentication method (ie, PIN or Face ID). show them your camera roll, they won’t be able to catch a glimpse of your Messages. You can also hide apps—perhaps apps you use for dating—in a locked folder. Elsewhere on the app privacy front, you’ll be able to decide which of your contacts the app can access instead of giving out everyone’s phone numbers and personal information.
Elsewhere, Apple is bringing Game Mode to the iPhone. This aims to increase performance by minimizing background activity, while the controllers and AirPods should be more responsive.
During an emergency call, dispatchers can request to turn it into a video call or share media from the camera feed. This can help Apple better prepare first responders for an incident. And the health app has been redesigned to make it easier to access vital information in case of an emergency.
On the accessibility front, users will be able to navigate on their iPhone using eye tracking. You’ll be able to set a custom voice to trigger tasks using the Vocal Shortcut feature, while Music Haptics aims to give the deaf or hard of hearing another way to listen to music through the Taptic Engine.
The developer beta version of iOS 18 is available today, and the public version will be available in July. As always, iOS 18 will roll out to all eligible iPhones this fall.
If your device can run iOS 17, you will be able to install iOS 18. The list of compatible devices includes the iPhone Xs, Xs Max, Xr, and the second-generation SE, as well as the iPhone 11 and later models.
Follow all the news here Apple’s WWDC 2024.
