WWDC24 - page 2

At WWDC24 today, Apple announced that its spatial computing headset will launch in many countries across Europe, Asia and North America.

“The enthusiasm for Apple Vision Pro has been extraordinary, and we are thrilled to introduce the magic of spatial computing to more customers around the world,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in today’s press release.

After the fervor surrounding its launch in the United States, sales have slowed down — a combination of the high price and a lack of specially-made content.

Launching the device internationally will not only broaden the customer base but the number of developers who can create new experiences for the headset.

visionOS 2, the first major update to the Vision platform, will bring Spatial Photos, a rearrangeable Home View, a bigger Mac Virtual Display, new gestures and other nice quality-of-life improvements.

Apple Vision Pro can “unlock completely new possibilities for entertainment, productivity, collaboration, and more” says Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice president of the Vision Products Group.

Announced right at the top of WWDC24 on Monday, visionOS 2 will be available in developer beta and will release publicly for everyone this fall. This came alongside news that the headset will soon be available in other countries.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With Apple’s big Worldwide Developers Conference hurtling at us like an AI-powered hype train, we once again put our professional reputations on the line. That’s right, it’s time to make our WWDC24 predictions.

We’ve got a special wild-card question this time around. And you can play along, if you’ve got the nerve!

Also on The CultCast:

• iPhone 16 Pro could bring some crazy new display tech.
• Marvel Studios’ new Vision Pro app is the kind of content Apple’s headset needs. The “I’m a Mac” guy’s latest PC ad is the kind of marketing the world can do without.
• Invidia’s stock price overtakes $AAPL as Wall Street goes gaga for AI.
• We discuss the latest iPhone 16 rumors as well as some last-minute iOS 18 leaks.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Apple reportedly will focus heavily on AI when it announces the next major versions of all its operating systems Monday at WWDC24. Everyone expects an upgraded Siri, summaries that’ll catch you up on a flurry of notifications, image editing that can cut out parts of a picture and the like. But none of that is on my WWDC wish list.

Personally, I’m not convinced that Apple needs to go all-in on AI (or “Apple Intelligence,” as it reportedly will be called). I’d rather see fundamental fixes and long-missing features finally added. Plus, I find Apple’s rumored partnership with OpenAI, of all companies, pretty troubling.

Here’s my WWDC24 wish list of everything I hope Cupertino has been cooking up. Read the full list below or sit back and watch the video.

New artificial intelligence features are likely to make iOS 18, macOS 15 and iPadOS 18 the biggest upgrades to Apple’s platforms in many years. Leaks say AI enhancements are coming to most of Apple’s standard apps, helping users write, summarize information, clean up images and more. At their announcement coming at next week’s WWDC24, these will all come under the heading of “Apple Intelligence.”

Plus, Siri reportedly will get a significant intelligence upgrade.

WWDC24 kicks off on June 10 but you don’t need to wait until then to find out what’s in store for iPhone, Mac and other Apple computers. Leaks already revealed much of what to expect at Apple’s annual developers conference, at least in broad terms. Here’s your WWDC24 spoiler alert: “Apple Intelligence” in the form of AI, AI and more AI.

Here’s what will be on the agenda when Apple unveils iOS 18, macOS 15 and iPadOS 18 next week.

When it’s unveiled at WWDC24’s Keynote on Monday, the new iOS 18 update — codenamed “Crystal” — is expected to be one of Apple’s biggest updates of iPhone software since the handset came out in 2007. Artificial intelligence (AI) should play a big role, along with other new features, redesigned elements and plenty of app updates. See our summary below, with links to Cult of Mac coverage.

The Apple Design Awards recognized 14 “best-in-class” apps and games, the iPhone giant said Thursday. It will hand out the awards, which celebrate excellence in design and outstanding technical achievement, to winners at WWDC24 on Monday.

“It’s inspiring to see how developers are using our technology to create exceptional apps and games that enhance the lives of users,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “This year’s winners have demonstrated how apps can create powerful and moving experiences — and we’re excited to celebrate their hard work and ingenuity at WWDC this year.”

And this year the awards added a new spatial computing category.

Those in Europe and Asia eager to get an Apple Vision Pro supposedly won’t have to wait much longer. Consumers in more than half a dozen countries will reportedly be able to buy the AR/VR headset in about a week.

The product launched in the U.S. this winter, but an announcement of broader availability isn’t expected until June 10 at WWDC24.

Apple will add an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI to iPhone and Mac, according to an unconfirmed report. But users of these devices won’t be forced to use it.

And that goes for more than the chatbot. Apparently, Apple will give users the option to pass on all the upcoming artificial intelligence features. The company plans to showcase its big AI push at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week.

Apple will overhaul its Settings app across iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 when it unveils the updates at WWDC24, according to a report Friday. In other words, not everything at the big developers conference will be about AI.

Update: Control Center, which provides easy access to frequently used features on iPhones (as well as Macs and iPads), should see changes, too. Apple will upgrade it “with a new music widget and improvements to how it operates smart home appliances,” Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman wrote over the weekend in his PowerOn newsletter.

Don’t get your heart set on new Macs launching at WWDC24 next week. A generally reliable tipster predicts that that’ll be none unveiled at Apple’s developer conference.

And not just Macs. Supposedly the agenda includes no new hardware at all.

With Apple’s massive annual software confab known as WWDC24 coming up fast on June 10, the iPhone giant decided it’s time to rock out with a special WWDC24 Apple Music playlist. The WWDC24 Hello list of tunes features music by Billie Eilish, Good Neighbours, Glass Animals and other artists.

Check it out below! This probably won’t be as controversial as the streamer’s top 100 albums list and its surprising No. 1 pick.

Apple’s much-anticipated Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC24) will kick off with a 10 a.m. Pacific keynote address on June 10, followed by the Platforms State of the Union address at 1 p.m. Pacific, Apple confirmed Tuesday. Along with the WWDC24 schedule information, it also presented the finalists for the Apple Design Awards it will bestow at the show.

As usual, the conference will highlight what’s new and upcoming with the company’s software ecosystem.

OpenAI’s GPT-4o, a new version of the company’s artificial intelligence chatbot, is a significant step forward from its predecessors. Demonstrations show the AI interacting with users in ways that seem startlingly human.

Unconfirmed reports indicate Apple and OpenAI are negotiating a deal that would build some version of GPT into iOS and macOS.

The wait to get Apple Vision Pro is apparently nearly over for consumers in more than half a dozen countries.

Although the AR/VR headset launched in the United States this winter, availability has yet to expand outside the borders of Apple’s home country. But Apple Store employees around the world are reportedly getting trained on the device. And the headset reportedly cleared a major regulatory hurdle Monday for launching in China.

Apple reportedly intends to fulfill the hopes of so many iPhone users by giving the Siri voice assistant an upgrade with artificial intelligence. A broad outline of the plan leaked out Friday.

Siri supposedly won’t become a general-purpose chatbot. It’ll be focused on better handling the sort of tasks iPhone users need. Recent reports suggest that Siri on iPhone 15 could see improvements, though the full AI-driven upgrade might take longer to arrive.

Apple showcased the family-inspired coding work of three Swift Student Challenge winners Wednesday. The iPhone giant changed up its annual coding competition this year by naming 50 students Distinguished Winners among 350 top coders overall. The 50 get to attend a special event at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC24).

“This year’s winning Swift Student Challenge submissions once again demonstrate the breadth and depth of what is possible when talented young people use coding to make their mark on the world,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations.

“We’re also incredibly proud to welcome more outstanding student developers than ever before to Apple Park to connect with our teams and each other as they continue to build apps that will no doubt transform our future for the better,” she added.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Now that Apple set a date for WWDC24, it’s time for the speculation to begin. Artificial intelligence undoubtedly will be on the agenda. But what will Apple’s AI push look like?

Join us for a whirlwind discussion.

Also on The CultCast:

• Sounds like iOS 18 will give iPhone owners even more control over their Home Screens.
• A flaw in Apple’s M-series processors sounds downright disturbing.
• Apple’s got a trick up its sleeve to keep you from annoying iPhone upgrades.
• And the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple makes some truly ludicrous claims.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

WWDC24, this year’s big Apple developer conference, will start with a live-streamed event on June 10, the company said Tuesday. During the keynote, Apple undoubtedly will reveal its plans for iOS and its other computing platforms, with a rumored focus on AI.

After the keynote, set to stream for free at 10 a.m. Pacific on June 10, the rest of the week will be filled with prerecorded online sessions that will help developers implement the new features and APIs in their apps.

The conference will take the same format of the mixed online/in-person event Apple utilized the last two years.