From June 10th – June 14th, 2024, Apple held their annual WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) where they revealed new tech updates for all things Apple. The weeklong event is held at Apple Park in California where the event can be either watched live or when it is streamed on Apple's official YouTube channel or website.

Over the past week, we have been checking out the WWDC event, noting down all the key information that we know you don’t want to miss. And in this blog, we round up all the highlights from WWDC 2024. From iOS18 to the Apple Vision Pro, there is plenty to explore, so let’s look at the Apple WWDC event in June!

Related blog: Upcoming Tech News and Updates

Day 1:

Day 1 was met with plenty of excitement, the opening WWDC Event was almost 2 hours long and packed with big announcements. The main highlight of day 1 was a topic Apple have been keen to announce, Apple’s new AI feature, Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence will use user' personal information from their devices to help answer questions in a private-conscious way.

Here is everything Apple Intelligence will offer:

• OpenAI – OpenAI are working with Apple to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone. Meaning if you have a question or any other chat-related queries, ChatGPT will be there. Even if an Apple user doesn’t have a ChatGPT account, they can still access this feature.
• AI-generated emojis – Create your emojis and generate non-photorealistic images to send into chat.
• Apple Watch health monitoring – A new tracking feature on Apple Watch will notify users on their phones when they may be getting ill. This will be monitored through signals of when the body temperature and heart rate dip.
• Hidden apps – Using Apple AI, users can ‘lock’ specific apps to only be opened using FaceID or passwords. These apps can also be hidden off the home screen to appear somewhere else on the device.
• Call transcripts – Record and create transcripts of phone calls whilst they are happening from the phone app. The feature will notify all participating in the call that recording is in process.
• Siri – Siri will provide answers to questions based on different apps on the phone, reminding the user about events from the calendar, summarising information from emails and giving updates on the weather.
• AirPods gestures – Answer or decline a telephone call through AirPods by either nodding or shaking your head.

It was revealed Apple AI will likely arrive when iOS18 is released, with the iOS 18 release date being September time.

As well as the big news of Apple Intelligence, Day 1 also bought a live Q&A session with Tim Cook, the managing director of Apple. He went into further detail about why Apple chose to partner with OpenAI and why this partnership will be beneficial for Apple’s growth.

Day 2:

On Day 2, the focus of the event spotlighted the infamous VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro. Talk of the Vision Pros availability expansion was mentioned, whilst some new VisionOS features were also revealed.

New VisionOS2 news:

• VisionOS 2 was officially announced and will include an upgrade of Spatial Photos that will come to the Photo app.
• VisionOS 2 will allow users to turn 2D images into 3D spatial photos, which can be used in SharePlay to view these Spatial Photos and panoramas with other Vision Pro users.
• The headset is coming to three new countries in June — China, Japan, and Singapore.
• The headset is coming to five new countries in July — Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and finally, the UK.
• Besides VisionOS features, we were also given a couple more tech-specific features for iOS.
• App Intents – A Siri upgrade that enables Siri to perform hundreds of new actions.
• RealityKit - A new tool that aligns its feature set across Apple platforms, making it easier to create immersive experiences by enabling the development of spatial apps on iOS devices.
• Passkeys – New alternatives to passwords.
• SF Symbols – Bringing over 600 new symbols and improved animations to make symbols more expressive.

Day 3:

The Apple Watch was the highlight of the WWDC Day 3. We heard a lot more about watchOS11, including what new widgets we can expect to see.

One of the biggest additions to watchOS11 is the introduction of the Shazam widget, the smartphone app that listens to what music you’re listening to and then provides information on the song name and artist. Although the app has always been available on the App Store and the Apple Watch, now the feature will automatically come with the watch and will no longer need downloading post-purchase.

Apple watchOS11 is set to release in Autumn, around the usual time of the iPhone's annual release in September.

Day 4:

Whilst we near the end of the weeklong event, Day 4 gave us some other interesting news. Home Hub, although never talked about as much, was a big topic mentioned.

It was revealed that with iOS18, Apple TV and Home Pod users can set up these devices as a Home Hub to control HomeKit and Matter accessories remotely. HomeKit and Matter accessories are features developed by Apple that let users communicate and control their smart home appliances using Apple devices.

Related blog: iPhone 16: Everything We Know So Far

Conclusion:

What are your thoughts on the WWDC 2024 announcements? There was plenty revealed, and we can’t wait to check out these new tech specs when they finally arrive! Make sure to look out for our upcoming blogs and reviews of the upcoming tech specs and why not check out our other tech reviews too?