Apple today kicks off its week-long Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024) event with its traditional keynote at 1 pm ET / 10 am PT. The presentation will focus on the company's software products and the developers behind them, including the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS and watchOS.
You can watch the stream on Apple's event page , and there's also a stream on YouTube , though it tends to be a bit delayed.
Over the past few years, critics have pointed out that the company has so far lagged behind companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI when it comes to generative AI research, and our own Ivan Mehta has also stressed the need for the company to unveil real, useful AI products rather than flashy keynote demos. CEO Tim Cook has previously pledged to address concerns about AI, and there's no better time or place to do so than at Cupertino's Steve Jobs Theater during WWDC.
There are currently rumors of a possible deal with GPT developer OpenAI, aimed at leveling the playing field a bit. The latest reports name Apple's AI effort “Apple Intelligence,” with the caveat that not all recent Apple devices will be able to use the new system. There have also been many rumors circulating about AI enhancements coming to iOS 18 and a possible second life for Siri.
Meanwhile, the software-focused event didn't guarantee any new hardware would be announced, though the company has made that a trend in recent years with Apple Silicon updates and the much-admired debut of the Vision Pro last year.
But recent rumors suggest this will be a weak year for hardware, despite the lukewarm response to Apple's first foray into mixed reality and mounting pressure following its decision to abandon its electric car project.
While iOS 18 is the big attraction, the company is also set to unveil macOS 15, which includes a major redesign of Calculator, arguably the most useful app on the iPhone, and many of iOS 18's AI features will undoubtedly make their way to macOS 15 as well.
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