Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference is just weeks away, with June 10 fast-approaching. Now that Apple's May 7 iPad event is out of the way, all eyes are firmly fixed on Apple's big software extravaganza, which takes place every year.
This year, WWDC 2024 is likely going to present us with the latest versions of its main operating systems, so we're expecting to see the likes of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, macOS 15, and more. There could also be some AirPods announcements, as well as announcements about visionOS 2. Apple has already put out quite a lot of hardware to start 2024, so it seems reasonable to suggest that Apple will be more focused on software for this year. At the top of everyone's wishlist is the unveiling of Apple AI. Rumors abound that Apple is planning a massive AI overhaul of all of its major products that could take many forms. We know Apple has a Large Language Model in the works behind the scenes, but "AppleGPT" sounds less likely than a series of small tweaks to lots of different apps instead.
Here's everything we know about WWDC 2024 so far.
WWDC 2024: When will it be held?
WWDC 2024 will take place the week of June 10. While events and workshops for developers last the whole week, the special event we're all waiting for will take place on June 10, likely at 10 am PT.
What Apple could announce?
Apple has confirmed that we can expect to see the new iterations of all of its main software. As follows:
iOS 18
The iPhone is Apple’s big moneymaker, and iOS is core to its success. Despite that, last year felt like a grab bag of fun, smaller features like StandBy mode and Contact Posters.
Thankfully, we’re expecting iOS 18 to be much more of an upgrade, and reports suggest a lot of it comes down to AI. How that’ll pan out is anyone’s guess, but it’s likely Siri could be getting a major overhaul, and it’s about time.
Apple was one of the first to join the voice assistant race, but Siri is just not as smart as many of its competitors, including Alexa and Google Assistant. Could Siri gain the power of a ChatGPT-style service? A supercharge is long overdue, and with any luck will improve Siri across other platforms, too, including iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro.
RCS is also coming to iPhone in 2024, bringing iMessage-style features to your messages with friends and family with Android phones.
watchOS 11
WatchOS had an uncharacteristically big year with last year’s watchOS 10, which really shook things up despite being flanked by two pretty minor hardware updates in the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Ultra 2.
That means watchOS 11 has big shoes to fill, and improved Siri AI would certainly make interactions with the assistant on your wrist less of a chore.
Other than that, much of the update remains under wraps. In terms of what we want to see, though, it’s time Apple updated the Fitness rings - we need a rest day, Tim!
iPadOS 18
Apple has finally released its first new iPads since 2022 with the new M4 iPad Pro and the new iPad Air 6. While Apple did announce Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 and Logic Pro for iPad 2, the focus on software was minimal. As such, iPadOS 18 could be the big upgrade to iPad we've been waiting for. With Apple's M4 chip now available in the best iPad on the market, iPad is crying out for more powerful software that can take advantage of all that processing power. We'd love to see some big upgrades to Stage Manager, as well as all of the AI upgrades we're expecting on iPhone too.
Other than that, it’s a little too early to tell, but as we’ve suggested in the past, the iPad Mini could do with being positioned as a portable computer, and it needs things like better external display support to do that.
Will this finally be the year we get multi-user support? Who knows.
macOS 15
We may not know what macOS’ California-based title will be, but we know it’ll be macOS 15 in terms of numbering, and we expect Apple to prove there’s still life in the old dog yet.
Aside from the aforementioned Siri/AI integration, reports have suggested that Apple is planning “ambitious and compelling” upgrades, although what that entails is really anyone’s guess.
Maybe it’s finally time to get rid of Launchpad and bring in an App library, or offer window management tools like snapping to the screen right out of the box. We’ll take a more refined Stage Manager, too, while you’re at it.
visionOS 2?
VisionOS may be the new platform on the block, but Apple has already begun rolling out updates to improve its AR headset.
Naturally, those updates have been focused on improving the existing experience rather than adding any big new features for the nascent OS, but it’ll be interesting to see Apple’s vision for the future (pun intended) now the company has left the starting line.
Considering iOS 2, all the way back in 2008, was pretty staggering in introducing the App Store, could there be something big planned for visionOS’ first big update? We’ll update this page as we hear more.
AirPods
Apple likes to roll out surprising AirPods features now and again, and while you’ll need the latest, low-latency ones for Vision Pro, there’s always the chance we get something added this time around - if not a hardware reveal of the next generation of AirPods.
Will Apple reveal new products at WWDC 2024?
Apple has already unveiled quite a lot of new hardware in 2024, which leads us to believe that software will be the main focus of this year's event. We've already had the brand new M3 MacBook Air, as well as the new 2024 iPad Pro and the new iPad Air 6, with the Apple Pencil Pro in tow. We can say for certain that there won't be any iPhone hardware, and with iPads just launched the only candidate is really Mac. We are waiting for M4 MacBooks and desktop Macs this year, but early reports suggest these won't come until the second half of the year. As such, any hardware at WWDC would be a big surprise this year.
