We’ve already marked our calendars June 10 to 14 for Apple’s WWDC 2024 (Worldwide Developers Conference), but now we have official invites to the special event and a confirmed start time.
Apple has just sent out invites to the press confirming that the WWDC 2024 special event will kick off on June 10 at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (3am AEST, June 11). Unlike previous invites to Apple events – including the May 7 “Let Loose” event – this WWDC invite lacks a tagline and has a simpler design. There’s a return to classic Apple form, however, as the event kicks off at the oft-used time of 10am PT.
The invitation features a glowing circle of blue, pink, purple and yellowish orange hues. Wondering why a circle? Well, it pretty much matches the general shape of the main building of Apple Park, the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA. There is a thicker row, then a thinner and finally a thicker row with the center open, with the WWDC 24 logo. The colors match the original logo that Apple shared in March 2024.
This could be a nod to the in-person event for media and developers at Apple Park, but it could indicate a comprehensive rollout of Apple’s rumored AI features.
Alongside the next generations of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS and visionOS, we expect Apple to debut its overarching approach to AI. We recently saw Apple add AI-infused and powered features to Logic Pro for iPad and Mac, but WWDC 2024 will be different.
After OpenAI ChatGPT-4o debuted, Google showed off Project Astra, and Microsoft unveiled AI PCs, all eyes are now on Apple to step up and make a splash on this front. It could be an LLM running on the device, with really useful features for all core applications, such as new photo editing tools or summary tools for email, calendar and even phone. I hope we at least get transcription built into voice memos.
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Specific to iOS 18, we expect more customization options for the home screen, smart summaries for almost all applications, AI-generated emojis and greatly improved searches. These are all detailed in a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, which outlines the new AI features you can expect in iOS 18. We may also see Apple talking up its in-house developed AI models and possibly LLMs that can be integrated with a partner like OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the operating system.
Whichever route it takes, we can expect the company to emphasize that much of this will be processed securely and privately on the device, rather than sent to the cloud. After all, the Neural Processing Units (NPUs) built into Apple’s A-series and M-series silicon chips are said to be more than capable of handling these tasks.
Considering Apple refreshed the MacBook Air with the M3 chip in March and introduced the M4 chip in the new iPad Pro earlier this month (see our iPad Pro 13 (2024) review for our verdict), it might be too early to see more hardware. However, there’s always the possibility that Apple will unveil souped-up versions of these chips in a Mac, such as the Mac Studio or Mac Pro.
If you’re looking for a new iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or even a next-generation Vision Pro, those are all likely to come later. However, we could see Apple use WWDC 2024 as an event to announce the international rollout of the Vision Pro.
Either way, only time will tell on all this, and at least we know when to all tune in – 10am PT / 1pm ET on June 10, 2024, to watch Apple unveil it all from Apple Park. Ny Breaking will be on site, so stay tuned for full coverage. In the meantime, check out our guide on how to watch WWDC 2024 so you don’t miss anything.