Apple Hints That AI Announcements Are on the Way at WWDC24

On Tuesday, Apple officially announced the dates for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC24), which will kick off with a keynote address on Monday, June 10.

A popular pastime for Apple enthusiasts (and journalists) is examining these announcements and related information for hidden references to what we might expect to see at an upcoming event. This year’s WWDC is no exception.

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Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing Greg Joswiak has already made a not-so-subtle reference to AI. In a post on the social network formerly known as Twitter, Joswiak said the upcoming WWDC 24 event is going to be “Absolutely Incredible.” Yes, the first letter of each word was capitalized, which was “AI.”

Over the last few months, we’ve seen (and published) several reports indicating that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be one of Apple’s major focuses in iOS 18, macOS 15, and its other operating system updates that will be unveiled at the WWDC24 keynote in June.

Apple is reportedly working to use generative AI to improve Siri’s ability to answer more complex questions and commands while also using AI to improve the Messages app’s ability to auto-complete sentences.

Apple is also said to be working to bring deeper AI integration to several of iOS 18’s built-in apps, including Shortcuts, Health, Messages, and other apps such as Numbers, Pages, and Keynote. Apple Music could also be the beneficiary of AI-powered features that would allow users to generate playlists automatically.

During Apple’s February earnings call, CEO Tim Cook told everyone that the iPhone maker was working on generative AI and that the company would share details “later this year.”

Cook had previously commented back in November that Apple was “investing quite a bit” in AI.

While Apple is hinting at AI features, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman earlier today said that although Apple does have some big new AI features in the works, a generative AI chatbot isn’t one of them.

Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy will include a slew of new proactive features to assist users in their daily lives. The company isn’t planning to debut its own generative AI chatbot, though. Instead, Apple is holding talks with potential partners like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and OpenAI to supply generative AI services.

However, Gurman also said his sources tell him iOS 18 is “expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone’s software in its history.” While he didn’t go into details about the features that make it such an “ambitious overhaul,” there have been rumors of a significantly more customizable Home Screen experience, with a possible overall redesign to make it more like the Vision Pro user interface.

WWDC24 will take place from June 10 to June 14, and it will kick off with a keynote address on the 10th, where Apple will preview iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 (enter the name of a California natural landmark here), tvOS 18, watchOS 10, visionOS 2.0, and more.

As is usual for reports like this, nothing is set in stone, so take the news with a grain of your favorite low-sodium seasoning until we learn more at this year’s WWDC.