Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote is right around the corner. The festivities kick off on Monday, June 10 at 1PM ET. The keynote address is available to the public and you can watch it via Apple’s event website or on the company’s YouTube channel. Alternatively, you can just stay here and watch our embed.
This is WWDC, so it’ll be a software-focused event. Apple will most likely reveal many of the main features of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. It’s also possible we’ll get updates for watchOS, macOS and even visionOS, which is the operating system behind the Vision Pro headset.
This is Apple, however, so the rumor mill is grinding at a feverish pace. The whole world has gone AI crazy, to varying degrees of success, but Apple has remained mostly mum on the technology. Given the current tech climate, it seems likely that changes sooner rather than later. WWDC would be the perfect place to unveil what the company has been working on.
To that end, Apple is reportedly developing its own AI chatbot, likely an update to Siri. Rumors swirl that this tech isn’t ready yet, so Siri will remain just a fairly decent alarm clock for now. The company has, however, entered into a partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. If Gurman is right, and he usually is, we’ll see something about that. The upgraded Siri will likely get a mention, but won’t be on devices until at least early 2025.
As for software updates, it looks like iOS 18 will finally bring RCS support to Messages. This messaging protocol offers end-to-end encryption and better media sharing. It’ll also improve texting compatibility with Android devices. Rumors indicate that Apple Music may get an OpenAI-powered tool that auto-generates playlists and Notes might get a voice-recording option. Other apps like Mail, Fitness and Health are expected to get new features, but there are no details as of this writing.
There’s also those ever-tantalizing words of “just one more thing.” Last year, the company used WWDC to officially unveil the Vision Pro. Apple won’t introduce a new device category this year, the AVP was its first since Apple Watch, but there should be a Vision Pro global availability announcement and some updated features.
Despite last year’s Vision Pro reveal, we’re not expecting a lot of hardware news. It’s possible we’ll get a new Apple TV streaming box and, if we’re lucky, an AirPods Max refresh with USB-C. Don’t hold out hope for new tablets or laptops, as Apple recently released both iPads and MacBooks — though Apple could drop the just-released M4 chip in the MacBook Pro. The Mac mini and Mac Studio are both overdue for an update, as well. But it’s possible we get none of the above. There won’t be new iPhones until September, and the same goes for Apple Watch.
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