There were almost two different WWDCs this year. First, Apple did its classic platform whiparound, detailing all the new ways you can add stuff to your homescreen, share stuff with your friends, watch stuff on your TV, calculate stuff on your tablet, and more. In a normal year, that would have been the show. We would have talked about app icons for 45 minutes and gone home.
The second act of WWDC was the Apple Intelligence show, in which Apple began to unveil its AI strategy. We saw a lot of features and ideas about how things might work — including a new and pretty exciting vision for Siri — but also got a sense of how Apple is planning to approach this potentially disruptive new category. We heard a lot of buzzwords! But also a lot of ideas.
On this episode of The Vergecast, we gather in a house just down the street from Apple Park to sort it all out. We compare Apple’s AI approach to Google, OpenAI, and others in this space. We talk through all the news from all the platforms and discuss why things like RCS and a Control Center redesign could be game-changers. (Here at The Vergecast, we love a customizable widget system.) We also go through the features we’re personally most excited to get on our devices this fall — and the ones we couldn’t care less about. And of course, we talk Calculator.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started on all things WWDC:
- Apple WWDC 2024: the 13 biggest announcements
- Apple Intelligence: every new AI feature coming to the iPhone and Mac
- Apple is giving Siri an AI upgrade in iOS 18
- Apple announces iOS 18 with new AI features and more customizable homescreen
- Apple is bringing RCS to the iPhone in iOS 18
- Apple’s AI can make custom emoji and images
- iOS 18 introduces satellite capabilities to its iMessage app
- The iPhone’s new Game Mode makes it faster and more responsive
- Apple announces iPadOS 18 with a built-in calculator and customizable homescreen
- Apple made an iPad calculator app after 14 years
- Apple announces watchOS 11 with new training features and Live Activities
- Apple announces macOS Sequoia at WWDC 2024
- Apple’s standalone Passwords app syncs across iOS, iPad, Mac, and Windows
- Apple’s AirPods are being upgraded with powerful accessibility features
- Apple’s InSight feature for Apple TV Plus will tell you who that actor is
- Apple teases new seasons of Severance and Silo
- Apple announces visionOS 2 with 3D photo transformations and an ultrawide Mac display
- Canon made a special lens for the Apple Vision Pro’s spatial videos