We’ve simply tuned in to Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote presentation to convey you all the newest information on the tech big’s software program plans for the approaching months. Going into the present, we anticipated Apple going all in on AI instruments for iOS 18 after the arrival of Samsung’s Galaxy AI earlier this 12 months, however Tim Cook dinner and his staff of software program specialists made us await the good things.
First, we came upon about some quality-of-life and customization choices for the upcoming iOS 18 iPhone replace from Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software program Engineering, Craig Federighi. These refinements embody a brand new search for Darkish Mode icons, media playback and sensible house controls within the management heart, and the power to remap lock display buttons or transfer round buttons on the house display with no restrictions. We additionally bought some excellent news for sneaky iPhone customers. On iOS 18, you possibly can lock particular person apps, or cover them from your own home display fully.
Federighi and the gang moved on to particular person apps, with iOS 18’s new options together with Recreation Mode, which just like the Mac equal minimizes background exercise to maximise body fee, topographic maps for Maps, and a brand new search for Images that organizes your library into extra subjects whereas filtering out screenshots. Earlier than shifting on to house and audio, we bought the affirmation of one thing we’ve all been ready for. RCS messaging is lastly coming to iPhone!
For many who don’t know, RCS messaging is a characteristic we’ve been ready for for years. It’s a system that Android telephones use for communication and is faster and extra dependable than SMS messaging. Whereas many didn’t suppose Apple would ever undertake RCS messaging, with iMessage’s blue bubbles a long-time promoting level of the iPhone, it’s formally coming with iOS 18, making communication between iPhone and Android customers a lot simpler.
Should you’re an Apple Watch consumer, you have got some contemporary options to stay up for with watchOS 11. With the upcoming Coaching Mode, you possibly can set personalised coaching regimes and select your depth on a scale of 1 to 10. We’re additionally getting a Vitals app, so you possibly can hold observe of your most necessary well being stats, plus the introduction of Test In for Apple Watch, a helpful security software for late-night runners.
After watchOS, Federighi moved on to the iPadOS 18 replace options, introducing the Math Notes characteristic, which takes the fundamental iPhone calculator app and makes use of the display house of the iPad to make one thing much more helpful. With Math Notes, you possibly can write equations with an Apple Pencil earlier than the pill intelligently solutions them. There’s additionally Good Script, which makes use of machine-learning instruments to tighten up your handwriting and make it extra legible. My handwriting is horrendous, so I’ll be curious about making an attempt this characteristic out myself.
If at this level, you’re asking “Okay, however the place are the AI options?”, you understand precisely how I felt watching the WWDC 2024 presentation. We’d heard so many rumors going into the occasion relating to AI instruments that it felt like a on condition that Apple would lean into the smartphone synthetic intelligence revolution. Then, it occurred. Tim Cook dinner launched us to Apple Intelligence.
Apple Intelligence, Apple’s first large lean into AI with private context consciousness, is coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia. Unsurprisingly, Siri is the app most benefitting from new AI capabilities. Siri in iOS 18 understands obscure questions and instructions, simply in case you’re not fairly positive what you’re asking, and may reply particular questions on easy methods to carry out duties on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Siri can also be getting on-screen consciousness, which we’d heard rumors of earlier than the reveal, and may pull off particular actions, together with picture sprucing or looking for data out of your messages and e-mail. Apple Intelligence can also be bringing new writing instruments, together with Rewrite, which affords rewritten variations of your textual content, adjusts the tone, or edits sentence construction. There’s a Good Reply software, too, which does precisely what it says on the tin and creates an in depth reply based mostly on minimal data. Should you’re as lazy as I’m, it is a little bit of a game-changer.
Genmoji is one other new Apple Intelligence software, which may create distinctive emojis to ship to your pals. If you wish to go the additional mile, there’s additionally Picture Playground, an on-device text-to-image immediate software. It creates photographs in three kinds; sketch, illustration, and animation, and may use faces out of your digital camera roll for reference. This characteristic comes constructed into iMessage, so you possibly can ship your creations to your pals with only a few clicks.
When it comes to picture enhancing, Apple lastly has its reply to Google Pixel’s Magic Eraser with the Clear Up operate in iOS 18. Merely click on on what you need to take away from a picture, and it’s simply one other click on to take it out. As ever with Apple, it’s all about simplicity and safety, with no picture enhancing information wanted to scrub up your images and no have to add your footage to a server.
If all that wasn’t sufficient, Federighi revealed that Apple is integrating ChatGPT into iOS 18 and the brand new model of Siri. It’s not computerized, although. First, your gadget has to ask if you happen to’re pleased with it referring to ChatGPT earlier than discovering your reply, writing your story, or creating your picture. Higher nonetheless, it’s all at no cost and doesn’t require a ChatGPT account, which is certain to trigger some concern at Samsung HQ with rumors that the Korean model is planning on charging for its Galaxy AI options within the close to future.
So, when are we getting all these thrilling AI options within the iOS 18 replace? Fall. That’s when. We didn’t get any extra particulars than that, however it wouldn’t be a shock to see iOS 18 arrive across the time of the iPhone 16 launch date, which we’re anticipating round September of this 12 months. Nonetheless, there’s a giant caveat, in that you simply want an iPhone 15 Professional or Professional Max to make use of the brand new AI options, which isn’t a giant shock contemplating the on-device energy it requires to tug off the AI magic.
There you have got it, all of the highlights from Apple’s WWDC 2024 presentation. If you wish to discover out what the Android manufacturers are as much as of their steady effort to compete with Apple, see our guides to one of the best Google Pixel telephones, finest Samsung telephones, and finest Xiaomi telephones.
