Apple WWDC 2024 Happening on June 10th, iOS 18 with AI Features Expected

The highly-anticipated Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC), Apple’s annual event, is just around the corner. The keynote is scheduled for June 10th and will continue until June 14th. The tech community is buzzing with excitement, especially because this year’s event may feature Apple’s foray into AI (at last!). As per tradition, we can expect Apple to unveil their newest operating system for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.

There has been much speculation surrounding Apple’s venture into generative artificial intelligence and its potential impact. According to sources, Apple has been investing large sums of money daily to train their own AI models. Additionally, there have been discussions with other companies such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic regarding the utilization of their generative AI models for cloud-based services, as stated by Bloomberg.

There have been additional accounts of Apple’s in-house Large Language Model (LLM), known as AppleGPT, potentially being utilized for Siri to enhance the assistant’s capabilities similar to ChatGPT. It is also plausible that Apple would rely on its own AI-engine for operating system tasks, while potentially collaborating with another tech giant’s AI, such as Gemini, to provide a chatbot-like experience within the OS.

It is typical of Apple to proceed with caution regarding the incorporation of generative AI, as they carefully consider the most appropriate approach to address any potential privacy concerns.

Enhanced AI Features in iOS 18

According to reports, iOS 18 is expected to be one of the most significant OS updates yet, with a strong emphasis on AI. Here is a breakdown of the potential features that could be included in the update.

• More advanced Siri powered by a generative AI chatbot, quite like ChatGPT or Gemini. However, Apple could use on-device processing for more speed and privacy.
• AI integration in the Messages app that could be capable of auto-completion of sentences, fielding questions, and summarizing incoming messages on your iPhone.
• AI features in system apps, like Apple Music (for automatic playlist generation) and Pages, Numbers, and Keynote (for content creation, summarization, etc.)
• A revised version of Spotlight Search, enhanced by AI technology, that is able to accomplish more intricate tasks.
• New AI-integrated features in the Apple Health app and Apple Watch, like an (artificially) intelligent wellness coach. The Health app is also reportedly coming to iPads this year.
• There are also reports of AI features coming to Xcode to help developers write and complete code and test applications, among other things.

Additionally, in addition to the aforementioned AI capabilities, there have been speculations about potential updates such as the option to freely position app icons (similar to Android), new shortcuts for accessibility, and the introduction of scenes in the Freeform app that will allow users to highlight specific areas on the board.

As per usual, the anticipated release dates for the developer and public betas of iOS 18 are in June and early July, respectively. The public release is expected to follow in September of this year.

Evolution of AI in the iPhone 16

The OS may see the addition of AI capabilities, and the upcoming iPhone 16 models (anticipated in September) could also see improvements in hardware to support these features. It has been reported that the iPhone 16 series may have base models with 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, or potentially both, in order to ensure optimal functioning of the AI technology. This would be a significant improvement from the base iPhone 15 models, which currently have 6 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD.

In addition to the potential arrival of generative AI capabilities on iOS 18, Apple has been actively developing other AI technologies. These include editing photos using written prompts, creating animations through still images and text instructions, and further advancements in multimodal LLM training using text and images, resulting in cutting-edge performance.

Despite these being mere rumors and speculations, it is highly likely that most of them will be incorporated into iOS 18 next year. As Apple rarely reveals any information beforehand, it is no surprise. One thing is for certain though – I am eagerly anticipating this year’s WWDC, just like many others in the tech community, and I can’t wait for it to start.