On the morning of June 11th, Peking time, the annual Apple developer conference WWDC is about to begin at Apple Park. What surprises will Apple bring us this time?

Every year, Apple's WWDC developer conference ranks third after Google's I/O and Microsoft's Build. Almost every time, Apple hardly needs to announce a product as a response. But this time it's different.

In the past month, Apple's biggest competitors have put forward bold AI plans. Google has showcased its latest Gemini model, and Microsoft has also introduced its powerful Copilot feature. Now, Apple must accelerate its pace and prove that it is not too far behind in the generative AI field.

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In recent days, investors seem to be focused on two letters: AI. It is rumored that Apple will announce the integration of AI into its operating system at WWDC, with Siri being the focus. Reports indicate that Apple has redesigned Siri using large language models to help it better understand what users want and respond better to questions. Specifically, the new version of Siri will be able to perform operations for users in Apple's own applications, making the assistant much more powerful than it currently is.

Apple will call its AI functionality "Apple Intelligence" and integrate it into its applications. In addition to Siri, other AI features may include AI summaries of messages and web pages, as well as real-time transcription of Notes and Voice Memos.

In addition, a custom emoji generator is about to be released, and the Photos app will allow users to remove objects and people from images using AI.

The following are some of the AI features that Apple will showcase at WWDC:

Summarization: Quickly summarize articles and web pages in Safari, meeting notes, text messages, emails, and notifications;

Smart replies: The iPhone will create comprehensive replies to emails and text messages;

Siri: With the new large language model, the personal assistant is about to be redesigned; Siri will be able to delete emails, edit photos or summarize news. In the future, it may also integrate with third-party applications;

Xcode: Like Microsoft GitHub Copilot, Apple will allow developers to use AI to complete code, which may be launched next year;

Mail: Apple plans to launch a feature similar to Gmail that automatically categorizes received emails;

AI-created emojis: AI will be used to create custom emojis;

Voice Memos: Thanks to AI, this application (Voice Memos) will automatically transcribe recordings;

Photos app: Apple will use AI to create new photo editing features, enhance images, remove objects and people from images, etc.

WWDC is mainly a software event, and operating systems are the main focus. At that time, Apple will showcase the latest features of iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, MacOS, and visionOS. According to Apple's naming convention, these systems should be named iOS 18, iPadOS 18, TVOS 18, and WatchOS 11 respectively. As for MacOS, it will definitely be the 15th version, but the specific name is still a mystery.

Apple's headset Vision Pro operating system visionOS is still in its first version, and it may be upgraded to the second version this time. The new version of visionOS will include many accessibility upgrades, such as system-level live captions.

In addition to some of the AI features mentioned earlier, iOS 18 will also receive upgrades in many other aspects. For example, the customizability of the home screen is expected to receive a major upgrade, allowing users to place app icons anywhere and adjust the color of app icons. The Messages app will benefit from iPhone's first-ever RCS support. RCS is the successor to SMS and MMS, and will provide a better experience for conversations between iPhone and Android. So will the iconic "green bubble" disappear? No, but RCS should allow for more iMessage-like features, even when chatting with Android users.

When it comes to iMessage, new effects and animations will be able to be applied on a per-word basis, and even support rich text, such as bold, italic, and underline.

Many of Apple's system applications are expected to receive functional updates and minor design changes, such as Photos, Mail, Notes, Fitness, Maps, Settings, and Calculator. Among them, the Maps application will support custom route creation, allowing users to flexibly set up travel routes.

Two key components of the Control Center, Now Play and Home widgets, have been redesigned to provide better functionality.

MacOS 15

Although iOS will undoubtedly be the main focus of the operating system, Apple still has news about desktops. At this year's WWDC, we will get the official name of MacOS 15. What is the most AI character name in California? Alameda? Alcatraz? Or RodAI Drive?

Many updates to iOS should also be implemented on MacOS, including those in Siri, Notes, and Safari. It is said that Apple's office applications have also been powered by a new generation of AI, including Pages, Keynote, and Xcode.

The system settings will continue the long-term project of "Apple turning MacOS into iOS" and undergo design updates. In addition, Apple may also thoroughly reform some key accessibility features, such as the Calculator. This is the most commonly used application, but for some reason it is often forgotten.

iPadOS 18

First of all, the Calculator app will finally land on the iPad. Since the launch of the iPad, there has never been a built-in Calculator app, and users need to download unofficial versions from the App Store. The latest news shows that iPadOS 18 will directly integrate the Calculator app and bring many new features.

In fact, most of the iconic features of iPadOS 18 are likely to be an extension of iOS 18. For years, the iPad has benefited from the work Apple has done on its iPhone platform, as these two operating systems have so much shared code. Therefore, most of the features of iOS 18 will also become the main supplementary features of iPadOS 18.

Powerful new accessibility features will allow users to control the iPad with eye tracking. This touchless feature is inspired by Vision Pro and will make the iPad more accessible to more users.

Will Stage Manager or other multitasking features on the iPad be enhanced? Maybe, but even if not upgraded, we won't be surprised because Apple has been focusing on them for years without any action.

As for those who hope that the M4 iPad Pro will have some unique features, or will be able to boot MacOS from the iPad, they are almost certain to be disappointed. There is no news about the pre-cooling of iPad sales, as it has benefited greatly from Apple's efforts in iOS 18.

WatchOS 11

It is expected that this year's WatchOS update will be relatively small. WatchOS 10 just brought major changes to the Apple Watch last year, and all signs indicate that Apple will focus on other software platforms this year.

Nevertheless, WatchOS 11 may provide some core features that are added to almost every new version:

Extra watch faces;

New and/or enhanced exercise types;

Using the health data collected by the watch in new ways, such as through a survey or other new tools.

tvOS 18

Apple TV 4K is still a product in Apple's product lineup, and tvOS receives different updates every year. But in some years, tvOS feels like a forgotten platform; while in other years, it gets really useful new features.

tvOS 18 this year may be more inclined to the former trend, as Apple is expected to make only minor improvements to tvOS this year as it prioritizes its larger platforms.

Last year, thanks to Continuity Camera, tvOS 17 brought FaceTime to Apple TV and received positive feedback from users. This year, Apple may also offer other similar "continuity" enhancements.

07. visionOS 2

Apple's first major software update for visionOS 2 will lay the foundation for the device's next year of life. VisionOS 2 is expected to bring various improvements to enhance the Vision Pro experience. These measures include:

More fully native first-party applications built for visionOS, not just iPad versions (e.g., calendar, reminders, news, etc.);

Ability to reorder applications on visionOS main screen;

Powerful real-time captioning for all verbal conversations from face-to-face and application audio;

Upgrade to the Mindful application, including breath tracking.

Of course, this may only be a small part of the updates Apple planned for visionOS 2. In addition to releasing visionOS 2, Apple may also announce the date Vision Pro will be launched in international markets.

08. Hardware update

In the past few years, there have been key hardware updates at WWDC due to the development of Mac chips and last year's headset release, but after all, this is not a hardware event. Moreover, recent reports suggest that this will be a theme speech unrelated to hardware. Some media even suggest that this event will have no mention of new hardware at all.

Don't forget that Apple has just made an unusual choice to hold a separate online iPad event a month before WWDC, launching the new iPad Pro and iPad Air on May 7. But what frustrated many people was that AI didn't play an important role in this event.

In the current AI frenzy, and after Google's big move around Gemini and Android integration, Apple also needs to show off something in a big way.

The new M4 chip has just made its debut on the iPad, and MacBook and its more powerful counterparts with this chip are likely not far away. There is also the upcoming iPhone A18 chip, which Apple is almost certain to claim is the "most advanced smartphone chip of the AI era," just a matter of time.

In the past decade, Apple has announced hardware news at four WWDCs, including the release of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro in 2017, the announcement that Mac is abandoning Intel chips in 2020, the release of updated 13-inch MacBook Air and 31-inch MacBook Pro in 2022, and the release of the 15-inch MacBook Air, M2 Max and M2 Ultra Mac Studio, M2 Ultra Mac Pro, and Apple Vision Pro in 2023.

09. One More Thing?

WWDC is also a place to introduce new product categories. For example, Apple released the Apple Vision Pro at the 2023 WWDC. At this early stage, it seems unlikely that this headset will undergo any major changes, or even the possibility of releasing a new version, but there may still be some related content announced.

For example, there is increasing evidence that the Apple Vision Pro is preparing to sell outside the United States. Therefore, Apple may explain the supply situation in other countries in detail at this conference.

Then there are the Design Awards, which will include a new spatial computing category. Apple's annual design awards are highly anticipated by the industry. The awards aim to recognize applications and games that perform outstandingly in design, innovation, and technology.

In addition, it is not ruled out that visionOS will receive some updates during this event, and it is believed that many space computing enthusiasts will pay attention. Moreover, will Apple showcase a HomePod smart speaker with a screen?

Editor/new