Apple packed a lot of information into Monday’s WWDC keynote so it’d be understandable if you missed a few key announcements.
We’ve rounded up all the big news from the event into this handy guide. Keep reading to discover everything Apple unveiled at WWDC 2024, from iOS 18 to AI.
iOS 18
Of course, iOS 18 was one of the main highlights of WWDC. The event is where Apple traditionally announces all the new features coming to the iPhone operating system later this year and we weren’t disappointed.
Among the biggest updates this year was the ability to customise the icons on your home screen, a revamped Control Centre with third-party icons, and a new Tap to Cash money transfer feature in Apple Wallet.
Apple also announced that Game Mode would be coming to the iPhone, as is the ability to send messages via satellite. Apple announced the ability customise text and tapback reactions in the Messages app, and showcased new ways to hide and lock apps from prying eyes.
Finally, Apple previewed its redesigned Photos app, with a new Collections feature to organise your pics.
iPadOS 18
iPadOS 18 is also getting the redesigned Photos app and Control Centre, along with the aforementioned Messages, home screen, and privacy updates.
On top of this, iPad users can expect neater handwritten notes with Smart Script, a new floating tab bar for easier navigation, and a calculator app that understands your handwriting.
Of course, there are also plenty of AI-powered updates to look forward to, including systemwide Writing Tools for rewriting, proofreading and summarising text across your apps, and new image generation capabilities with Image Playground.
Siri is smarter and can switch between voice and text, and ChatGPT has been integrated into the voice assistant, too.
macOS Sequoia
If you’re a Mac user, you’ll want to know what’s coming to macOS this fall.
Called macOS Sequoia, the next big update will bring iPhone mirroring to the Mac, allowing you to fully control and access files and apps on your iPhone on your PC or laptop using the keyboard, trackpad, and mouse.
There’s a new Highlights feature in Safari that displays relevant information as you browse, while presenter preview in FaceTime and Zoom lets you preview your presentation and apply custom backgrounds to your calls.
Passwords are finally moving to their own app, along with passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and other credentials. Meanwhile, Game Mode is getting some minor updates ready for the long list of titles coming to macOS in the future.
Of course, macOS will also take advantage of all of the AI updates coming to iPad OS.
watchOS 11
watchOS 11 gave us an early glimpse at all the new features coming to the Apple Watch later this year.
There’s Training Load, which will track the amount of effort you put into a particular exercise and rate your exertion from 1 to 10, offering personalised advice in response to this. Apple has also announced an all-new Vitals app to keep a better eye on your health.
Fitness rings are finally getting a pause option, while Smart Stack will now switch widgets in and out depending on the context of your day.
Lastly, Apple is using AI to tell you which photos from your library will make the best watch faces, and you can now change the colour profile to make that watch face pop.
visionOS 2
The Apple Vision Pro also got its first yearly update with visionOS 2.
While this was quite a minor OS update for Apple, it did include some interesting features such as Spatial Photo, a Photos feature that makes it appear as though your subject is leaping out of an image toward you.
Immersive Video brings content to a 180-degree virtual screen that covers your peripheral vision, while Train Mode brings the Vision Pro’s in-flight entertainment and productivity capabilities to the ground.
Apple is also adding some useful hand gestures to bring up the home menu, time, and battery life with a pinch of your fingers.
If this update has you keen to get your hands on the Vision Pro, you might be in luck. Apple also announced that the Vision Pro will finally be launching in more countries around the world, including the UK.
Apple Intelligence
Finally, it’s worth recapping everything announced as part of Apple Intelligence – Apple’s take on AI. These are machine learning-powered features coming to Apple’s operating systems later this year, with many of them making an appearance on multiple platforms and devices.
We’ve already covered a few of these features above, including the Writing Tools proofreading feature, the Image Playground image generator, and ChatGPT coming to Siri.
Other key features include Genmoji, a Messages update that lets you create custom emojis from a simple text prompt, as well as Clean Up to remove unwanted people from photos.
The Mail app has also been given a major rehaul within new categories and summaries, while transcriptions are coming to voice recordings and phone calls.
