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Apple is giving users the ability to swap out lockscreen shortcuts for the new controls. You’ll finally be able to do more than just turn on the flashlight. Do we need to say Android has been… nah, we don’t.
Now Apple is onto Privacy. You can now lock an individual app. Even if somebody has access to your phone, you can lock an individual app so that they will need to unlock again to have access to that app or the data it contains.
Also, that app won’t share data across the phone, in search results, for instance. Apple is also offering a hidden apps folder that you can lock separately. Something something Android for years, yeah.
Apple is jumping right into iOS 18 with new customizations for your home screen and lock screen. Apple’s Greg Joswiak is showing off all the amazing ways that Apple’s iOS 18 and iPhone will finally be able to arrange icons and widgets in a sensible fashion, like Android and your desktop computer have allowed for decades.
Apple is also adding new color features to theme your icons and wallpaper. These styles look heavily reminiscent of Apple’s Contact Poster, so if you’ve created cool contact posters in a variety of looks, you’ll be familiar with Apple’s style here.
Apple’s Control Center, the drop down menu in the corner of your iPhone, will get many more controls soon, including media controls and smart home controls. You’ll have to swipe down farther to reach the new controls, but it looks like Apple is making things easier, with an even more extensive Controls Gallery.
Apple is also showing off third-party controls options, like a control center from Ford to control features in your automobile.
Apple is partnering with Blackmagic Design to use Blackmagic cameras for improved Apple immersive video content that will be easier for pros and prosumers to create. Apple is also showing off a new short film coming to immersive video in Apple Vision Pro.
So that’s it for Vision Pro. It’s about new ways to create spatial content, which must be a key selling point for Vision Pro. Now we’re back to Tim Cook on the roof. He’s saying that Apple Vision Pro is coming to China, Japan and Singapore on June 28, and a bunch of other countries where you live on July 12. We’ll have more details on TechRadar asap.
Now for iOS 18!
VisionOS 2 also has new developer features coming, of course, since this is a Developer conference, as we’ll remind you often. Apple is launching Enterprise APIs for health care and manufacturing, among other professional use cases for Apple Vision Pro.
Canon is going to offer a spatial vision lens to capture spatial content on a Canon camera. Spatial videos can then be edited in Final Cut Pro, and shared in a new Vimeo app that will support spatial videos.
The first OS on the slate today is visionOS. Mike Rockwell, VP of the Vision products group, is giving us an update on spatial computing. Rockwell is reviewing Apple’s NBA partnership and the What If? immersive content released by Marvel.
VisionOS 2 is coming. Apple’s Haley Allen, from VisionOS Product Management, is talking about new spatial photos features, a new addition to augment the spatial videos experiment. Vision Pro will be able to create spatial photos from existing 2D photos and panorama images. There are also new ways to share these photos with other Vision Pro users.
Apple is also introducing new control schemes for Vision Pro, though frankly there are very few users for this product, so I’m not sure we can all get so excited about being able to access the home screen faster. There are also new display modes for when you connect to your macOS computer.
Ok, this is weird, but Apple is starting with a long trailer for all of the original content being shown on Apple TV Plus, its streaming TV channel. Maybe this is a pre-announcement that Apple TV Plus is finally coming to Android? I’m excited for some AI news, but Apple wants to show us more George Clooney.
The video begins with an over-the-top introduction of Apple executives dropping by parachute onto the roof of Apple Park. Tim Cook says this will be an “action-packed and memorable WWDC.”
The video is strongly reminiscent of when Google introduced Google Glass by leaping out of an airplane wearing the new headset. We haven’t seen new glasses from Apple, but Tim Cook is starting with Apple TV Plus news.
The show has begun, even as the video stream is still catching up. Apple execs start strong, telling us this is going to be a big one. We’ll know more soon, but it’s going to be a day to remember for Apple fans.
We’ve gotten a tip that our Editors on the scene at WWDC 2024 have caught wind of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of OpenAI sitting in attendance today. Unless they’re also big Apple fans, this likely confirms that OpenAI and possibly ChatGPT could be coming to the iOS 18 and macOS 15 in the near future, and likely the iPhone and related Mac computers.
How will Apple use the LLM on its devices? Will this simply be a ChatGPT app, or will the partnership go much deeper? Is Apple willing to turn Siri over to ChatGPT? We’ll know soon, and we’re keeping our eyes open for more hints in the audience.
So, we’re thinking there won’t be any new hardware at WWDC this year, mostly because the most reliable Apple rumor guru, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, says so. He’s got a good track record, but maybe Apple will throw a curveball and surprise us with a new MacBook. If they do, well, it would be one of the first times Gurman has been so wrong.
What about that potential Apple and OpenAI partnership? That’s Gurman’s scoop too. It would be a pretty big deal, but some folks, especially our own Lance Ulanoff, think it might break some of Apple’s big rules. If this rumor doesn’t pan out, maybe Gurman’s sources aren’t as reliable as they used to be, or maybe Apple’s getting better at keeping its secrets.
Either way, this year’s WWDC could be a big test for both Apple and Gurman. We’ll know in minutes how it all plays out!
I’ve been wondering what Apple could possibly bring to the table with AI on the iPhone. We’ve already seen other companies like Google and Samsung roll out some magical AI-powered photo editing tools, writing assistants, and even large language models that run locally on phones like the Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 8a. So where is the iPhone?
Could Apple follow suit with its own version of Photo Unblur or Magic Eraser? Or maybe even offer a generative AI writing tool built right into the Apple Keyboard? And could they go a step further and introduce an LLM that lives on the device, like Google’s Gemini Nano?
I’m definitely curious to see if Apple takes inspiration from its Android rivals or if it has something completely different in store for us. Or, will they just give in and use ChatGPT? We’ll find out soon enough!
Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote is minutes away, with rumors swirling about announcements focusing on artificial intelligence and Siri, Apple’s languishing voice assistant. Speculation suggests a possible partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT, which could make Siri more intelligent and capable.
Additionally, we could see iPadOS enhancements, taking advantage of the powerful new Apple M4 chip in the iPad Pro for features like generative AI tools across various applications.
With a diverse group of experts, and editors on the scene in Cupertino, we’re poised to analyze the news as it unfolds and assess the impact on Apple products in the coming year. Stay tuned for live updates and comprehensive coverage of the event as Apple unveils its latest innovations.
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are in the world – and welcome to TechRadar’s live coverage of WWDC 2024.
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