As usual, WWDC 2024 focuses on software rather than hardware and brings many new things to iPhone, iPad, Mac users.

During a nearly two-hour presentation at Apple's annual developer conference, CEO Tim Cook and executives showed off how the Siri voice assistant will interact with messages, email, calendars and third-party apps. Siri will be able to dictate emails and change its voice to suit the situation.

CEO Tim Cook presents at WWDC 2024. Photo: Reuters.

Long known for its focus on user safety, the iPhone maker also signaled that it plans to differentiate itself from rivals Microsoft and Google by putting privacy "at the core" of its features.

Here's a roundup of all the most important Apple announcements at WWDC 2024:

Apple's First AI System Is Coming to iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Screenshot: Apple.

With most major tech companies jumping on the AI ​​bandwagon, it's no surprise that Apple is launching its own AI system.

Apple Intelligence is the company’s new personal intelligence system that “puts powerful creative models right at the core of iPhone, iPad, and Mac.” That brings a host of new capabilities to Apple’s native apps, like the ability to create images or summarize text.

Apple Intelligence puts a lot of emphasis on security because the system automatically decides whether it needs to use on-device processing or contact Apple's private cloud servers to fulfill your request.

The system will be available for free on the iPhone 15 Pro as well as on iPads and Macs with M1 chips or later.

Siri gets a major AI boost

Screenshot: Apple.

The Siri voice assistant is also part of Apple’s big push into AI. The upgraded Siri will now be more deeply integrated into the iPhone, appearing as a flashing light on the edge of the user’s device. It will give users more control over their apps, allowing you to ask the voice assistant to find information inside a specific email or even show you a photo of one of your friends.

Apple is relying on LLM to help Siri better understand what you say and keep track of requests and follow-up questions.

Apple is building ChatGPT into Siri

Photo: The Verge.

Siri's big AI upgrade also includes integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT. With the new integration, Siri will automatically determine whether a query is better suited for ChatGPT. It will then ask the user's permission before sending the request to ChatGPT.

You will be able to use ChatGPT through Siri for free and without an account.

New AI features in Mail, Messages, Photos

Screenshot: Apple.

Apple is rolling out a bunch of new AI features across its apps in iOS 18, including ways to summarize emails and create responses. It introduced a new Genmoji feature that lets users create custom emoji based on text prompts, along with a new AI image generator called Image Playground.

Apple is also bringing AI to the Photos app, giving users the ability to search for photos using natural language. You can also erase objects in the background of your photos, similar to Google's Magic Eraser.

Additionally, Apple is adding AI-powered notes and summaries to the Notes and Phone apps.

iPhone gets more customization in iOS 18

Screenshot: Apple.

In addition to AI, Apple introduced a new and more customizable Control Center in iOS 18. It also rolled out a way to freely place app icons on your home screen.

At the same time, the bitten apple will also let you lock certain apps in an upcoming update, preventing others from using them when you hand them your phone.

Other big changes include a redesigned Photos app and a new Game Mode for iPhone that minimizes background activity to optimize gameplay.

The iPhone finally gets RCS support

Screenshot of a text message sent via satellite. Source: Apple

Rich Communications Services ( RCS ) is a mobile phone-to-carrier and phone-to-carrier communications protocol that aims to replace SMS with a richer text messaging system that provides address book polling (for service discovery) and can deliver multimedia calls.

After announcing RCS support last year, Apple confirmed that it would be coming to iOS 18. However, there have been no further details beyond that announcement.

iMessage is also getting a few other upgrades, including the ability to schedule messages and support for satellite SMS messaging. Apple is also rolling out colorful Tapback options and will let you bold, underline, and italicize text.

Apple TV Plus adds “inSights” to show actors' names on screen

Screenshot: Apple.

Apple TV Plus is getting a new feature that lets users swipe down on the remote to reveal the actors and their characters in the movie or TV show you're watching.

You can also find the current song playing and add it to your Apple Music playlist. Apple TV Plus will automatically display subtitles when you mute a show and will support 21:9 projectors.

Password App to Keep Track of Your Logins

Screenshot: Apple.

As rumored, Apple has unveiled a new Passwords app that lets you keep track of your login details across different devices.

The app will let you generate and store passwords similar to other password managers like LastPass and 1Password. Passwords will be available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, VisionOS, and even Windows.

iPadOS 18 adds Calculator app with Apple Pencil support

Photo: The Verge.

The iPad finally has a Calculator app more than a decade after its release. It comes with a new feature called Math Notes, which lets you use the Apple Pencil to write equations on your iPad and have the app solve them for you.

Apple is also rolling out Smart Script, which uses machine learning to improve the look of your handwriting and spell check your notes.

macOS 15 will allow interaction with iPhone

Screenshot: Apple.

Apple's next macOS update will let users mirror their iPhones on their Macs. You'll be able to interact directly with your iPhone from your Mac, allowing you to see notifications and hear audio playing from your mobile device.

There's also a new highlight feature coming to Safari that uses machine learning to pick out interesting parts of a page.

Apple will automatically display widgets in watchOS 11

Photo: The Verge.

There are a lot of new features coming to watchOS 11, including the new ability to automatically add widgets based on when the user needs them.

Apple is launching a new Vitals app that lets users “discover your most important health metrics at a glance,” as well as new cycle tracking features, live activity, and support for subscriptions that let your loved ones follow you during your workouts.

VisionOS 2 adds spatial photos and ultrawide Mac displays

A person sits in front of a curved virtual display while using Vision Pro. Screenshot: Apple.

Apple has announced VisionOS 2, the first major update to the operating system. One of the new features coming to Vision Pro uses machine learning to add depth to existing photos. The update will also introduce support for ultrawide virtual Mac displays, more intuitive gestures, and support for commuter mode.

Apple is also planning to bring Vision Pro to many countries such as: China, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France and UK.

AirPods Pro update will let users shake their heads when answering Siri

Apple will introduce Siri Interactions in the next AirPods Pro software update, allowing you to shake your head yes or no to respond to Siri notifications.

AirPods Pro also feature voice isolation to improve voice quality and reduce ambient noise.