Apple's WWDC 2024 invite reveals when to tune in for its big iOS 18 and AI reveals
We’ve already had our calendars marked for June 10 through 14 for Apple’s 2024 WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference), but now we have official invites for the special event and a confirmed start time.
Apple just sent out invites to the press confirming the WWDC 2024 special event will kick off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST on June 10 (3am AEST, June 11). Unlike previous Apple event invites – including the May 7 “Let Loose” event – this WWDC invite lacks a tagline and has a simpler design. However, there is a return to classic Apple form as the event kicks off at the often-used 10am PT time.
The invite features a glowing circle of blue, pink, purple, and yellowish-orange hues. Wondering why a circle? Well, it pretty much matches the overall shape of the main ring building at Apple Park, the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA. There is a thicker row, then a thinner one, and lastly, a thicker one with the center open, displaying the WWDC 24 logo. The colors match the original logo shared back in March 2024 by Apple.
This could be a nod to the in-person event for media and developers at Apple Park, but it might hint at an all-encompassing rollout for Apple’s rumored AI feature set.
In addition to the special event invites, Apple also shared a new main image for WWDC and updated its developer website. Both depict a version of the "Swift" logo with a holographic color scheme, but only the developer version has a tagline attached: "Coming in swiftly."
Alongside the next generations of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS, we expect Apple to debut its overarching approach to AI. We recently saw Apple add AI-infused and -powered features to Logic Pro for iPad and Mac, but WWDC 2024 will be different.
After OpenAI debuted ChatGPT-4o, Google showed off Project Astra, and Microsoft unveiled AI PCs, all eyes are now on Apple to deliver and impress on this front. It could be an LLM that runs on-device, with genuinely useful features for all the core applications, such as new photo editing tools or summarization tools across mail, calendar, and even phone. I hope we get transcription built into Voice Memos, at the minimum.
Specific to iOS 18, we expect more customization options for the home screen, smart summaries across nearly all applications, AI-generated emojis, and vastly improved searches. All of these were detailed in a fresh report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, which sets out the new AI features to expect in iOS 18. We may also see Apple speak to its in-house-developed AI models and potentially LLMs that could integrate with a partner like OpenAI to bake ChatGPT into the operating system.
Whatever route it takes, we can expect the company to highlight the fact that a good portion of this will be processed securely and privately on-device, versus being sent off to the cloud. After all, the Neural Processing Units (NPUs) built into Apple’s A-series and M-series silicon chips should be more than capable of handling these tasks.
Considering Apple refreshed the MacBook Air with the M3 chip in March and just debuted the M4 chip in the new iPad Pro earlier this month (check out our iPad Pro 13 (2024) review for our verdict), it might be too early to see additional hardware. However, there is always the possibility that Apple will revealed souped-up versions of these chips in a Mac, such as the Mac Studio or Mac Pro.
If you're looking for a new iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or even a next-generation Vision Pro, those are likely all coming later. We could see Apple use WWDC 2024 as the event to announce the Vision Pro's international rollout, though.
Either route, time will tell on all this, and at least we know when we should all be tuning in – 10am PT / 1pm ET on June 10, 2024, to watch Apple unveil it all from Apple Park. TechRadar will be on the ground, so stay tuned for full coverage. In the meantime, check out our guide on how to watch WWDC 2024 so you don't miss a thing.
