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Apple showed off the future of the iPhone, and the rest of its products, at its annual developer conference on Monday.
The company began its Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, in California, showing off software updates for all of its platforms. It welcomed iOS 18 as well as new versions of the operating systems for the iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and its Vision Pro headset.
There was a lot of hype surrounding artificial intelligence in the build-up to the event, with Apple facing questions about what it plans to do with the technology.
While the term ‘artificial intelligence’ was barely referenced in the 100-minute keynote, a new term called ‘Apple Intelligence’ was mentioned more than 50 times.
It will be integrated into a host of Apple’s products, including its popular voice assistant Siri.
Follow all the latest news from the conference and watch a full live stream of the event below.
Hello and welcome...
... to The Independent’s live coverage of Apple’s WWDC 2024.
Andrew Griffin10 June 2024 05:20
What to expect from Apple’s big event
We know it will be about software updates for all of Apple’s platforms, because it always is. And we know it will revolve around AI, because it sort of has to.
But much else about the upcoming Apple event remains mysterious. Here’s everything we do know about it.
Apple is finally going to reveal the AI future of the iPhone. Here’s what to expect
Everything we know about Apple’s major event –which will bring updates to all of its products
Anthony Cuthbertson10 June 2024 05:22
How to watch live
There are many ways to watch Apple’s live events, including on its devoted websites. But the most convenient is probably YouTube, which has a reliable player and also offers a tool to sign up for a notification when it actually begins.
Andrew Griffin10 June 2024 05:24
Vision Pro back in view?
All of the discussion about this year’s WWDC has been about artificial intelligence. But last year it was all about augmented reality, and Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
In the 12 months since it was announced, and the roughly four months since it went on sale in the US, it appears to have lost some of the excitement. Despite strong reviews for the headset, it has faded away from the discussion a little, at least in part because of a lack of content to watch on it.
WWDC is likely to bring new software updates, and maybe new things to watch inside the headset. And it might also bring the announcement of availability in other countries.
Andrew Griffin10 June 2024 05:26
Why Apple’s AI iPhone could be its riskiest move yet
The timing of of Apple’s AI-centric WWDC is not ideal. The hype that surrounded artificial intelligence in late 2022 and 2023 has subsided and been replaced by doubts about its current utility and fears of its ultimate potential.
In his latest dive into what AI – or ‘Apple Intelligence’ as it will reportedly be referred to today – might mean for the iPhone maker, Tech Editor Andrew Griffin writes:
The long-promised revolution in society is yet to arrive, and describing something as being AI-powered is as likely to give the sense that it is a tawdry and potentially unethical knockoff as it being a sci-fi thrill.
Apple began its current rush to infuse everything with AI in that latter market, when investors were clamouring for it to catch up and users were wondering whether they were missing out by not having Google phones. Now its products will actually arrive into a world of suspicion and cynicism, with people as likely to think that AI is going to hurt as help them.
Apple has some very public and largely laudable principles that may hold it back in the field of AI. The technology is really large-scale data analysis tool, and is only as good as the information it has, but Apple’s very public belief that privacy is a human right means that it minimises data collection. Its commitment to security means that it is likely to want to constrain the access of any automated system. And its hardcore control of its own brand means that it will want to avoid any systems that are likely to generate offensive or even politically sensitive outputs, as AI often does.
Andrew Griffin
You can read the full story here:
Apple is about to reveal the AI iPhone. It could be make or break
The tech giant is finally about to promote its AI vision, writes Andrew Griffin. But with people as likely to fear as embrace the advances being made, it has chosen a perilous moment to do so
Anthony Cuthbertson10 June 2024 10:02
Tim Cook meets students ahead of WWDC
Apple boss Tim Cook has been meeting with student developers ahead of today’s big event, who were among the winners of Apple’s Swift Student Challenge.
The challenge pushes students to develop apps that solve real-world problems. “We encourage you to brainstorm and develop thoughtful ideas for apps that address important issues in your community and beyond,” Apple’s website states.
A dozen young developers got the chance to show off their creations to the Apple chief, including 22-year-old Dezmond Blair, whose mountain biking app MTB-XTREME could potentially be finding its way onto Apple’s Vision Pro soon.
“It’s amazing to see their creativity and determination on full display,” Cook wrote in a post on X.
Kicking off #WWDC24 in the best way possible—meeting with student developers who won our Swift Student Challenge. It’s amazing to see their creativity and determination on full display! pic.twitter.com/b56k8kcGZs
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 9, 2024
Anthony Cuthbertson10 June 2024 12:06
‘Apple crosses the AI rubicon'
Today will be Apple’s “AI coming-out party”, according to industry analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee, who works for market research firm Forrester. In a note sent to The Independent he says Apple’s early reticence toward artificial intelligence was entirely on brand, however its silence on the subject has since become deafening.
The biggest beneficiary of this new AI focus could be Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant that has been overshadowed over the last 18 months by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other chatbots from Google and Microsoft.
Here’s what Chatterjee had to say ahead of today’s event:
Apple crosses the AI Rubicon at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This event is all about software, and that’s a perfect occasion for Apple AI’s coming-out party to the entire Apple ecosystem of devices. And the time couldn’t be more ripe.
You’ll see AI everywhere. You may not even know it’s there. The whole point of AI, to Apple, is to make the experience better for its users, and you’ll see that kick in across the bevy of Apple applications such as Photos, Music, and its office-type applications, all of which will get a little smarter and better at what they do, including transcribing voice memos and editing photos. Yes, this is incremental improvement, but now Apple scores Wall Street points for being explicit about the AI powering the brains behind the machine.
Siri ought to be the biggest beneficiary of the newfound wonders of generative AI. The as-yet-unrealised promise of this oddly unhelpful helper may yet find fruition and emerge to deliver the kind of consumer experience that the rest of Apple’s offerings have always provided. We’ve all seen how ChatGPT has breathed new life into the miserable chatbot experience, and Apple’s talks with OpenAI — and also Google — may work the same wonders for the languishing Siri.
Dipanjan Chatterjee, principal analyst at Forrester
Anthony Cuthbertson10 June 2024 14:00
Hello from California!
Good morning from California. Clouds are on the horizon, but the sun is breaking through.
Do with those weather metaphors what you like. We’ll be taking the temperature of everything live from the event, which kicks off in just over two hours.
Andrew Griffin10 June 2024 14:38
Tim Cook ready for WWDC
Tim Cook has posted his customary early morning tweet ahead of WWDC, showing sunrise over the Apple Park campus.
Ever since the pandemic, these events have been pre-recorded from different parts of the tech firm’s Californian headquarters, with the Steve Jobs Theatre pictured reserved for a stream for developers and journalists to watch.
Just over two hours to go now.
Can’t wait for you to join us at #WWDC24 this morning! pic.twitter.com/3bHzspURPH
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 10, 2024
Anthony Cuthbertson10 June 2024 15:39
Apple event comes amid AI boom
It may be a risky time to announce new artificial intelligence features in terms of public perception of the technology, but there’s no doubt that AI is currently experiencing a massive boom.
Last week, AI chip maker Nvidia overtook Apple to become the world’s second most valuable company behind Microsoft, with its market cap passing $3 trillion for the first time in its history.
Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, Nvidia’s share price has increased in value 10-fold.
Anthony Cuthbertson10 June 2024 16:50
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