Apple vice president Greg “Joz” Joswiak just confirmed via the social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, that the annual The World Wide Developer Conference is set for June 10-14. In what is no doubt a nod to the company’s AI ambitions, the executive promises the event will be “Absolutely incredible.”
As the “D” in the name WWDC suggests, the event is heavily focused on developers for Apple’s various operating systems. The event, which was recently held at the Steve Jobs Theater on the company’s campus in Cupertino, features several days of panels and workshops focused on its various ecosystems. The event also serves as a launching pad for said ecosystems. Expect big announcements around iOS and iPadOS 18, macOS 15, and watchOS 11, among others.
Seeing as how this year’s show will mark a year since the Vision Pro was announced, I’d expect a LOT of new developers around the headset and the visionOS operating system. Updates to Apple Silicon and, perhaps, new Macs also seem very likely.
But Apple’s AI plans will almost certainly take center stage at the show this time around. In response to questions about the company’s plans to match the artificial intelligence offerings of leading rivals such as Microsoft and Google on its most recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook promised “groundbreaking innovation” to be announced later this year. WWDC seems like the most likely platform for such an announcement — and, perhaps, details on a rumored partnership with Google Gemini for the iPhone.
Joz’s insidious backstory will no doubt only be further speculation.
Additional rumors have pointed out that iOS 18 is potentially “the biggest” update in the operating system’s long history. However, instead of just leaning towards genetic AI and being done with it, the reports mention “AI tools to help manage your daily life.”
Certainly the AI smartphone concept is not specific to Apple. Samsung leaned heavily on the idea earlier this year with the launch of the Galaxy S24 series, which was also based on Google’s Gemini efforts. The following month, Apple claimed that the new M3-powered MacBook Airs are the “World’s Best Consumer Laptop for Artificial Intelligence,” largely due to the neural processing units included in the first-party SoCs.
Apple adds: “Developers and students will have the opportunity to celebrate in person at a special event at Apple Park on opening day.” This is likely a reference to the news-filled keynote that traditionally kicks off the show. Of course, things remain dramatically down from pre-pandemic days at the San Jose Convention Center.
As always, the event will feature a small group of “winners”, 50 of whom will be invited to the in-person event in Cupertino. The event follows immediately after Google I/O (May 14-15) and Microsoft Build (May 21-24).
The announcement comes less than a week after the Justice Department announced it was suing the hardware giant over alleged antitrust practices surrounding the iPhone.
