WWDC 2024: Everything We Know

WWDC 2024 Overview

The 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from June 10 to June 14, with an introductory keynote event set to be held on Monday, June 10 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time to debut new software. At this year's keynote event, we are expecting iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, tvOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2, and we so far have not heard rumors of new products being unveiled.

As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Though WWDC 2024 is primarily online, Apple is once again holding a special event for select developers, students, and members of the media, which is set to take place on June 10 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. Developer and student attendees will be able to watch the keynote and State of the Union presentations at Apple Park, as well as meet Apple employees and attend the Apple Design Awards.

Apple normally holds a Swift Student Challenge when the WWDC dates are announced, but the challenge kicked off earlier this year and winners were announced on March 28. Some winners were invited to attend the special event at Apple Park through the lottery process, and 50 Distinguished Winners were invited to Cupertino for a three-day experience.

At WWDC, Apple offers developers and Apple customers a first look at new versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, plus this year we'll see a new version of visionOS. Developers are able to engage with Apple engineers through engineering sessions, one-on-one lab appointments, and the Apple Developer Forums, all with the aim of learning how to integrate new OS features into their apps.

Apple always streams the WWDC keynote on Apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple Developer website, the Apple TV, and YouTube. Developer sessions throughout the week will be shared in the Apple Developer app and for the first time, on YouTube.

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WWDC Software Announcements

Software is the main focus of WWDC, and 2024 rumors suggest that iOS 18 could be the biggest update to the iPhone that we've had in many years thanks to AI, and many of those features will also likely to be included in macOS.

iOS 18 and iPadOS 18

Apple wants to catch up with competitors when it comes to AI, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said that iOS 18 will be a "relatively groundbreaking" software update with "major new features and designs," primarily focused on AI.

AI is expected to be incorporated across the operating system, and here are some of the ways Apple is rumored to be using it:

Photo retouching, such as the removal of unwanted objects.
Voice memo transcriptions.
Suggested replies to emails and messages.
Auto-generated custom emojis based on the content of a user's messages.
Smart recap for missed notifications and messages.
Improved Safari web search and faster searches in Spotlight.
Auto-generated Apple Music playlists based on input from the user, such as a mood.
AI-assisted writing in Pages.
AI-assisted slide deck creation in Keynote.
AI code writing in Xcode for developers.
Siri improvements that integrate large-language models (LLMs), such as natural conversation capabilities and improved user personalization.

iOS 18 will include some design changes, perhaps adopting some design cues from visionOS, but it will not receive a total overhaul. The update is expected to feature a more customizable Home Screen, giving iPhone users more options for the look of the iPhone. Apple plans to give customers more control over how their app icons are arranged and the colors of individual icons.

App icons are expected to remain locked to an invisible grid for organizational purposes, but the update could add the option to create blank spaces, rows, and columns between app icons. iOS 18 is likely to bring the most significant update to the Home Screen that we've had in years, on par with the Lock Screen changes that Apple introduced in iOS 16.

iOS 18 is expected to include updates for several of the built-in apps, including Notes, Mail, Photos, and Fitness. The Photos app is expected to have new AI integrations for editing, Apple Music will get auto-generated playlists, Calendar will have better integration for Reminders, and the Apple Maps app could gain new features like support for topographic maps and the option to save custom routes as an alternative to the pre-selected routes that maps offers when putting in directions.

Apple will introduce RCS for the Messages app in iOS 18, improving conversations between iPhone and Android users. Sending photos and videos to Android users from an iPhone will no longer result in errors, and group chats will have better performance. Features like cross-platform emoji reactions, read receipts, and real-time typing indicators will also be added.

For more on what's coming in iOS 18, we have a dedicated iOS 18 roundup.

macOS 15

macOS and iOS often have many features in common, so while most of the rumors we've heard have focused on iOS 18, many of the same AI features are coming to the Mac.

As for a name, Apple is still using California landmarks. Apple has trademarked several California-related names over the years, and many of them have gone unused.

Some of the remaining possibilities include Redwood, Grizzly, Sequoia, Mammoth, Pacific, Rincon, Farallon, Miramar, Condor, Diablo, and Shasta. Apple could go with a non-trademarked name, though, and it has done so in the past.

Here are the names that Apple has used since it started naming macOS versions after landmarks in 2013: Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, and Sonoma.

More on macOS 15 is available in our macOS 15 roundup.

Other Updates

We'll also see watchOS 11, tvOS 18, HomePod Software 18, and visionOS 2, but we haven't heard many rumors about what might be included in these updates.

Hardware Announcements?

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple does not plan to announce any new hardware products at WWDC 2024, with the focus to be entirely on the upcoming software updates.

How to Watch the WWDC 2024 Keynote

The WWDC 2024 keynote can be watched on Apple.com, on YouTube, through the TV app on the Apple TV, or through the Apple Developer app.

For those who are unable to watch the event as it happens, we will have live coverage both on MacRumors.com and on our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

As a reminder, the WWDC keynote will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, June 10.

Past WWDC Events

WWDC 2023

WWDC 2023 brought our first look at the Vision Pro headset, new Mac Pro and Mac Studio machines with M2 Ultra chips, and iOS 17, macOS Sonoma, tvOS 17, and watchOS 10.

WWDC 2022

At WWDC, Apple unveiled iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13 Ventura, tvOS 16, and watchOS 9, along with a new M2 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro.

WWDC 2021

WWDC 2021 focused on software instead of hardware, with Apple introducing iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8. Apple also introduced iCloud+, a suite of new privacy-focused features that are available for its paid iCloud plans, priced starting at $0.99 per month.

WWDC 2020

While WWDC 2020 also didn't see the introduction of any new hardware, there were significant operating system updates across Apple's platforms, and we also heard about Apple's long-rumored transition from Intel processors to Apple Silicon for its Mac lineup.

WWDC 2019

At WWDC 2019, Apple debuted new versions of iOS, iPadOS (now separate from iOS!), macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, all of which have a long list of new features, plus Apple gave us a peek at the new Mac Pro and 6K Apple Display.

WWDC 2018

At WWDC 2018, Apple made the following software and hardware announcements:

WWDC 2017

At WWDC 2017, Apple made the following software and hardware announcements:

WWDC 2016

At WWDC 2016, Apple made the following announcements:

WWDC 2015

At WWDC 2015, Apple unveiled the following services and software:

WWDC 2014

At WWDC 2014, Apple unveiled the following services and software:

WWDC 2024

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place the week of June 10–14, 2024.