We found more precious nuggets in new software releases from WWDC24: new wallpapers for Apple devices. They include Mac versions that reference old-school icons, iPad landscape and portrait wallpapers in various colors, and similar pretty images for iPhone.
“This new dynamic wallpaper floats over old Macintosh iconography, Control Panel, and applications like the Calculator and MacWrite, Apple’s early word processor,” Basic Apple Guy said of the new-old Mac wallpaper he found.
New features in Apple Maps in iOS 18 will be a boon to hikers. The app is getting topographic maps along with thousands of suggested hikes across national parks in the United States.
The app can also create custom walking routes.
In a major update, iOS 18 gives iPhone users big look-and-feel customization options as well as new generative AI-based functionality like a smarter Siri, Apple revealed during Monday’s WWDC24 keynote.
“iOS 18 is a big release that delivers more ways to customize your iPhone, stay connected and relive special moments,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering.
The iOS 18 update will roll out to developers as a beta first. Then, after rounds of developer and public betas, become public for all in September when the 2024 iPhones arrive.
Apple is introducing a new Game Mode in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. The feature minimizes background activity to deliver higher sustained performance and smoother gameplay.
Additionally, Game Mode will reduce audio latency with AirPods and game controllers for better responsiveness.
Apple is finally adding T9 dialing support to the iPhone’s Phone app with iOS 18. The feature lets you search for contacts or phone numbers directly from the dialer.
T9, or text on 9 keys, is predictive text technology that enables you to enter a character with a single keypress for each letter.
During its WWDC24 keynote Monday, Apple laid out dramatic new software updates coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro — and the awesome Apple Intelligence features that will power them all.
But if you don’t have time to watch the full hour and 45-minute long affair, here it is in just 90 seconds.
Apple Mail for iPhone, Mac and iPad is getting a real dose of artificial intelligence. When it next version launches in the autumn, it will be able to summarize emails, assign them to categories based on their contents, and draft replies to messages so the user doesn’t have to.
“Staying on top of emails has never been easier,” promises Apple.
Apple’s Safari web browser will learn a few new tricks across Apple devices, including web page highlights and summaries, as well as better-integrated control of videos online, the iPhone giant pointed out Monday in its Safari updates at WWDC24 section of the Keynote.
“In this release, we’re making it even better with easier ways to discover content and streamline your browsing. When you’re on a site Safari can now help you discover more about the page with highlights,” said Beth Dakin, Apple’s senior manager, Safari Software Engineering.
The new Apple Passwords app “makes it easy to access your credentials and have them securely stored all in one place,” said Craig Federighi, the company’s software chief, Monday during the WWDC24 keynote.
Apple is upgrading iCloud Keychain to become a full-fledged password manager in iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia.
Apple showcased iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and macOS Sequoia on Monday during the kickoff keynote that kicked off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. With so many new features and improvements, you might wonder if your iOS 18 will be among Apple’s supported devices. Same goes for other older devices and Apple’s other upcoming operating system updates.
Below is a list of all the iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs that will get the iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and macOS Sequoia update later this year. Note: The AI-powered Apple Intelligence features the company unveiled at WWDC24 won’t work on many older devices. So even if your computer can run the latest operating system, you still might not benefit from the AI stuff.
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will introduce “new levels of customization and capability to Control Center, helping you access many of the things you do every day even faster,” said Apple software chief Craig Federighi during Monday’s WWDC24 keynote.
The revamped Control Center features multiple groups and offers easy access to media playback controls, smart home devices and more.
You will soon be able to send and receive texts via satellite, Apple said Monday.
In addition, the Messages app will also support message scheduling, plus reacting to texts with any emoji.
“Now you can use the satellite capabilities on iPhone 14 and later to connect to satellites hundreds of miles above the Earth to text your friends and family when you’re off the grid,” said Apple exec Ronak Shah during Monday’s WWDC24 keynote.
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 remove many of the previous restrictions on Home screen customization. User now have far more control in placing app icons. And they can even change the color of icons.
iOS 18 could add a dark tint to the iPhone’s Home Screen app icons in Dark Mode. This should give them a stealthy look and help them blend with the system’s overall dark theme.
Additionally, Apple will allow you to lock first-party apps like Mail and Messages in iOS 18 using Face ID.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With Apple’s big Worldwide Developers Conference hurtling at us like an AI-powered hype train, we once again put our professional reputations on the line. That’s right, it’s time to make our WWDC24 predictions.
We’ve got a special wild-card question this time around. And you can play along, if you’ve got the nerve!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
WWDC24 kicks off on June 10 but you don’t need to wait until then to find out what’s in store for iPhone, Mac and other Apple computers. Leaks already revealed much of what to expect at Apple’s annual developers conference, at least in broad terms. Here’s your WWDC24 spoiler alert: “Apple Intelligence” in the form of AI, AI and more AI.
Here’s what will be on the agenda when Apple unveils iOS 18, macOS 15 and iPadOS 18 next week.
When it’s unveiled at WWDC24’s Keynote on Monday, the new iOS 18 update — codenamed “Crystal” — is expected to be one of Apple’s biggest updates of iPhone software since the handset came out in 2007. Artificial intelligence (AI) should play a big role, along with other new features, redesigned elements and plenty of app updates. See our summary below, with links to Cult of Mac coverage.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: In the near future, your iPhone might look as wild and unique as you want it to. Home Screen customization options, rumored to arrive in iOS 18, could bring a new level of personality to iPhones. And then there’s the AI-generated emoji we’ve been hearing about.
Hold onto your hats, iPhone owners. Things are about to get weird!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple could add new text effects to iMessage in iOS 18. One of the effects reportedly includes the ability to animate individual words in a message.
iMessage, Apple’s proprietary instant messaging service, already supports many message effects and animations to add some excitement to texts. The possible new text effects in iOS 18 should make things even more eye-catching and fun.
As a part of its AI upgrade, Siri in iOS 18 will reportedly enable control of individual apps through your voice. Apple has supposedly upgraded its voice assistant’s underlying architecture using LLMs to achieve this.
Additionally, Apple will process many basic AI tasks on-device in iOS 18 for faster response and a better user experience.
Apple might use generative AI in iOS 18 to allow iPhone users to create custom emojis, letting them express themselves just the way they want. The company is already at the forefront of adding the latest Unicode emoji to iOS.
Additionally, Apple is working on an AI-powered smart recaps feature. It will provide you with a summary of your missed notifications, new messages, documents, and more.
iOS 18 reportedly will let iPhone users change app icon colors on the Home Screen. Plus, they would be able to put the icons anywhere they want.
Since iOS’ inception, app icons on iPhone’s Home Screen have snapped to a grid, much to the dismay of some users. However, Apple could finally tweak this behavior with iOS 18.
Apple reportedly will make Siri’s voice more conversational in iOS 18. Plus, the voice assistant will gain several “proactive intelligence” features that will help in daily life.
Apple also might collaborate with OpenAI to integrate its chatbot and AI technology into iOS 18.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With the many AI-powered features reportedly coming in iOS 18, a Siri revamp sounds possible — and promising! We talk about OpenAI’s startlingly good GPT-4o demos and wonder if Siri will ever amaze us like that.
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple is reportedly close to finalizing an agreement with OpenAI to use its technology in iOS 18. As part of the agreement, Apple will offer a chatbot powered by ChatGPT as one of the AI features.
Reports of Apple restarting talks with OpenAI about a possible agreement emerged in April this year.