The software is boring. Platforms, the software that underpins all applications, might even be more boring. WWDC 2024, which will feature a conference dedicated to platforms and a keynote on Monday at 1 pm ET that will spend up to two hours talking about software that almost all ends in “OS”, sounds deadly. I get it, but once you consider that a change in operating systems is akin to removing your brain, and possibly the circulatory, muscular, and skeletal systems of your body and replacing them with new parts, it may sound, if not more interesting, then at least. less much more important.
Depending on the scale of the change in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS, hardware across the Apple ecosystem could look and function considerably different than it does now.
Considering that we know (or believe) that Apple will introduce its own brand of AI (hello, “Apple Intelligence”), it's almost a given that the changes will be deep and broad. They will change some of the fundamental aspects of how these platforms work, but they will also extend to simple day-to-day interactions with the systems. Think of it as intelligence that goes beyond that for more proactive systems but also emerges at the top to connect the dots between Apple hardware, apps, and services.
Earth-shattering updates
I think Apple could use AI to make each piece of hardware more self-aware. iPhones and iPads that know your home screens and can intuit your interests based on how you've organized them. I hope Apple doesn't force-feed “Apple Intelligence,” but I'm also ready for tvOS that automatically organizes the home page and learns and relearns my current interests, and an Apple Watch that understands my morning routine pretty well. to automatically load a functional workout at 5:30 am
Apple astutely conveys to causal observers that WWDC's software and development approach feels as dry and antiseptic as a CPU clean room, so it typically fills the keynote with relatable moments, highlighting how each new feature can improve the life of a consumer.
The challenge is a little different this time. For consumers, they've spent two years hearing how AI will improve their lives, a sentiment they find hard to believe when AI has been full of bias and seems ready to take away their jobs (it's not really), chatbots and the big boys. language models still If they get it wrong so many times, AI development companies capriciously overreach. Some reports place Apple getting into an algorithmic bed with OpenAI, the leading company in all things AI, but also the same company that casually (or accidentally) ripped off Scarlett Johanssan's voice.
To counter this, Apple's keynote at WWDC 2024 should not only inspire consumers, but also reassure them. Caution and care, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence and privacy, are important, but they are much less attractive, which means that Apple's efforts to inspire may require double the effort.
Inescapable
Of course, that's the part of the keynote program, the flash that will inspire thousands of stories about every facet of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, tvOS 18, watchOS11, and visionOS 2. These stories are less about why you should eventually upgrade than I'll try what's next.
In the Apple ecosystem, unlike Android, there is ultimately no way to escape updates. They come on all iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and Apple Watches. Your world will change. You may not want the change, you may not understand it, but you will live it. Maybe you should get excited about that. Although I know it is a difficult task.
As I said at the beginning, operating systems are often confusing and boring. I think back almost 30 years to the release of Windows 95 and how Microsoft worked for at least the previous 18 months to educate people about the existence of this new platform. They succeeded to the point that I couldn't meet a friend or family member in the summer of 1995 who didn't have a question about it. Neither was excited about the prospect, but at least they knew what to expect from the new Windows PCs.
For Apple fans, this is why WWDC 2024 is important. There will rarely be a big Vision Pro-level moment, but considering we now live our lives through this technology, virtually every word that comes out of Apple CEO Tim Cook's mouth (and those of his colleagues) will end up being important to you.
That's sexy in a scary way, right?
