This year’s edition of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is scheduled to kick off on June 10, but how might this traditionally software-focused event impact the company’s best-selling product, the iPhone?
Our comprehensive WWDC 2024 guide contains a detailed account of every software potential reveal, but in this article, we’ll address the implications of WWDC 2024 on Apple’s best iPhones, specifically.
Let’s start with an answer to the big question: will we see new iPhones unveiled at WWDC 2024? In all likelihood, no. If you’re a longtime Apple fan who’s familiar with the company’s typical release schedule, you’ll know that Apple prefers to dedicate an annual September event to its iPhone launches, with WWDC instead reserved for announcements related to Apple software – namely iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS and visionOS. It’s a developers’ conference, after all.
Of course, we can’t say for certain that Apple won’t reveal the iPhone 16 or iPhone SE 4 at WWDC 2024 – the company did debut the Apple Vision Pro at last year’s event – but we’d be extremely surprised to see either phone mentioned by name, let alone showcased publicly. That said, WWDC 2024 will almost certainly have a part to play in defining the future of Apple’s era-defining pocket computers. Allow us to explain.
Mark your calendars for #WWDC24, June 10-14. It’s going to be Absolutely Incredible! pic.twitter.com/YIln5972ZDMarch 26, 2024
The marquee announcement of WWDC 2024 is expected to be iOS 18, which is hotly tipped to revolutionize certain iPhone features thanks to its focus on AI. As per the X post above, Apple executive Greg Joswiak has promised that WWDC 2024 will be "Absolutely Incredible,” and we don’t think it’s a coincidence that both of those words are capitalized.
At the time of writing, Samsung and Google are wiping the floor with Apple in the mobile AI space, but that’s only because Apple hasn’t yet pulled the trigger on its own AI offering. According to reports, the company has been spending over $1 billion a year on AI development, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has confirmed that several of Apple’s iPhone-specific AI features are on track for a big unveiling at WWDC 2024.
The likes of Siri, Messages, Apple Music and Pages are expected to receive significant AI-based improvements in iOS 18, with the former reportedly in line for a ChatGPT-style makeover. The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, then, will almost certainly arrive bearing an enviable arsenal of Galaxy-rivalling AI features.
But it’s not all about AI. Apple itself has teased that iOS 18 will be an “ambitious and compelling” update with “major new features and designs,” and Gurman has since echoed that enthusiasm by saying that iOS 18 could be “one of the biggest iOS updates – if not the biggest – in the company's history.” That sounds like Apple could be preparing to shake up some tried-and-tested iPhone features, as well as debut some new ones.
We’ve heard, for instance, that iOS 18 might introduce the ability to more freely customize your iPhone's home screen, potentially allowing for gaps between app icons. New and improved accessibility features have been touted, too, and Google has hinted that RCS message support could finally arrive with iOS 18.
So, while it’s incredibly unlikely that WWDC 2024 will play host to the reveal of any new iPhones, you’ll almost definitely want to tune in to see how iOS 18 – which will presumably launch alongside the iPhone 16 in September – impacts current and future iPhones. Roll on June 10!
