The latest Apple event, WWDC 2024, was held on Monday as an online affair, with fans getting glimpses of multiple developments in their favorite tech brand. There were a lot of exciting updates and features that were introduced to viewers, with the main talking point at the end of the night being artificial intelligence.
The company's Worldwide Developers Conference also held a special event at Apple Park on opening day, with developers and students given the opportunity to celebrate its success. Developers were also provided 'unique access to Apple experts, as well as insight into new tools, frameworks, and features.'
The WWDC 2024 Apple eventually hit 819.1K Peak Viewers, which was achieved within the first half hour when spectators got updates about visionOS 2 and iOS 18. The live stream also clocked in at 1.3M Hours Watched and 658.4K Average Viewers as the likes of Tim Cook and Craig Federighi made their presence felt.
The biggest highlight of this two-hour program was the reveal of Apple Intelligence, the firm's new AI system. It is a powerful and personalized experience that is designed to make tasks easier for users by enabling seamless actions across various apps while prioritizing user privacy and data control. This new tech will also offer advanced features like generating images, summarizing text, and creating custom emojis within Apple's native apps.
Apple Intelligence, which will be integrated with Siri, will be available for free on devices with an M1 chip or later. This means owners of the iPhone 15 Pro, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro can enjoy its features.
Another big piece of news was about iOS 18, which will introduce a redesigned Home Screen and Control Center to give users greater customization options. The update's enhanced privacy controls will let users enjoy perks like the ability to lock or hide apps, with new messaging features like scheduled messages and expanded Tapback also in the offing. As is the case with many other companies, iOS 18 will also use AI-powered capabilities for email summarization, response generation, and RCS support for iMessage.
Fans also got details about visionOS 2, the first major update for the Apple Vision Pro, which introduces new display options for Mac-connected displays, Spatial Photos, and Travel Mode for trains. It will include enhanced environments and SharePlay for Photos, with Apple Vision Pro now expanded to nine more countries, the pre-orders for which will start on June 13 and be available until June 28.
There was also news on macOS Sequoia, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, AirPods, and various apps. The full details can be read on the official Apple site, with the video above also serving as a primer regarding the main information disclosed during this highly-anticipated presentation.
Coming back to the viewership side of things, compared to other showcases held this year, the WWDC 2024 Apple was the fifth-most watched one. Interestingly, five of the top six names on this list have taken place over the past few days, reinforcing the importance of a summer date for such events.
It was also the more successful of the two events held by the California-based organization this year. The other one was the Apple Event 2024 May 7, where the biggest news was the debut of new iPad Air and iPad Pro models and accompanying accessories. This also means it is now the second-most popular non-gaming live broadcast on the red platform over the past week, behind only the coverage of the 2024 Indian general election from June 6.
With the summer slowly heating up and the second half of the year almost upon us, there will be a lot more showcases by tech giants to introduce their products to the world. Apple itself might come back again, and it remains to be seen what other wonders these companies have in store for fans of the technology beat.