Every June Apple gathers developers in Cupertino and shows them the software for the year ahead. This year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, from 10 to 14 June, carries an unusual weight: it is the event at which Apple is expected to answer, at last, what it intends to do about generative AI, a field in which Google, Meta, Microsoft and Samsung have all shipped products while Apple has said almost nothing.
iOS 18 and the AI question
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, the most reliable reporter on Apple’s plans, has called iOS 18 the most significant update in the iPhone’s history. The reason is a layer of generative AI running through the system: a Siri that understands context and can act inside apps rather than merely answer trivia; a writing assistant that drafts, rewrites and summarises text; automatic slide creation in Keynote; code generation in Xcode; and playlists in Apple Music built from a description of the mood. Apple’s expected twist is privacy — running as much as possible on the phone’s own chip rather than in the cloud — which is also why the features may be limited to newer iPhones.
The other iOS changes
Two long-requested items appear settled. RCS support in Messages will finally give Android-to-iPhone texts read receipts, typing indicators and full-resolution photos, ending the green-bubble degradation. And Maps gains topographic maps with trails and elevation, the feature that has kept hikers on other apps.
The rest of the family
macOS 15 will carry the same AI features to the Mac and, by tradition, a Californian place name. Updates are also expected for watchOS 11, tvOS 18, HomePod software 18 and, for the headset launched in February, visionOS 2. On hardware, the rumour is refreshed Mac Studio, Mac mini and Mac Pro desktops with M3-generation chips, though Apple often keeps WWDC to software.
What it means for Bangladesh
Two practical points. First, Apple’s AI features have historically launched in US English and reached other languages over years; Bangla support is unlikely at launch, and Siri’s Bangla is still absent in 2024. Second, if the AI layer requires the latest chips, the large population of iPhone 11, 12 and 13 owners here will get iOS 18 without its headline features. RCS, by contrast, matters to everyone with an Android-using family, which in Bangladesh is everyone.
Source: India Today, via Prothom Alo.
