Apple 2024 WWDC keynote: The iPad finally gets a calculator app; Apple's all in on AI (unfortunately)
On Monday, Apple held its annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) keynote address, announcing its latest software features. Below are my thoughts on the major announcements that struck my interest. A full list of what Apple announced is available in this roundup post from The Verge.
iOS 18 gets RCS support
The newest version of iOS, iOS 18, will finally support RCS, a more modernized text messaging protocol meant to replace the old standby of SMS. The green bubble status of Android users within iOS won’t change, however.
I never cared much about the green-vs.-blue bubble issue (or the tech matters behind it), as I rarely send or receive text messages. (My family, the main ones texting me, definitely don’t know or care about any of this---plus they’re almost all Android users.) Still, nice to see Apple (finally) give Android better support.
Apple creates a passwords app
Apple is launching their own password manager app to use for storing passwords. The app will be available on all Apple devices, as well as Windows. (No word about Android.)
This seems nice, though anyone needing cross-platform support might want to instead look at third party password managers like Bitwarden.
The iPad finally gets a calculator app
Fourteen years into its existence, the iPad is finally getting a calculator app. While Apple showed off some of its iPad-specific features (Pencil compatibility, etc.), it’s still odd that this is the one app not included all this time. Especially when my Samsung tablet (and my old Amazon Fire tablet) has a calculator app included. That, and Apple’s been trying to sell the iPad with keyboard accessories as an ersatz laptop.
The newest MacOS version (“Sequoia”) and which devices lose support
As usual, Apple is dropping support for older devices with the rollout of new versions of its operating systems.
For iOS 18, the minimum devices supported include the second-generation iPhone SE, the iPhone XR, the iPhone XS, and the iPhone 11. Basically, the same models as iOS 17.
For iPad OS 18, you’ll need at minimum the seventh-generation iPad, the fifth generation iPad Mini, the third generation iPad Air, or the iPad Pro. Only one model’s been dropped: the sixth generation iPad. That’s the iPad model I owned, and I suspected it’d be the end of the line this year for it. (Though it was already facing some problems with its too-small 32GB storage capacity). Thus, why I recently replaced my iPad with a Samsung tablet.
For MacOS, the newest OS will be called “Sequoia.” The minimum supported models include: the 2022 Mac Studio; 2019 and later iMacs; 2017 and later iMac Pros; 2018 and later Mac Minis; 2019 and later Mac Pros; 2020 and later MacBook Airs; and 2018 and later MacBook Pros.
AI (or “Apple Intelligence”) comes to Apple
Finally, there’s the biggest news of the event. Apple’s announced the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS will get artificial intelligence (AI) features, or “Apple Intelligence” as Apple calls it. It’s all part of Apple’s bid to not “fall behind” in the AI race against Google and Microsoft. The new AI features require at least an iPhone 15 Pro or an M1-based Mac/iPad. (Which means my Mac barely clocks in… yay?)
Among the AI features announced:
Various AI features built into Siri.
The ability to create custom emoji.
AI features coming to Photos, Mail, and Messages: help with writing emails, editing photo content (similar to Google Photos’ AI features), etc.
While most of these features are supposedly machine-based (for privacy purposes), some will require cloud servers. As such, Apple’s made a deal with OpenAI (the owners of ChatGPT) to allow Apple device users free access to its AI services. If needed, Apple devices will prompt users if they want to allow online access to AI services. Apple also claims all of this will be done with privacy in mind.
Ironically, some of the incremental improvements announced earlier in the keynote would technically fall under AI. I was hoping Apple’s AI news would mainly be a rebranding of these existing features, which might’ve been enough to mollify AI-crazed Wall Street investors. But I guess not?
My thoughts on “Apple Intelligence”
As I’ve written before, I’m not a fan of AI. TLDR, AI: relies on scraping writers’ and artists’ work without compensating them; produces poorly written results and ugly images; is ecologically wasteful, as it requires a lot of resources (like NFTs/cryptocurrency); and “hallucinates” erroneous information, such as Google’s chatbot suggesting users eat rocks. There’s also the danger of AI being used to churn out misinformation, which is the last thing I want to see in an election year involving Donald Trump.
It’s disappointing to see Apple feel pressured to get in on the AI “gold rush.” Never mind the push by every tech company to cram AI features into their software, regardless of whether or not there’s demand for such. (Which there doesn’t seem to be, outside of Wall Street and some tech circles.) I also wonder how Apple plans to tout its privacy and energy efficiency aspects in the future, when its software now has ties to AI and ChatGPT.
The only good news: Apple’s AI push isn’t as aggressive as that of Google and Microsoft. (No built-in glorified keyloggers a la Microsoft Recall.) Optimistically, I assume that Apple’s new AI features will remain opt-in, and that there’ll be a way to disable them.
At this point, there’s now no major desktop or mobile operating system that’s free of AI, other than Linux. It’s disappointing that AI is now considered a “fundamental” OS-level feature alongside the file manager or text editor. Fortunately, I still have my Linux Mint laptop, which I can press into heavier use. As for when I eventually have to replace my Mac Mini, I’ll still consider another Mac (to keep a “mainstream” operating system around), but now with a focus on disabling any AI junk when setting it up.
How to avoid AI
As for avoiding AI, the only options at this point I can think of include:
Switch to Linux. (I suggest Linux Mint, if you can’t decide on a Linux distro.)
Use open source/third party software. Examples: Firefox instead of Chrome/Edge/Safari; DuckDuckGo and StartPage instead of Google; and so on.
Turning off any and all AI features in software you use, if you can’t use something else.