On Tuesday, March 26th local time, Apple announced on its official website that it will hold the World Developers Conference "WWDC24" online from June 10th to 14th, 2024 Pacific Time.
On the day before WWDC24 (June 10th, Beijing time, coinciding with this year's Dragon Boat Festival), Apple will hold a full day event at its headquarters in Apple Park, California, USA. The heaviest keynote speech segment will be held on the same day.
Apple announced that the meeting will be broadcast live on its website. At this year's conference, Apple may announce its long-awaited artificial intelligence strategy and consumer features.
CNBC
In February of this year, CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple was making a "significant investment" in artificial intelligence and joked about an announcement related to artificial intelligence "later this year," which many analysts believe will be released at the Global Developers Conference.
Apple usually showcases the latest versions of its iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV software on WWDC on the first day through a "theme" video hosted by Cook and other Apple employees, which is also played on YouTube. At some past conferences, the company also showcased new hardware for professionals, such as Mac laptops.
Apple stated in a press release that WWDC24 will focus on the latest developments in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and VisionOS.
At this year's conference, Apple also plans to announce the first major software update for the Virtual Reality Earphone Vision Pro, which was launched earlier this year. Technology media analysis suggests that iOS 18 is likely to debut on WWDC24, making it the most ambitious software upgrade in iPhone history. The debut of new hardware is also eye-catching, and new products such as M3 Ultra Mac Pro and Mac Studio may make stunning appearances at the conference.
The market was quickly drawn to a social media tweet by Greg Joswiak, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Apple. Josewick capitalized the first letter of "Absolute Incrementable", almost indicating the level of AI.
Recently, Apple announced the abandonment of its car manufacturing project and is fully transitioning to the field of generative AI, with news related to AI phones constantly circulating. Last month, Cook revealed at the shareholders' meeting that Apple plans to disclose more about its plans to put generative AI into use later this year, so as to "open up a new world" in this field.
On March 20th, Apple CEO Tim Cook appeared in Shanghai.
Cook Weibo
On the afternoon of March 20th, Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Co., Ltd., appeared at Apple's China headquarters in Shanghai and met with Apple CEO Cook. On that day, Apple suppliers such as BYD Electronics, Lansi Technology, and Changying Precision showcased their intelligent manufacturing technology, as well as the components and products produced for Apple. Wang Chuanfu and Cook visited BYD's booth together.
According to Interface News, Cook talked about the topic of generative AI and emphasized that if Apple cannot launch a generative AI service that exceeds market expectations this year, Nvidia's market value is likely to surpass Apple.
When asked about the progress of the iPhone on AI, Cook stated that AI has been applied to various aspects of Apple products, such as the fall detection function of the Apple Watch and the predictive text input function of the iPhone, all of which are driven by AI. This is also the first time it has talked about AI topics in China.
Cook reiterated, "Apple's generative AI will be announced later this year."
In the field of mobile phones, it was reported last week that Apple is in talks with Google to integrate the iPhone into Google's Gemini model, which will provide technical support for some new features of iPhone software this year. And Gemini will also have billions of potential users.
According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the shipment volume of Apple iPhones to China in February decreased by about 33% year-on-year, marking the second consecutive month of decline. Analysts from US securities firm Wedbush have stated that Apple needs to overcome its challenges in the Chinese market, including competition from other brands, before the release of the iPhone 16.
On February 1st local time, Apple released its Q1 2024 financial report (i.e. Q4 2023 performance). The financial report shows that Apple's quarterly revenue was $119.58 billion, higher than analyst expectations of $117.97 billion, returning to year-on-year growth. In the first quarter, iPhone revenue was $69.7 billion, higher than the expected $68.55 billion.
As of March 26th local time, Apple closed at $169.71, down 0.67%. Since the beginning of this year, Apple's stock price has fallen by more than 11%.
