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We’re just days away from Apple Worldwide Developers Conference main note. Last week the company sent invitations to the media for its annual conference. This is a sign that we are one step closer to WWDC 2024, which officially takes place from June 10 to 14 at Apple Park. While Apple hasn’t said what to expect, if past WWDC keynotes are any indication, we’ll likely see previews of iOS 18 and MacOS 15, as well as other Apple operating systems – and perhaps new hardware.
There is speculation that Apple will share its plans for using generative AI in conference software and hardware. Rumors point to possible encoding integrations such as Bloomberg reports in February, as well as consumer-facing features such as enhancement privacy and security and the ability to create custom emoticons based on a text string, again as Bloomberg reports.
Read more: The best iPhone to buy in 2024
One of my favorite parts of any Apple event is decoding the invite for a deeper understanding of what to expect. This usually involves taking a long look at the invitation image and Apple’s motto to predict cryptic themes or even products that may be dramatically revealed. This year, all we have to work with for potential Easter eggs are four rainbow colored rings. But I have ideas.
Beneath those rings, the invitation offers one vital piece of information we didn’t know for sure: the time. The WWDC 2024 keynote will begin at 10am PT on Monday, June 10, which contrasts with the early 7am PT start for Apple’s virtual May iPad event and the late 5 pm pacific time last fall Scary Fast Mac event.
It’s Apple Park – right?!
Photo of Apple Park just before sunset.
Let me get the obvious out of the way. The invitation’s colored circles look like an outline of a top-down view of Apple Park. And it could be that simple, especially since the conference is being held at Apple Park.
New and improved Siri
Siri is currently represented by an orb.
But let’s spit. This is purely for fun.
I have to give credit to CNET’s Abrar Al-Hetti for this one—she thinks the invite might be a subtle nod to improvements coming to Siri. And that makes perfect sense. we have heard iOS 18 Rumors for months on how Siri gets an AI-powered shineand the colored circles on the invitation may be a reference to this.
Invoking Siri currently causes a colored orb to pop up on Apple devices, and perhaps Apple wants to differentiate the AI-powered Siri from the Siri of yesteryear with these new rings. Al-Heeti’s idea makes even more sense when you see the animated version of the invitation, where the rings turn different colors in a similar rhythm to the current Siri orb on the device.
Apple Smart Ring
Samsung launched the Galaxy Ring earlier this year. Could Apple be next?
Hey, Samsung is teasing him Galaxy Ring in “one more thing” style they reveal in January Galaxy Unpacked event, so who’s to say Apple won’t be next? Apple usually previews new products at WWDC, such as Vision Proto give developers time to build and optimize the software.
Apple’s smart ring is not so hard to imagine. The company prides itself on the health, fitness and wellness tracking features in its devices, especially the Apple Watch. A ring wearable seems inevitable, especially if it’s priced to match the low end of the current Apple Watch lineup.
HomePod redux
The new HomePod now features an edge-to-edge Siri display
While Bloomberg’s Mark German thinks there will be no new Macs launched by the end of this year and in 2025, in the past few years Apple has usually shown off new hardware at WWDC. And this may turn out to be true, because we saw Apple announced the M4 chip earlier this month for his new iPad Pros.
So if Apple does announce hardware, could we see a new HomePod or HomePod Mini that were updated in 2023 and 2020 respectively? The invitation circles resemble a top-down view of the HomePod’s Siri screen, or even a regular speaker.
I think that is unlikely. And on that note, this is an excellent place to end our speculation. The great thing is that WWDC is less than two weeks away. So we don’t have to wait long to find out what Apple is actually up to this year.
Editor’s note: CNET used an AI engine to help create several dozen stories that were labeled accordingly. The note you’re reading is attached to articles that deal essentially with the topic of AI, but were created entirely by our expert editors and writers. For more see our AI Policy.
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