Apple WWDC 2024 - AI in Mobile Applications

What Happened at WWDC 2024?

At WWDC 2024, Apple announced the introduction of Apple Intelligence, a new AI system integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2. The key updates include personalization, new AR/VR features, and integrated AI capabilities that enable users to interact with their devices like never before. From now on, Siri will be able to “enter” apps and perform specific tasks such as making reservations and purchasing tickets. These “simple” tasks are just the beginning; with the Siri API, developers can integrate Siri with virtually any app. Apple Intelligence marks a breakthrough in the practical use of AI in everyday life.

Improvements in AR/VR

Apple showcased significant advancements in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) at WWDC 2024, focusing on enhancements in visionOS 2. VisionOS 2, the operating system for VR and AR devices, introduces new gestures and interactions that significantly simplify navigation and improve overall User Experience.

Learn more about the use of AR in mobile apps.

New Gestures and Interactions

One of the main improvements is the introduction of more intuitive gestures, enabling more natural and smoother navigation in virtual environments. Simple hand movements now make performing complex tasks much easier, significantly increasing the ergonomics and efficiency of working in virtual reality. New interactions also include more advanced responses to eye movements and facial expressions, further enhancing the realism of the experience.

Integration with Apple Devices

VisionOS 2 seamlessly integrates with other Apple devices such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac, allowing for task continuity across different environments. For example, a user can start working on a project on a Mac and then switch to a VR environment, maintaining full data synchronization and continuing without interruption.

Use Cases

Education: Creating virtual classrooms where students can interact with virtual objects and participate in simulations.

Entertainment: Developing AR/VR games that utilize new gestures and interactions to provide more realistic experiences.

Remote Work: Enabling remote workers to use virtual office spaces that sync with physical offices.

System Updates – iOS 18

source: apple.com

iOS 18 introduces advanced personalization options, allowing changes to the home screen appearance, widgets, and system settings. Enhancements in iMessage and FaceTime offer higher quality video and audio, as well as advanced content-sharing options.

System optimizations ensure apps launch faster and run more smoothly, enhancing user comfort.

Additionally, support for Apple Pencil on iPadOS 18 provides more precise motion tracking and new drawing and note-taking tools, which will be particularly useful for professional artists.

What is Apple Intelligence and What Does It Mean for Business?

Apple Intelligence is a breakthrough in the use of AI in mobile devices. Apple Intelligence offers many new features that improve the daily use of Apple devices, such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Key Features of Apple Intelligence

Writing Tools Writing Tools is a set of tools that help users write, correct, and summarize text. For example, advanced AI-based tools can generate text and message content, correct grammatical, stylistic, and spelling errors. Another useful feature is summarizing long documents.

Additionally, there are SEO optimization tools that analyze text for keywords and help improve its visibility in search results.

source: apple.com Image Playground Image Playground allows image generation in applications such as Messages, Notes, Keynote, and Pages. With the Image Playground API, developers can integrate this functionality into their apps, enabling users to create images without the need to host their own AI models or integrate existing ones. Genmoji Genmoji allows users to create custom AI-generated “emoji.” Unlike regular emoji embedded in text, Genmoji will function as a picture sent in a message.

source: apple.com

Siri with App Intents: A Breakthrough in AI Integration with Apps

Siri is becoming increasingly advanced and natural in interaction. This means it can better understand and process user commands, providing more accurate and contextual responses. Interactions with Siri will become smoother and more human-like. The new capabilities offered by Siri are largely made possible by App Intents – a set of ready-made intents that developers can use to integrate their apps with Siri.

Ready-made App Intents

App Intents are a set of ready-made functions that developers can implement in their apps. This allows Siri to perform specific actions in apps without the need to program each function from scratch.

source: apple.com Examples of use cases include: Restaurant Reservations: Siri can automatically open a reservation app and book a table for a specified time. Task Management: Adding tasks to a list in a project management app becomes easier with voice commands. Visibility of Actions in the System Thanks to App Intents, actions performed by Siri are more visible in various parts of the operating system, increasing their accessibility and usability. Here are some places where these actions can appear: Spotlight: Users can find suggested app actions directly in Spotlight search results. Shortcuts: Creating Siri shortcuts for specific actions in apps becomes easier, allowing users quick access to frequently performed tasks. Control Center: Integration with Control Center enables users to perform actions in apps directly from the control center.

Use Case Examples

In-app Actions: Siri, with a user command, could, for instance, create personalized offers for customers, change order statuses, sort and categorize SKUs, update customer data in CRM.

Reminders: Setting reminders based on location, e.g., reminding about shopping upon entering a store. App Suggestions: Suggestions for apps based on user

habits, e.g., opening a fitness app in the morning or a relaxation app in the evening.

Communication: Suggested replies in iMessage based on the context of previous conversations. In customer relations, this could be a great tool, matching our communication style to the interlocutor, which, as we know, varies from person to person.

Health: Analysis of health data and activity suggestions, such as meditation or exercise. An app could generate regular health reports that the user could review or share with their doctor, schedule medical appointments, personalize training and its intensity, book sports courts, and schedule training sessions.

Calendar Management: Apple Intelligence can automatically add events based on emails and text messages, reducing the time needed to plan meetings, edit them, and more. Automatic Email Sending: Siri could, for example, create detailed emails based on short user inputs, such as “Create a summary of the sales meeting, use the materials prepared in file xyz, and attach the pdf offer.” Siri would then create a comprehensive email with the summary and offer attached. The practical applications of Siri with Apple Intelligence are endless. We are only limited by developer hours and imagination.

The Significance of Apple Intelligence for the Future of Development and Business Applications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly integral part of our daily lives, and Siri, as Apple’s flagship voice assistant, will soon be at the forefront of this revolution. As Siri develops, applications utilizing its capabilities become more popular and ubiquitous. In the future, many tasks we currently perform manually will be delegated to Siri, which will complete them with unprecedented efficiency.

Groundbreaking Task Automation

For users, this means a radical simplification of everyday activities. Thanks to Siri, we can expect routine task automation to become the norm. For example, instead of manually managing calendars, reminders, or reservations, a short voice command to Siri will suffice. Conducting complex actions, such as organizing meetings or managing shopping lists, will become easier than ever before.

Business Revolution

For businesses, integration with Apple Intelligence means immense possibilities for improving customer service and optimizing operations. Imagine a situation where a customer has a saved shopping cart but, for some reason, did not complete the transaction. Now, a short command to Siri to complete the purchase and pay with card X for home delivery will suffice. A process that normally takes 2 to 5 minutes now takes just a few seconds.

Practical Applications

E-commerce: Siri can automate shopping processes, such as finalizing transactions, managing returns, or updating order statuses, which will increase conversion in your e-commerce.

Customer Service: Companies can use Siri to automate customer service, from simple inquiries to more complex tasks like reservations or technical support .

Applications in mobile CRM automation would allow adding and managing customer relationships to increase the conversion of your sales activities. Finance: Automating financial tasks, such as monitoring expenses, managing budgets, or making payments, can significantly increase operational efficiency. Advanced financial analysis allows users to receive detailed reports on costs, forecast future expenses, and receive personalized financial management advice in the company.

Task Management: Siri can help manage projects and tasks by automatically adding, reminding, and updating task lists. It could also create summaries of all actions in tools like ClickUp over a given period, providing the manager with all the necessary information about what happened in the project over the past week.

Inter-app Integrations: By utilizing App Intents, integration of various mobile apps you already have on your phone will be possible. For example, sports apps could integrate with booking systems to reserve a tennis court at a specific time.

Impact on Development and the Future of Business

Apple Intelligence, with Siri at the forefront, is of great significance for the future of development and business applications. Task automation by Siri not only improves efficiency and productivity but also significantly enhances the User Experience of using Apple devices and performing everyday tasks.

For businesses, it offers the opportunity to improve customer service quality and optimize processes, which can lead to increased market competitiveness.

As AI technology continues to develop, Siri will become an indispensable part of our daily lives, performing more tasks for us and allowing us to focus on more important aspects of work and life.

WWDC 2024 Summary

WWDC 2024 brought revolutionary changes in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Apple ecosystem. It marks the first implementation of AI in widely used devices and applications on such a scale and potential within the Apple ecosystem. The introduction of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2 heralds a new era in interaction with technology. Siri, as the central element of Apple Intelligence, gains naturalness and the ability to automate complex tasks, meaning a radical simplification of daily activities for users. Enhancements in AR/VR, introduced in visionOS 2, offer more intuitive gestures and better integration with other Apple devices, increasing ergonomics and efficiency in virtual environments. New features in iOS 18, such as advanced personalization, better video quality in iMessage and FaceTime, and support for Apple Pencil, further improve user comfort. For businesses, integration with Apple Intelligence means immense possibilities for process automation, customer service improvement, and operational optimization. Siri can automate many daily tasks, from finalizing transactions in e-commerce to managing projects and tasks, significantly increasing operational efficiency. Apple Intelligence is becoming an indispensable part of daily life, and developers have new opportunities to create intelligent, interactive applications. As AI technology continues to develop, Siri and Apple Intelligence will play an increasingly significant role, transforming the way we interact with our devices and carry out daily tasks.