Apple WWDC 2024: what is (or isn’t) causing a stir for mobile experts?

AI was, unsurprisingly, big on the agenda with Apple proudly announcing its partnership with OpenAI to integrate with ‘Apple Intelligence’.

But what do mobile experts make of the announcements, and what else might have flown under the radar but could make a potential impact in the world of all things mobile? 

We’ve spoken to a handful of our mobile thought leaders, from app marketeers to iOS developers, to see how they feel about Apple WWDC 2024.

Adam Fleming - Group CTO, Co-Founder, delivering innovation for Europe’s leading brands

As someone with a keen interest in innovation and emerging tech, what do you make of Apple’s integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT as part of Apple Intelligence? 

“It’s a move a little out of character for the tech giant, as they are usually reluctant to integrate with anything outside of the Apple universe. But OS integration with GenAI in apps will enable agentic, multi-modal behaviour - this is the real Apple advantage.

“It's great to see how content generation and agent-accessibility is embedded into Apple Apps. However, it remains to be seen how well this will work for 3rd party developers . Overall, it feels like this announcement is pretty much just Apple catching up on the GenAI table-stakes.”

What else stood out as important?

The announcement around Local and Private-Cloud models falling-back, or offloading, to ChatGPT or others is interesting. This is a longer-term play, but has the potential to be really important - it’s something we’ll be keeping a close eye on. 

Josie Lambert - iOS and Android developer, currently working on new mobile products for leading student organisation.

As someone who regularly works across both iOS and Android platforms, how did Apple’s WWDC announcements compare to Google’s?

“There’s often a bit of friendly rivalry between iOS and Android developers and we might joke that one platform is better than the other, but ultimately there are pros and cons to both.

“Apple was inevitably going to go big on the AI announcements and it needed to to match Google’s efforts. It’s cool that developers will be able to play with Apple Intelligence, and there will be extra pieces of functionality for us to consider, but realistically some of these new AI features won’t affect our day-to-day projects.”

Joost Ligtvoet - Managing Director of Apadmi NL with more than 20 years of mobile consulting experience 

With the ongoing increase in Apple apps announced at the keynote - could this signal the demise of the third party app?

“There was a lot of expectation ahead of this year’s WWDC with some suggesting Apple needed to play catch-up. The introduction of some new apps included some nice touches. I can see the value for users in the new apps like the standalone password manager, native call recording, voice transcription and mirroring iPhone on Macs.

“Some might view this as a sign that Apple is moving towards killing off third-party apps, and while it does have to keep up with the competition, you have to  remember that Apple still relies on third-party apps to generate revenue in the App Store. It’s also what helps to consolidate the usefulness of the platform to businesses in creating brand-led mobile experiences.”

Emma Casson - Head of Product Marketing, expert on App Store Optimisation, working with the likes of Asda, Co-op and Domino’s 

What caught your eye from a mobile marketing perspective?

“It’s great to see that iOS 18 will bring updates such as flexible app arrangement and customisable app icons with dark backgrounds or tints. However, this will mean that having recognisable, stand-out elements in your app icon will be crucial. When tinted app icons are used, your brand colours won’t be as instantly recognisable by users anymore. You’ll want to ensure users still continue to recognise and notice your app (and keep opening it), so be sure to include important elements of your brand in the icon - whether that be text or imagery.”

What about within the App Store?

“Somewhat more quietly, Apple has announced some interesting changes to the App Store that could shake things up on the app marketing front. We will soon be able to notify the App Store editorial team when launching a new app or update to increase the chances of being featured on various pages.

“These are features that are currently hidden and so not all developers will know they exist, but having them front and centre on App Store Connect could open up the floodgates and make being featured on the App Store accessible to a broader range of apps. Brands will need to up their game as the number of apps trying to get featured could be much greater.

“We have an extensive history of securing features including ‘App of the Day’ for a number of our clients, driving millions of impressions - so for us, this change isn’t too concerning as our already established ASO strategies will allow our clients to stay competitive.”

In summary

The slickness of WWDC never fails to impress and although it lacked the wow of a big hardware release this year, the Apple Intelligence announcement is big news. Not least because of what it represents in terms of someone else’s tech (OpenAI) being integrated behind the curtain. But also because of how embedded AI is already becoming in daily interactions.

The security play is smart from Apple, as clearly the focus and concern around data privacy is growing. How that plays out across AI and the Cloud is something that will continue to evolve.