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David Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
This year’s developer conference is coming to a close, but most years the last one is the biggest one: Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, when the company announces its software plans for the year to come. This year feels different, though. Apple is reportedly planning a redesign that will touch all its operating systems, and a new naming scheme to tie them all more closely together. Is that enough for a company under this much pressure? Regulators are changing the way Apple’s business works; developers continue to be frustrated with Apple’s rules and machinations; competitors are leaving Apple’s AI efforts behind. So what does Apple really need to show, and prove, at WWDC?
On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay, David, and The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern talk through everything we’re expecting at WWDC — and all the things we’re not expecting. (Here’s a good MacRumors rundown of it all.) We’re likely to hear more about AI integrations, and more ways developers can access those integrations. We might hear a lot about Shortcuts. Will we see more multitasking options, both on the iPhone and iPad? Will your AirPods turn into remote camera shutters? Can AI fix your battery life? Rumors are flying, and as ever we won’t know for sure until Monday.
After that, we turn to the other big gadget news of the week: the Nintendo Switch 2. David explains his oddly easy experience getting one, and the hosts talk through the current vibes around the launch. We’ll have lots more to say once we’ve been able to thoroughly test the new device, too, so stay tuned. There’s also some news this week about Meta’s smart glasses plans, and Joanna has a theory about what Jony Ive and OpenAI are working on.
Finally, in the lightning round, it’s time for another round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, plus some small but interesting fediverse news.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, first in WWDC and Apple news:
And in other gadget news:
And in the lightning round:
