Dyson helped pioneer the cordless vacuum space, and now it’s testing the waters of the robot vacuum arena. The Dyson 360 Vis Nav has been available in other parts of the world for a little while, but it recently came stateside to the tune of $1,200. The company claims a 360-degree vision system, complete with cameras and LED lights, along with suction power akin to that of its stick vacuums sets the 360 Vis Nav apart from competitors. But even if that’s true, Dyson is undeniably late to the party. Robot vacuums have gotten a lot better in the past three to five years, and there are dozens on the market — including some that offer much more in the way of features for a similarly exorbitant price. That said, did Dyson pull an Apple and shake up a product category despite its late entry to the stage? I spent some time with the 360 Vis Nav to find out.

Setup and design

Unboxing and setting up the 360 Vis Nav is similar to any other robot vacuum. In addition to the device, the box contains a charging cable and the vacuum’s base, a rectangular, purple unit with two black-and-white checkered spots at either corner. While it’s refreshing to see a gadget that doesn’t wear the typical black or gray uniform, the 360 Vis Nav and its dock stick out like sore thumbs among the other items and furniture in my home. There’s no semblance of “blending into the decor” with this robo-vac.

Once docked for the first time, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav’s small onboard display prompts you to choose a preferred language and get connected via the mobile app. The screen doubles as a button, too, so you can press fully down on it to select options and move forward in the setup process. As I learned while using the machine, the display also shows helpful maintenance tips and accompanying graphics when you need to clean the robot’s sensors. The My Dyson app (on iOS and Android) provides all of the same information and more, and will guide you to connect the machine to your home’s Wi-Fi network, update the firmware if necessary and finish the prerequisites before you get to cleaning. Aside from waiting a few minutes for my review unit to update its firmware, the entire process took me only about 15 minutes.

To get the lay of the land, let’s revisit the few things Dyson claims set the 360 Vis Nav apart from other robot vacuums. The D-shaped design isn’t one of them, but it certainly helps the machine’s side-edge actuator when cleaning room corners. Dyson claims the actuator only opens up when cleaning corners like this, and it uses suction (rather than sweepers like other robo-vacs do) to capture debris from these hard-to-reach places. Along with that, the machine has a 360-degree vision system that helps it map our your home and clean around furniture and other objects, plus a sensor that detects the amount of dust present so it can kick up the suction when necessary and create a heat map of the dirtiest parts of your home. Those are the main differentiators, along with the claim that the 360 Vis Nav essentially has a similar level of suction power as one of Dyson’s cordless stick vacuums.

Performance

So how did all of that come together in practice? Pretty well, as it turns out. For the initial go-around, I had the Dyson 360 Vis Nav clean the main floor of my home, rather than map it out first. I did this mainly because I like chaos, but also because I wanted to see how the machine would navigate around coffee tables, couches and other furniture, plus small things like cat toys left in its path. Dyson states very clearly in the setup process that you should remove all small obstacles out of the way of the 360 Vis Nav before it cleans — I picked up a couple of reusable bags languishing from our last grocery run and the smaller cat toys, but I left some charging cables snaking on the ground because, let’s be real, most people aren’t going to clean before sending the robot they bought to clean for them out to do its job.

I was quickly struck by how many times the Dyson 360 Vis Nav came to a complete stop, “looked” around and kept moving during the first cleaning. It did a decent job avoiding large pieces of furniture like chairs and couches because — when it did get close to pieces like that — it seemed to sense it a few inches before hitting it, so it could then stop and redirect itself. It was most confused by a coffee table with a supporting beam that runs on the floor in between two legs. The 360 Vis Nav has adjustable wheels that allow it to “climb” on top of things like thicker rugs when it’s cleaning, and I think it confused this roughly 0.5-inch supporting beam for a piece of decor. The robo-vac tried so hard to climb over it; it was borderline concerning, but I was rooting for it the whole way. It actually did manage to climb over the beam, get back down onto the floor and keep cleaning, so kudos to the little guy for never giving up.

After that thrilling show, I left the 360 Vis Nav to its own devices. It proceeded to clean the main floor of my home for almost an hour, audibly notching up the suction when it detected a messier area. Notably, it seemed better at avoiding furniture than other robot vacuum cleaners I’ved tried. Yes, it did knock into a few things, but the number of times that happened was slim to none. The first run I did was in Auto mode, the default cleaning setting and one of four you have to choose from, and while the machine was a tad loud, it’s nothing that will drive pets or young children from a room. It’s loudest when the machine automatically kicks the motor into high gear upon detecting a high-dust area, which it did a few times in the highest trafficked areas of my kitchen and on top of a few area rugs. Like any other robot vacuum worth its salt, the 360 Vis Nav automatically returned to its dock to recharge when the battery got low.

I deemed that first cleaning job a success, and the case was the same when I did the first mapping run. The 360 Vis Nav is much quieter when it’s puttering around your home not sucking up dirt, but rather just using its vision system to create a map of your home and all its furniture and obstacles. The map it created of my main floor was accurate, and the Dyson app makes it simple to add boundaries and create rooms that you can label. Once you do this, you can create no-go zones and other restrictions like cleaning without the brush bar. And like most other vacuums with smart mapping, you can tell the 360 Vis Nav to only clean certain rooms with each job if you please.

Like most other robot vacuums, the companion app experience focuses on home maps, schedules and basic on-off controls. Dyson lets you choose from Auto, Quick, Quiet and Boost cleaning modes before you start a job, and if you have rooms designated on your map, you can customize cleaning modes for each room every time. For example, I could tell the machine to clean my kitchen in Auto mode and then the den in Quiet mode. The app presents a heat map of your home after every job that highlights the areas with the most dust, which is interesting to look at but didn’t provide me with a ton of groundbreaking information. I was not surprised that the dirtiest spots on my main floor were almost always next to the front door and my deck door.

Ultimately, the two things that impressed me the most about the Dyson 360 Vis Nav were its suction power and its obstacle avoidance capabilities. I live in a one-cat household, but if you saw how much cat hair my cordless stick vacuum sucks up every time I use it, you’d think I live with a few more felines. There’s always more fur in the bin after I clean the upper floor of my home, since it’s carpeted. After leaving the 360 Vis Nav on my upper floor to clean for almost an hour, I was surprised to see that the contents of its bin looked nearly identical to that of my cordless stick vac after cleaning up there. Even the best robot vacuum cleaners I’ve used in the past never sucked up this much pet fur in one go-around on carpeted floors — it’s impressive.

As for obstacle avoidance, I didn’t expect much from the 360 Vis Nav in this department because the instructions tell you, more than once, to clear your floors of any obstructions before cleaning. Most of the time, I had at least a few pairs of shoes, a couple of charging cables and other small objects on the floor while the machine was cleaning, but I never once got an alert that it was stuck. Some robot vacuums I’ve tested have sent me close to a half dozen alerts during a cleaning job, and I’d have to remove an object they were choking on before they could start up again. That never happened with Dyson’s machine.

The competition

With the Dyson 360 Vis Nav coming in at an eye-watering $1,200, the competition squarely within that price range is pretty slim. The $1,400 iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ is arguably its most direct competitor and it offers quite a bit more for that extra $200. (We’ve seen the Combo j9+ drop to as low as $1,000 in the past, so you might be able to pick it up for even less than Dyon’s machine.) As a “combo” device, the j9+ vacuums and mops without the help of a human (mostly) and it’s smart enough to know when it needs to switch from sucking up dirt to mopping floors using its built-in scrubbing pad and water reservoir. It also comes with a self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days worth of dry debris and refill the water reservoir with clean supply. While auto-mopping is more of a nice-to-have than a requirement on a robot vacuum, it’s painful that Dyon’s $1,000+ machine doesn’t come with a clean base — a piece of hardware included in some models half of its price.

Wrap-up

When you understand the lay of the robot-vacuum landscape, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav seems almost quaint — and a bit confusing. Robot vacuums aren’t new, they’ve been around for a long time — long enough where you can get a pretty decent one for less than $300. For Dyson’s machine, spending $1,200 gets you a damn good robot vacuum with possibly the best suction power I’ve experienced on one, impressive obstacle avoidance, good home mapping and a clean app experience. But none of those features are unique to the 360 Vis Nav. Its suction power and obstacle avoidance may be superior, but is that enough to justify the cost? If you’re already willing to spend $1,000 or more on a robot vacuum, you have other options that will give you similar features and more, including mopping and self-emptying capabilities. That said, there are two groups of people who I’d recommend the 360 Vis Nav to: those who are willing to give up advanced features in exchange for the most suction power possible (and have cash to burn), and Dyson diehards.

A misdelivered order, theft and a hasty return: those are the three acts comprising Playdate's recent real-life adventure. According to the handheld gaming system's account on X (formerly Twitter), FedEx dropped off $400,000 worth of Playdates to a construction site near their actual warehouse destination. Then, poof, it was all gone — but that wasn't the last of it. Suddenly, the shipment reappeared, not at the warehouse door but in front of a random restaurant. The return was seemingly quick, with some packages toppled over and entering the street.

We don't know who was behind the theft and eventual return, though no one seems too bothered, as a follow-up post says the necessary detective work was "enjoyed." Plus, the account (jokingly?) pitched selling these devices as a limited edition run called Playdate Hot. Playdate promised further details in the future — possibly on the Playdate Podcast. One user on X asked about getting their hands on any devices they don't need, to which Playdate responded, "Check the streets of North Las Vegas." 

The Playdate came out in April 2022 as a cute, monochromatic alternative to high-level gaming systems that features a crank on its side. Panic, which owns Playdate, sold about 70,000 units in the first two years and offers more than 100 titles in its built-in library. These black-and-white games are relatively simple but include everything from first-person shooters to puzzles. 

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are one of our favorite wireless earbuds on the market, but they don't come cheap. However, they're currently down to $130 from $200 — the best deal we've seen all year. You can access the discount on Wellbots with the checkout code ENGPIX70.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro came out in the summer of 2022, but they're still one of the best earbuds on the market. We gave them an 87 in our review thanks to features like their excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) and a powerful, punchy bass. You can use ANC and transparency mode or turn both off completely. That bass is part of an overall impressive sound quality that extends across musical genres. Plus, they last about 11 hours without ANC or seven hours with it and their case offers wireless charging. 

The earbuds are also a great option if you have an Android phone. They allow you to switch easily between paired devices, use Google Assistant without touching any buttons and access a "conversation detection" mode that turns off ANC and your music if you start talking. All of these functions work natively on Google's Pixel phones but are available on other Android devices with the Pixel Buds app. 

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Apple is working on a version of its Siri voice assistant that will use advanced AI powered by large language models (LLMs), Bloomberg has reported. The technology will allow users to perform specific app functions with their voices, such as opening documents, sending emails and more. 

The new version of Siri will only work on Apple's own apps to start with. It won't arrive with iOS 18 but may be released subsequently as an update early next year, the report states.

The assistant will be able to analyze your phone's activity and automatically enable Siri-controlled features. It'll support "hundreds" of commands but will only be able to process one at a time at first, according to the article. Later, Siri will support multiple tasks in a single request. 

At first, supported commands would include sending or deleting emails, opening a specific site in Apple News, emailing a web link or asking for an article summary. Once multiple commands are enabled, it'll be able to summarize a recorded meeting then text it to a colleague, all in one request. "Or, an iPhone could theoretically be asked to crop a picture and then email it to a friend," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman wrote.

It's unclear which LLM Apple will use to power this version of Siri, but the company reportedly just reached a deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18. At the same time, Apple may also be negotiating with Google to integrate Gemini AI into search on iPhones. Apple will reportedly handle many AI requests on-device, while using the cloud for more complex commands. 

Apple is expected to focus on AI for its WWDC 2024 conference that runs from June 10 to June 14. At that point, it may reveal that it reached a deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18. We may also see AI-powered features like voice memo transcriptions and summaries, website recaps, automated message replies and more. 

Liz Reid, head of Google Search, has admitted the company’s search engine has returned some “odd, inaccurate or unhelpful AI Overviews” after the feature rolled out to everyone in the US.

The executive’s explanation outlined some new safeguards to help the new feature return more accurate (and less funny) results. Some of the worst AI Overview results doing the rounds were apparently faked, but the glue-on-pizza example was real, as was the viral answer to how many rocks you should be eating. Also real. Reid said Google came up with an answer because it had tapped into a comedy satire site.

The issue for Google is this could erode trust in the search engine’s results and accuracy. Reid said the company tested the feature extensively before launch, but “there’s nothing quite like having millions of people using the feature with many novel searches.” Maybe it needed a little more testing first.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Silent Hill 2 remake hits PS5 and PC on October 8

OpenAI says it stopped multiple covert influence operations that abused its AI models

Until Dawn remaster is coming to PS5 and PC this fall

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

Sony’s Overwatch-esque Concord is coming to PS5 and PC on August 23

Overwatch of the Galaxy.

Firewalk Studios

It’s been a long time since we had a first-person shooter from a PlayStation studio. Finally, Firewalk Studios’ Concord has broken cover. Firewalk says it focused on tight movement, precise gunplay and a range of abilities — just as you might expect from a studio led by former Destiny developers. It’s a five vs. five hero shooter, suggesting comparisons to Overwatch 2 — now a Microsoft-owned title. Expect 16 heroes, six game modes and some cinematic scenes between all the fighting. It’s coming to PS5 and PC on August 23, with a beta in July.

Continue reading.

What to expect from Apple WWDC 2024

iOS 18, AI and more.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is right around the corner. Expect the company to reveal some of the main features of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, as well as what’s ahead for the likes of watchOS, macOS and visionOS at WWDC 2024. Expect all kinds of generative AI tricks — hopefully even some compelling ones. I’d appreciate more photo-fill features to match Google’s efforts on Android. It seems unlikely we’ll get any major hardware announcements at the event, but you never truly know until Tim Cook wraps things up — maybe we’ll get a next-gen Vision Pro VR headset.

Continue reading.

The TweetDeck clone for Threads is finally here

‘ThreadsDeck’ makes Threads on the web much more usable.

Meta is rolling out a new TweetDeck-like column view to all Threads users after it started testing the feature earlier this month. The new look, which some Threads users have nicknamed ThreadsDeck, allows you to pin up to 100 feeds to the Threads home page. Each column can also be set to auto-update. Yeah, it’s TweetDeck but Threads. And you can more easily hide Threads’ trashy for-you feed. At least, mine is particularly trashy. Perhaps I’m the problem.

Continue reading.

Liz Reid, head of Google Search, has admitted the company’s search engine has returned some “odd, inaccurate or unhelpful AI Overviews” after the feature rolled out to everyone in the US.

The executive’s explanation outlined some new safeguards to help the new feature return more accurate (and less funny) results. Some of the worst AI Overview results doing the rounds were apparently faked, but the glue-on-pizza example was real, as was the viral answer to how many rocks should I eat? Also real. Reid said Google came up with an answer because it had tapped into a comedy satire site.

The issue for Google is this could erode trust in the search engine’s results and accuracy. Reid said the company tested the feature extensively before launch, but “there’s nothing quite like having millions of people using the feature with many novel searches.” Maybe it needed a little more testing first.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Silent Hill 2 remake hits PS5 and PC on October 8

OpenAI says it stopped multiple covert influence operations that abused its AI models

Until Dawn remaster is coming to PS5 and PC this fall

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

Sony’s Overwatch-esque Concord is coming to PS5 and PC on August 23

Overwatch of the Galaxy.

Firewalk Studios

It’s been a long time since we had a first-person shooter from a PlayStation studio. Finally, Firewalk Studios’ Concord has broken cover. Firewalk says it focused on tight movement, precise gunplay and a range of abilities — just as you might expect from a studio led by former Destiny developers. It’s a five vs. five hero shooter, suggesting comparisons to Overwatch 2 — now a Microsoft-owned title. Expect 16 heroes, six game modes and some cinematic scenes between all the fighting. It’s coming to PS5 and PC on August 23, with a beta in July.

Continue reading.

What to expect from Apple WWDC 2024

iOS 18, AI and more.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is right around the corner. Expect the company to reveal some of the main features of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, as well as what’s ahead for the likes of watchOS, macOS and visionOS at WWDC 2024. Expect all kinds of generative AI tricks — hopefully even some compelling ones. I’d appreciate more photo-fill features to match Google’s efforts on Android. It seems unlikely we’ll get any major hardware announcements at the event, but you never truly know until Tim Cook wraps things up — maybe we’ll get a next-gen Vision Pro VR headset.

Continue reading.

The TweetDeck clone for Threads is finally here

‘ThreadsDeck’ makes Threads on the web much more usable.

Meta is rolling out a new TweetDeck-like column view to all Threads users after it started testing the feature earlier this month. The new look, which some Threads users have nicknamed ThreadsDeck, allows you to pin up to 100 feeds to the Threads home page. Each column can also be set to auto-update. Yeah, it’s TweetDeck but Threads. And you can more easily hide Threads’ trashy for-you feed. At least, mine is particularly trashy. Perhaps I’m the problem.

Continue reading.

Acer has unveiled the new SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera specifically for those who want to take 3D photos and videos. Users can not only use it to capture 3D content, but also to livestream in 3D on YouTube and other platforms, as well as to make 3D video calls on Teams, Zoom and Google Meet. The company describes the camera as "compact" and "pocket-sized," with dimensions measuring 4 x 2.6 x 0.9 inches.

It has a resolution of 8 megapixels per eye and a built-in selfie mirror encased in a weather-proof shell. The more casual users can take advantage of its Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) feature, along with its auto and touch focus capabilities. But experienced photographers can customize their output as much as they want to in manual mode, which will allow them to adjust the camera's ISO, white balance and shutter speed settings. 

The camera's 3D livestreaming feature will be enabled by version 3.0 of Acer's SpatialLabs Player, while high-resolution 3D video conferencing will be made possible through the company's SpatialLabs video call widget. It will, of course, be compatible with Acer's range of SpatialLabs devices, including laptops with glasses-free 3D screens. But you can view 3D content captured by the device even on other companies' AR or VR headsets and 3D projectors. 

The Acer SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera will be available in the third quarter of the year with prices starting at $549 or €549 in the US and in Europe, respectively.

Acer

Acer has added three new gaming monitors to its Predator lineup, all of which have OLED displays and speedy refresh rates. The models — Predator X27U F3, Predator X34 X5 and Predator X32 X3 — work with NVIDIA's G-SYNC and AMD's FreeSync Premium Pro technologies to prevent tearing, stuttering, ghosting and input lags while you're gaming. They also feature true 10-bit color depth enhanced by a 99 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, which means more color depths, higher contrasts and deeper blacks. The models come with stands with adjustable height that can tilt and swivel, and they're all equipped with two 5-watt speakers.

The Predator X27U F3 is a 27-inch monitor with a 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution and a 480 Hz refresh rate. It's outfitted with a USB-C and two HDMI 2.1 ports, and its stand has a tripod mount socket that can support streaming accessories like lights and cameras. The model will be available in the third quarter with prices starting at $1,200. 

Meanwhile, the Predator X32 X3 monitor is a 4K UHD OLED display with a refresh rate of 240 Hz, though you can get that up to 480 Hz if you don't mind gaming in Full HD resolution only. The 31.5-inch monitor also comes with one Type-C and two HDMI 2.1 ports, and it will be available in the fourth quarter of the year for $1,200 and above. 

Finally, the Predator X34 X5 has a 34-inch curved OLED screen with a 1800R curvature and a resolution of 3,440 x 1,440 pixels. It also has a 240 Hz refresh and a 0.03 ms response rate like the Predator X32 X3 model, though it doesn't seem like you can get a speedier refresh rate in exchange for lower resolution. The monitor has two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort and USB Type-C port, and it will be available in the fourth quarter for at least $1,100. 

Sony has ported lots of its biggest games to PC recently, and the next one will be God of War Ragnarok. As part of the State of Play presentation, Sony showed off a trailer for the most recent adventure of Kratos and his son Atreus, and it looks as good as ever. It'll have unlocked frame rates, ultra widescreen monitor support and plenty more visual trickery for PC players, and it'll also include the recently-released Valhalla DLC. It's not a huge surprise, given that the 2018 revival God of War also came to PC a few years ago, but it'll be welcomed by those who want to continue the journey.

As far as visual upgrades go, Sony confirmed in its blog that it'll support NVIDIA RTX DLSS, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution and Intel XeSS for upscaling the whole thing to whatever screen you're using. And Sony wasn't kidding about the widescreen support — it'll work with 32:9 monitors.

God of War Ragnarok (and its 2018 predecessor) are classic entries in the series, with the engrossing single-player narrative-driven vibe of many of Sony's recent first-party studio games. But the combat is just as good, and Ragnarok adds a lot of new twists to the God of War universe. It's one of my favorite games of the last few years, and it should look positively excellent on high-powered PCs. It'll be available on September 19, and you can pre-order it now. 

It'll soon be Apple's turn to talk about its next major operating system updates, giving developers a chance to get their apps ready ahead of a broad rollout this fall. The company's Worldwide Developers Conference is right around the corner. Apple is sure to reveal some of the main features of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, as well as what's ahead for the likes of watchOS, macOS and visionOS at WWDC 2024.

Given the current tech climate, though, it seems likely that Apple is about to follow its rivals by making a big leap into the realm of generative AI. That could be a major focus of the keynote, since those are the only two letters investors seem to give a hoot about hearing these days.

The Apple rumor mill never stops churning, so we've heard some bits and pieces about what WWDC will perhaps entail. It seems unlikely that we'll get any major hardware announcements at the event, but you never truly know until Tim Cook wraps things up. After all, we did see the Apple Vision Pro make its first appearance at the last WWDC.

In any case, here's what to expect from Apple's WWDC 2024 keynote:

When is WWDC 2024?

WWDC 2024 starts on June 10 and runs through June 14. There will be a variety of events throughout the week, but the bulk of the attention will be on Apple's keynote which is set for 1PM ET on June 10. You'll be able to watch the keynote on apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app and Apple's YouTube channel. 

The keynote is where Apple tends to reveal many of the key features for the next major versions of its main operating systems: iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and most likely visionOS. Apple has also used the WWDC keynote to unveil new hardware over the years, though we expect that to be less of a concern this time around.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

AI

Even though Apple has largely shied away from uttering "AI" too often during its events, there's no getting away from the big tech buzzword of the last two years. Generative AI is quickly seeping into more aspects of our lives and Apple seems primed to grab a piece of that pie.

It's believed that Apple doesn't yet have its own AI chatbot that's ready for primetime. While it continues to beaver away on that, the company has reportedly reached a deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is still interested in reaching an agreement with Google to offer that company's Gemini AI assistant on iPhones too, but that may not happen until further down the line. Siri, meanwhile, is expected to get an upgrade across compatible devices using Apple’s own large language models.

Apple's approach to generative AI in both iOS 18 and macOS 15 is said to be a practical one that's based on helping regular folk in their everyday lives rather than letting them, say, quickly generate long reams of text they can sell as ebooks for a quick buck. Instead, you're more likely to see GAI features like suggested email and message replies, TL;DR text summaries, voice memo transcriptions (finally!) and improved photo touchup tools in core apps.

Apple is expected to handle as much of the AI processing on-device as it can, with the remainder being sent to data centers. That raises questions about how Apple will ensure user privacy, one of the company's core tenets. It will have to spell out how it's keeping user information secure as it moves between the device and a data center.

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

iOS 18 / iPadOS 18

As ever, new features are coming to a swathe of iOS and iPadOS apps. Arguably the most notable is the expected introduction of RCS to Messages.

GMSA's RCS, or Rich Communications Service, is a more advanced messaging protocol than the three-decade-old SMS. RCS is more secure than old-school SMS, since it offers end-to-end encryption. It allows for improved media sharing, with high-resolution images, video and audio clips. RCS allows for proper group chats and it supports Wi-Fi messaging too.

And yet for years, Apple refused to bring RCS to its platform — something Google had long been needling it to do — to keep iMessage more of a walled garden. Of course, iMessage itself has many of the same features as RCS. At one point, Apple CEO Tim Cook's response to someone who asked for improved Android texting compatibility so they could share videos with their mother was to "buy your mom an iPhone."

Apple eventually relented on its RCS stance last year, possibly to ensure it complies with strict EU regulations. The company said it would enable RCS support in 2024, so it makes sense that this feature would debut in iOS 18. That means messaging between iOS and Android should be much better in the near future (even if texts from Android devices will still appear as green bubbles on an iPhone). Meanwhile, Google just started allowing Android users to edit RCS messages within a 15-minute window of sending them.

Gurman also noted that Apple is likely to support custom emoji generation based on what you're writing in text messages. It seems that you'll also be able to change the colors of app icons on your home screen and no longer have to keep apps locked to a rigid grid system.

Apple Music may gain an auto-generated playlist feature, following an OpenAI-powered tool that Spotify rolled out in 2023. Custom routes and topographic maps (which debuted on Apple Watch last year) are said to be on the way to Apple Maps. In addition, Apple is rumored to be adding a voice-recording tool to Notes, which would dovetail nicely with the expected transcription function, as well as the option to display mathematical notation.

Other core apps are reportedly in line for some changes, such as generative AI functions in productivity apps like Keynote and Pages. Others like Mail, Fitness and Health are also expected to get new features, but the details haven't been leaked as yet.

Calculator

This long-expected update deserves its own section. That's right, the Calculator app is said to be getting a major overhaul on iPhone and Mac. Snarkiness aside, the revamp actually sounds like it'll be useful, with Notes app integration, improved unit conversions and a sidebar listing recent activity. The app is also said to be coming to iPadOS.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

macOS 15

Let's take a wild guess out of the gate here and declare that Apple will name the next version of macOS after a notable location in California. In all seriousness, that would be the least shocking thing Apple could possibly do on the keynote stage.

Many of the iOS app updates are expected to be replicated in macOS 15, such as the Apple Music, Notes and productivity changes. Rumors suggest that Apple is reorganizing the System Settings app based on importance and priority of the various categories, so the General tab is likely to be bumped up while Sound and Notifications are expected to drop down the list.

Elsewhere, Siri's menu bar icon may get a new look with a flat monochrome design expected to supplant the current colorful version. There may be some welcome accessibility upgrades too, such as a Shortcuts option that allows users to trigger a certain setting or action using a custom spoken phrase.

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Apple hardware

Last year's WWDC was a hardware bonanza, with Apple finally announcing the Vision Pro along with the 15-inch MacBook Air and the M2 Ultra-powered Mac Pro and Mac Studio. We're not expecting much from Apple on the hardware front this time around, though.

The company just updated its iPad lineup and it's likely a little too early for any new laptops given the MacBook Pro and iMac updates in October and MacBook Air refreshes in March. Of course, iPhones will remain under wraps until September, as will the next Apple Watches. However, Apple may take the opportunity to slot its M3 or even M4 chips into its other desktop systems, which remain mired in the M2 generation.

We could see some refreshed peripherals and other devices too. There's always the possibility that Apple will unveil an (official) version of the AirPods Max with a USB-C charging port.

Back in January 2023, Gurman reported that a new Apple TV box would arrive in the first half of 2024. There's still just enough time for that to happen. There's a possibility that Apple may add a camera to the Apple TV as well. In that case, there'd be no need to use an iPhone or iPad for FaceTime chats on the biggest screen in your home.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Apple Vision Pro

One thing we are expecting on the hardware side is for Apple to reveal where the Vision Pro is going next. Until now, the headset has only been available in the US. That's probably going to change in the coming weeks and months. Multiple reports have suggested that the next phase of the rollout will include Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the UK. However, there hasn't been much in terms of visionOS 2 leaks so far, so it's unclear what kind of updates the mixed reality operating system will get.

Everything else

The rumor mill has been quiet about watchOS updates too. There will surely be some notable changes to Apple's wearable operating system, but we could be in for a relatively minor iteration of watchOS after last year's massive overhaul.

It's rare that tvOS gets much love during an Apple keynote, but it's bound to get an update that we'll learn about at some point during WWDC. You might have to wait until the Platforms State of the Union event at 4PM ET for the scoop. The same goes for CarPlay and HomePod.

Bear in mind, none of this is certain until the likes of Cook, Craig Federighi et al hit the WWDC keynote stage and start discussing what's next for Apple's products and services. But based on the reporting of several Apple-focused journalists with a strong track record of getting things right, we do expect to hear about many of the above updates and announcements.