Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) took place today, and while there were announcements of new features, we left feeling like Apple was playing catch-up rather than pushing the boundaries of innovation.
Here’s a closer look at some of the announced features that have been available elsewhere for some time:
‘New’ Apple Features
iPhone users can now finally arrange app icons wherever they want on the newly unveiled iOS 18, which will work for iPhone XS and newer models. Android users have enjoyed this level of customization for over a decade. I’ll let Samsung speak:
Moreover, Apple now allows you to set the colors of icons, a feature that was, again, available on Google before Apple.
As we guessed earlier, Apple touted the ability to get summaries of webpages. This functionality already exists in browsers like Arc.
The categorization of emails in the Mail app (Primary, Social, Promotions) is nothing new for Gmail users who have had this feature for years.
Formatting text with bold, italics, and underlined options in iMessage might seem exciting, but WhatsApp users have recently received this update.
iMessage users can now respond to messages with emoji tapbacks. This feature, however, has been a staple in Slack for quite some time.
While Apple’s announcement of creating AI-generated images within iMessage sounds futuristic, OpenAI and Google have been offering similar services for over a year.
Type to Siri: Google Assistant has had voice typing for a long time.
Calculator on iPad: This seems like a basic functionality that most tablets already have. Here is all you need to know about iPadOS 18.
Customizable control center: Again, a feature on Android for years.
Rewrite for emails/messages: Similar functionality exists in Google Pixel 8 Pros phones.
Summarize mail: Features like Gemini already offer email summarization.
AI-generated emojis (GenMoji): Similar to Gboard’s Emoji Kitchen, which mixes emojis,
Many of the announced features make it feel like Apple is playing catch-up to existing functionalities in the smartphone industry. While some features like Genmoji (AI-generated emoji) offer a new twist, core functionalities haven’t broken new ground.
This trend sounds very similar to Apple’s announcement of USB-C and fast charging last year, which were presented as groundbreaking but were already common standards on many devices.
More here.