3 Key announcements from WWDC 2024 every mobile app developer should know

Last week, mobile app developers gathered in Cupertino, California, and tuned in across the globe to hear the latest news and future roadmap for Apple at their annual developer conference, WWDC 2024. And Apple did not disappoint. 

The conference brought a ton of innovative news that will drive the evolution of the iOS ecosystem. One of the biggest takeaways (unsurprisingly) was how much Apple is investing in building Apple Intelligence into the fabric of iOS itself. These initiatives are poised to disrupt the mobile app ecosystem- providing both threats and opportunities for global brands and individual developers alike. 

We’ve pulled together the top three announcements that we believe are mission-critical to app developers building and running apps on iOS. 

Apple announces ‘Apple Intelligence’ and deep integrations with an enhanced App Intents framework

Apple unveiled “Apple Intelligence,” cross-platform AI capabilities and integrations (ChatGPT) that will make it easy to use GenAI to write copy, create images, leverage powerful AI assistants (Siri), and more. However, it is Apple Intelligence's integration with App Intents, Apple’s framework, that allows apps to declare specific actions they can perform across the entire operating system. 

What does this mean? Mobile apps will be able to offer more contextual and natural interactions through Siri, Spotlight, and other system interfaces. The framework includes new APIs for better handling of entities, error management, and file representations, and advanced functionalities such as URL Representable Entities and Spotlight Indexing.

App Intents offers a unified approach for developers to make their apps more accessible and intuitive across the entire Apple ecosystem. By leveraging Apple Intelligence, these intents can utilize advanced AI and machine learning to provide personalized user experiences and enhance how users interact with apps via voice commands, search queries, and shortcuts. This integration ensures that app interactions are more fluid, efficient, and relevant- improving overall user satisfaction and engagement.

This is a major milestone that will allow app developers to integrate even more deeply into the user experience, meaning that users will not have to toggle between apps to achieve complex actions via multiple apps 

Embedding functionality into your apps the experience will be revolutionary for consumers, it means that mobile app developers will require the right tools and processes to publish release changes instantly, solve bugs faster across more points of failure, and continue to meet higher customers’ expectations. 

Mobile DevOps will quickly become table stakes for app developers in this new world.  

iPhone Mirroring enables real-time integration with iOS apps on a Mac computer

Apple introduced a new feature in Xcode 16 that allows developers to mirror their iPhone's screen directly onto their Mac. This allows developers to interact with their apps on their macs as if they were using an actual iPhone. This feature enhances the development workflow by providing a seamless development and testing environment. 

Notifications and audio from the iPhone can be redirected to the Mac, even when the iPhone is locked. Updates include intuitive drag-and-drop functionality between the iPhone and Mac.

This is a major advancement that eliminates the need to switch between devices, streamlining the QA process for iOS apps. It also provides a more integrated development environment, enabling developers to quickly identify and resolve issues, improve app performance, and ensure a consistent user experience across devices.

New Swift integration makes QA easier, faster and more robust 

During the WWDC 2024 labs, Apple introduced a new Swift Testing framework, designed to enhance the testing experience for Swift developers. This integration with the Swift ecosystem allows for better performance, more maintainable code, and a smoother development workflow. Additionally, by enhancing test discoverability and execution, Swift Testing can significantly improve the overall quality of apps across the marketplace. 

The labs included comprehensive sessions on the capabilities of Swift Testing and debuted a new API for writing tests. The sessions covered the basics of setting up tests, using the new @Test attribute, parameterized tests, and organizing tests into suites. The framework integrates closely with XCTest but provides additional functionalities that streamline and extend testing capabilities in Swift.

Swift Testing introduces a more streamlined and efficient way for developers to write and manage the QA process. By providing features like parameterized tests, improved error handling, and the ability to organize tests into suites, it helps developers ensure their code is robust and reliable. 

WWDC sets the roadmap for new standards in mobile app development 

WWDC 2024 has done well to silence critics who have loudly condemned Apple’s lag on jumping on the AI hype cycle. This year’s announcements showcase integrations and tools that have the potential to disrupt the app ecosystem and continue to expand the potential developers can reach with their apps.

It has never been more important for app developers to ensure that their development process can handle a new ecosystem that is powered by AI and dominated by apps that release changes fast and at scale. 

As apps become more embedded in the iPhone user experience, Apple is likely to hold app developers to higher standards. This presents a massive opportunity for apps with the best performance, frequent release cadence, and robust APIs to lead the charge and reap the benefits 

See how Mobile DevOps can help you reap the benefits of iOS.