Apple announces Apple Watch Workout Buddy, Emoji generation at Worldwide Developers Conference
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, where the original Macintosh computer was unveiled in 1984, commenced on Monday to showcase an array of upcoming, AI-centered incorporations across all Apple products.
Maps will remember users’ preferred routes from previous trips — down to whether they stop at the same café each day on their way to work — to customize directions accordingly and to create a visited location history.
Apple Watch will add an AI-generated Workout Buddy to track fitness history, provide verbal motivation and pep-talks, and summarize workout statistics after exercise sessions.
Live translation will be added to Messages, FaceTime and phone calls across devices, even when users are wearing AirPods, to make bilingual conversations easier. Additionally, call screening will expand with AI to crack down on scam callers and telemarketers — Apple will automatically answer calls from unknown numbers, obtain their names and reasons for calling, and show those responses on screen as the phone rings.
Also on Messages, one-on-one chats and group chats will soon be able to add customizable backgrounds similar to WhatsApp and Instagram direct messages. Group chats will be able to send polls and receive or request Apple Cash — and many Apple users who turn on Apple Intelligence using the latest version of iOS will soon be able to further customize Emojis with Genmoji.
A new games app, which can sync with a controller, will host an Apple Arcade and Play Together for transforming single-player games into group challenges.
The week-long conference, which took place at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, also announced a smarter Mac searchbar, improved visual search (web browsing using images), an AI-advanced Siri and improvements to Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, which will allow users to input passport information for digital IDs and offer in-person redemption of rewards and options to pay in installments.
Disney and Universal defend Toy Story, The Simpsons characters against AI copyright
Disney and Universal became the first Hollywood giants to file an artificial intelligence copyright lawsuit on Wednesday — accusing AI image creator Midjourney of copyright infringement. Midjourney has created and distributed AI-generated versions of Cars, Toy Story, Shrek, The Avengers, The Simpsons and Star Wars characters without permission, Disney and Universal claimed, demanding a jury trial.
Creator agency Whalar announces two CEOs
Whalar, part of creator agency Whalar Group, announced Jo Cronk and Emma Harman as co-CEOs this week to lead creator-led strategies for cultural and commercial impact. Cronk was most recently Whalar’s president of North America, while Harman was most recently the agency’s president of EMEA. Both will continue reporting to Neil Waller, co-CEO and cofounder of Whalar Group.
“Creators have reshaped the dynamics between brands and culture,” Cronk said in Whalar’s press release. “This moment marks a pivotal step in the creator revolution, and we’re just getting started.”
Cronk and Harman have worked with Whalar for almost eight years each. Cronk’s landed partnerships with clients including the NFL, Peacock and Nestlé Health Science, and has collaborated with Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube. Harman has driven partnerships with Google, Oatly, TikTok and LinkedIn.
App Updates
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,Google and X will now be held accountable for illegal content posted by users in Brazil, following a vote by the Brazil Supreme Court on Wednesday. While the judges decided social media platforms will be fined for not removing illegal posts created by users in Brazil, they’ve not yet decided which content classifies as illegal.
Competing with Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, Snap announced 2026 plans to release Specs augmented reality (AR) glasses on Wednesday. While Snap has already released five versions of AR glasses to developers, Specs will be the tech company’s first AR glasses available to consumers — allowing them access to an AI assistant and the ability to share games with friends. Snap has invested $3 million over the past 11 years developing AR glasses.
To improve app discoverability on its App Store, Apple is adding AI-powered tags. App developers can opt to make their apps accessible with the tags and will control which tags are associated with their products.
This story first appeared on Campaign US.
