Archive chapter
What changed across Apple in 2024: ecosystem turning points, hardware launches, software releases and the support boundaries that moved with them.
Historical context
Curated, source-backed moments that explain how products, software and technologies changed direction together. These records add context without duplicating the canonical product or OS facts below.
Apple introduced Apple Intelligence as a personal-intelligence system integrated with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, tying generative models to Apple silicon, personal context, and Private Cloud Compute.
Related software
Technology threads
Software history
Verified public releases in 2024, including major-version milestones, maintenance updates and products that lost major-version support.
visionOS
9 public releases in this major line · 8 point updates
visionOS introduced a three-dimensional interface in which apps coexist with the user’s physical surroundings.
Navigation and interaction were designed around eye tracking, hand gestures, and voice rather than handheld controllers.
Apps could be arranged at different scales and positions across a flexible spatial canvas.
Environments and spatial media experiences let content partially or fully replace the surrounding view.
iPhone OS / iOS
26 public releases in this major line · 25 point updates
Flexible arrangement to place app icons and widgets in any open position on the Home Screen, such as along the bottom or off to the side, to create the ideal layout for each page
Photos app redesign features the biggest update ever with a simplified layout that puts everything into a single view
Messages via satellite lets you message friends and family when you are without cellular or Wi-Fi connection by connecting to a satellite in space (iPhone 14 and later)
Redesigned Control Center features convenient groups of controls, the ability to arrange controls just the way you want, and support for controls from third-party apps
Custom Lock Screen controls let you choose controls from the controls gallery from your favorite apps
Distraction Control helps you hide items on a webpage that you find disruptive to your browsing
Passwords app lets you see all your credentials for websites and apps in one place, making it even easier to access your passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes
Topographic maps display features like trails, contour lines, elevation, and points of interest
Game Mode minimizes background activity to sustain the highest frame rates and dramatically improves responsiveness with wireless accessories like game controllers and AirPods
Tap to Cash lets you exchange Apple Cash quickly and privately, without sharing phone numbers or email addresses, just by holding your phones together
iPadOS
25 public releases in this major line · 24 point updates
Flexible arrangement to place app icons and widgets in any open position on the Home Screen, such as along the bottom or off to the side, to create the ideal layout for each page
Photos app redesign features the biggest update ever with a simplified layout that puts everything into a single view
Text effects bring your conversations to life by visually amplifying any letter, word, phrase, or emoji in iMessage with dynamic, animated effects like explode, ripple, and nod
Redesigned Control Center features convenient groups of controls, the ability to arrange controls just the way you want, and support for controls from third-party apps
Custom Lock Screen controls let you choose controls from the controls gallery from your favorite apps
Handwriting Refinement automatically refines your handwritten text in real-time to be smoother, straighter, and more legible (iPad models with A14 Bionic, or M1 and above)
Math Notes let you evaluate expressions, assign variables and even draw graphs by simply typing or writing out math
Game Mode minimizes background activity to sustain the highest frame rates and dramatically improves responsiveness with wireless accessories like game controllers and AirPods
Distraction Control helps you hide items on a webpage that you find disruptive to your browsing
Passwords app lets you see all your credentials for websites and apps in one place, making it even easier to access your passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes
Major-version support ended
Mac OS X / OS X / macOS
23 public releases in this major line · 22 point updates
Continuity expanded with direct interaction with an iPhone from the Mac while the phone remained locked.
A dedicated Passwords app centralized passwords, passkeys, and related credentials.
New window-arrangement controls and presenter preview/background tools improved desktop workflows.
Sequoia established the Mac software foundation for Apple Intelligence on supported Apple silicon systems.
Major-version support ended
Apple TV Software / tvOS
10 public releases in this major line · 9 point updates
InSight for Apple TV+ displays real-time information that complements what you’re watching onscreen. Swipe down when playing an Apple Original movie or show.
Portraits—a new category of screen savers—frames your favorite photos with stunning color effects and playful clocks.
Enhance Dialogue gives you the option to hear speech more clearly over background sounds using real-time audio processing and machine learning. Select Audio Options in Settings to turn on the Enhance Dialogue.
Subtitles appear when you mute audio or when you skip back, up to 30 seconds.
Live Captions turn spoken conversations into text in real time when the Apple TV primary language is set to English (U.S.) or English (Canada) and callers speak English.
New design makes it easier to navigate and find workouts and meditations to stay motivated.
SharePlay lets everyone add their favorite songs and control playback with their iPhone when listening together. Select SharePlay while listening on Apple TV, then scan the QR code that appears.
Audio from your Siri requests are processed on Apple TV and never leave the device.
visionOS
12 public releases in this major line · 11 point updates
visionOS 2 could transform existing 2D photos in the Photos library into spatial photos with added depth.
New hand gestures provided faster access to Home View and important system information without relying on an app window.
Mac Virtual Display gained workflow improvements alongside mouse support and the ability to reveal a physical Magic Keyboard while immersed.
Users could rearrange apps in Home View and place compatible iPhone and iPad apps where they wanted.
Travel Mode expanded to trains, while Guest User could retain a guest’s eye and hand setup for 30 days.
New APIs and frameworks gave developers more ways to build volumetric and shareable spatial-computing experiences.
watchOS
11 public releases in this major line · 10 point updates
View your overnight health metrics like heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, and sleep duration in one convenient location
Track the impact that the intensity, based on effort ratings, and the duration of your workouts have on your body over time with training load
Dictate phrases and have them automatically translated and played out loud with support for 20 languages
Review tide data for over 115,000 beaches and 5,000 surf spots worldwide including high and low tides, rising and falling tides, tide height and direction in new Tides app
View timely information in the Smart Stack with suggested widgets that will automatically appear, intelligently using signals like time and date, location, wake-up and bedtime, and more to determine priority
Create a dynamic Photos watch face using image categories like People, Pets, Cities, or Nature to intelligently curate the best photos from your iPhone based on aesthetics, composition, and facial expressions
Receive possible sleep apnea notification when breathing disturbance data shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea over a 30 day period (Available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later and Apple Watch Ultra 2)
Start a Check In from Messages, Workout controls, or the Smart Stack to automatically alert friend or family member when you reach your destination, after a pre-determined time, or when your workout ends
Major-version support ended
Public release history
105 public point updates are recorded for this year. Expand a platform to inspect the version-by-version release dates.
Hardware releases
Filters below affect the hardware list only. Product relationships and generation deltas still come from the canonical lineage catalog.
15 catalogued products
Mac · MacBook Air
The 2024 MacBook Air range brought M3, Wi-Fi 6E, and closed-lid dual-display support to both the 13-inch and 15-inch sizes.
Apple M3 chip in both 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models.
Support for up to two external displays when the notebook lid is closed.
Wi-Fi 6E and AV1 decode support through the M3 media engine.
Liquid Retina display, MagSafe charging, and fanless aluminum enclosure design.
iPad · Air
Upgrades the compact Air with Apple M2 silicon, a landscape front camera, Apple Pencil Pro support, and doubled base storage of 128GB.
8-core CPU (4 performance and 4 efficiency cores), 9-core or 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 100GB/s memory bandwidth; delivers nearly 50 percent faster overall performance than iPad Air with M1.
Adds support for Apple Pencil Pro features including squeeze gesture (triggering contextual palettes), barrel roll (utilizing an internal gyroscope for brush orientation), custom haptic feedback, and Apple Find My location tracking.
Displays an interactive preview of tool position and stroke dimensions up to 12 mm above the screen.
Front camera relocated to the horizontal long edge for centered sightlines and natural framing in landscape orientation and keyboard docks.
Entry capacity doubled from 64GB to 128GB (at the same $599 starting price), adding 512GB and 1TB storage tiers.
Physical nano-SIM card slot omitted worldwide; cellular models exclusively use digital eSIM.
Upgraded tri-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless protocols.
Available in Blue, Purple, Starlight, and Space Gray.
Incompatible with Apple Pencil 2 due to relocated internal magnetic charging induction coils accommodating the landscape camera assembly.
Completely retired across all global cellular models.
11-inch Liquid Retina display (LED-backlit IPS, 2360-by-1640 resolution at 264 ppi, 500 nits brightness, P3 wide color, True Tone, fully laminated with anti-reflective coating).
Top-button Touch ID capacitive biometric sensor.
Magic Keyboard (for iPad Air and previous 11-inch iPad Pro) compatibility via Smart Connector.
6.1 mm thin aluminum unibody enclosure weighing 462 g.
USB-C port supporting 10 Gbps transfer speeds (USB 3.1 Gen 2).
iPad · Air
Pioneers the accessible 13-inch iPad Air tier, bringing a 30 percent larger canvas, M2 silicon, 2x bass stereo audio, and Apple Pencil Pro support at $799.
First-ever large-screen iPad Air, incorporating an expansive 13-inch Liquid Retina display (2732-by-2048 resolution at 264 ppi, 600 nits brightness, P3 wide color, True Tone, fully laminated, anti-reflective coating). Delivers 30 percent more viewable screen area than the 11-inch model.
Display calibrated at 600 nits peak brightness (compared to 500 nits on the 11-inch Air).
Re-engineered acoustic enclosure featuring dual speakers tuned to deliver double the bass response of the 11-inch model.
Introduced at $799 (US), lowering the entry price for a large-format iPad by $300 relative to previous 12.9-inch iPad Pro generations.
8-core CPU, 9-core or 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 100GB/s memory bandwidth.
Compatible with Apple Pencil Pro features (squeeze gesture, barrel roll gyroscope, haptic feedback, Find My) and 12 mm hover preview.
Positioned on the long landscape edge with Center Stage.
Operates exclusively with digital eSIM technology worldwide, omitting the physical SIM card tray.
Configurable in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities.
Aluminum unibody enclosure maintaining a slender 6.1 mm profile (weighing 617 g Wi-Fi / 618 g Cellular).
Top-button Touch ID capacitive biometric sensor.
Magic Keyboard (for 12.9-inch iPad Pro 3rd-6th gen) accessory compatibility via rear Smart Connector.
36.59-watt-hour battery delivering up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi.
iPad · Pro
Debuts Apple M4 silicon and Tandem OLED Ultra Retina XDR in a breakthrough 5.3 mm enclosure with landscape Face ID and Apple Pencil Pro.
State-of-the-art display utilizing two stacked OLED light-emitting panels to achieve 1,000 nits full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR, 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, sub-millisecond pixel response time, true specular highlights, absolute blacks, and ProMotion dynamic refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz.
For the first time on iPad, a high-precision etched glass surface option available on 1TB and 2TB configurations that scatters ambient light to minimize glare while maintaining image sharpness and contrast.
Features a next-generation CPU with 3 performance and 6 efficiency cores (9-core CPU on 256GB/512GB) or 4 performance and 6 efficiency cores (10-core CPU on 1TB/2TB), a 10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, mesh shading, and Dynamic Caching, and a 16-core Neural Engine delivering 38 trillion operations per second (38 TOPS) — 60x faster than Apple's first Neural Engine.
Re-engineered chassis reducing thickness from 5.9 mm to 5.3 mm and weight to 444 g (Wi-Fi) / 446 g (Cellular), integrating graphite sheets into the main housing and copper into the rear Apple logo to improve thermal performance by 20 percent.
Front camera and Face ID sensor array repositioned to the landscape top edge for natural video conferencing framing.
Advanced active stylus with squeeze gesture (initiating quick tool switches), barrel roll (gyroscope for dynamic brush orientation), custom haptic feedback motor, Apple Pencil hover, and Find My tracking integration.
Aluminum top case and palm rest, a 14-key dedicated function row (including brightness and volume), larger glass trackpad with haptic feedback, and magnetic passthrough USB-C charging.
AI-assisted multi-frame flash that captures multiple photos to eliminate shadows when scanning physical documents.
Baseline storage doubled from 128GB to 256GB, available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities.
8GB unified memory on 256GB/512GB models; 16GB unified memory on 1TB/2TB models (with 120GB/s memory bandwidth).
Standardized on eSIM-only globally, eliminating the physical nano-SIM tray.
Retired from the rear camera bump, focusing the rear imaging module on an optimized 12MP Wide camera, LiDAR Scanner, and adaptive flash.
Incompatible with Apple Pencil 2 due to re-engineered magnetic charging infrastructure.
Removed on all cellular configurations.
Thunderbolt / USB 4 port supporting up to 40 Gbps data transfer speeds and external display output up to 6K resolution.
Four-speaker spatial audio system and studio-quality four-microphone array.
31.29-watt-hour battery delivering up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi.
iPad · Pro
The thinnest Apple product ever at 5.1 mm, featuring a 13-inch Tandem OLED Ultra Retina XDR display, M4 silicon, and Apple Pencil Pro.
Redesigned unibody enclosure measuring only 5.1 mm thin (a 1.3 mm reduction from the 6.4 mm 12.9-inch predecessor) and weighing 579 g (Wi-Fi) / 582 g (Cellular) — a massive weight drop of 103 grams (nearly a quarter pound).
Dual-panel stacked tandem OLED display delivering 1,000 nits full-screen brightness for SDR/HDR, 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, sub-millisecond response time, specular highlight rendering, and zero mini-LED local dimming halo/blooming artifacts. Features 2752-by-2064 resolution at 264 ppi with ProMotion (10Hz-120Hz).
Etched nano-texture glass available on 1TB and 2TB models to dramatically scatter reflected ambient light in high-glare creative production studios.
9-core CPU (256/512GB) or 10-core CPU (1TB/2TB), 10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, mesh shading, and Dynamic Caching, plus a 16-core Neural Engine executing 38 TOPS.
Moved Face ID and 12MP Ultra Wide Center Stage camera to the long landscape top edge.
Integrates squeeze gestures, barrel roll rotational sensing, custom haptics, and Find My tracking.
Redesigned companion keyboard with aluminum top case, 14-key function row, larger glass haptic trackpad, and magnetic USB-C passthrough charging.
AI document scanning engine eliminating page shadows.
Expanded from 12.9 inches (2732-by-2048) to 13.0 inches (2752-by-2064).
Doubled from 128GB to 256GB (offered in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB).
eSIM-only worldwide without physical SIM card slot.
Replaced by Tandem OLED display technology.
Retired from the camera module.
Incompatible with new charging coils.
Completely retired.
Thunderbolt / USB 4 port supporting up to 40 Gbps transfer speeds and 6K Pro Display XDR external monitors.
Four-speaker audio system with spatial audio rendering and four studio-quality microphones.
38.99-watt-hour battery delivering up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi.
AirPods · Standard
Apple H2 silicon, a 50-million-point ergonomic redesign, Voice Isolation, and the introduction of Active Noise Cancellation redefine the open-ear AirPods standard.
Bridges the performance gap with Pro models, powering computational audio features including Voice Isolation and Siri Interactions.
Upgraded microphones, the H2 chip, and advanced computational audio reduce low-frequency environmental noise without an occluding silicone tip.
Automatically adjusts noise control based on surroundings and lowers media volume when the user begins speaking.
Mapped and analyzed using 3D photogrammetry and laser topography across thousands of ear shapes and 50 million individual data points for superior universal fit and stability.
Computational audio isolates the user's voice and removes background noise during calls in windy or loud settings.
Head gestures allow users to nod "yes" or shake their head "no" to respond to Siri announcements and calls hands-free.
Over 10 percent smaller by volume than the AirPods 3 case, establishing USB-C across the lineup.
Adds Qi/Apple Watch wireless charging and a built-in speaker for Find My alerts in an ultra-compact 50mm-wide case.
Low-distortion driver and high dynamic range amplifier with Personalized Spatial Audio.
Lightning retired; USB-C wired charging standard.
Rated IP54 for dust, sweat, and water resistance on earbuds and case.
Delivers natural comfort without ear canal occlusion.
Squeeze controls on the stem for media playback and call handling.
Apple Watch · Series
A nearly 10% thinner profile (9.7mm), wide-angle OLED display with higher off-axis brightness, S10 SiP, titanium replacing stainless steel, media playback on speaker, and sleep apnea notifications define the tenth-generation Apple Watch redesign.
Re-engineered 9.7 mm case thickness (nearly 10 percent thinner than Series 7, 8, and 9) with an integrated metal back combining the antenna and housing into a unified single-piece metal construction.
First Apple product with wide-angle OLED technology, optimizing light emission per pixel to deliver up to 40 percent more brightness when viewed off-axis and enabling a 1Hz refresh rate in always-on mode that displays a ticking seconds hand.
Analyzes overnight Breathing Disturbances tracked by the accelerometer over 30-day monitoring intervals to detect consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea.
Replaces previous stainless steel options with aerospace-grade polished titanium cases (natural, gold, slate) that are nearly 20 percent lighter than stainless steel Series 9.
(minor): Introduced via an advanced 30-step anodization process producing a deeply reflective, high-gloss black finish.
Built-in speaker can now stream and play audiobooks, podcasts, and music directly from the wrist without requiring connected Bluetooth headphones.
Larger and more efficient charging coil integrated into the metal back charges to 80 percent in approximately 30 minutes (15 minutes powers up to 8 hours of normal use; 8 minutes powers 8 hours of sleep tracking).
Integrated depth gauge measuring down to 6 meters with the new Depth app and Oceanic+ snorkeling support, alongside automatic water temperature measurement upon submersion.
Shifted from 41mm/45mm to 42mm/46mm geometries, delivering up to 9 percent more screen area than Series 9 and up to 30 percent more than Series 4/5/6, surpassing even Apple Watch Ultra in active display area.
Thinner silicon packaging built for power efficiency, on-device Siri with Health data access, Voice Isolation noise suppression on calls, and double tap gesture navigation.
Aluminum cases are up to 10 percent lighter than Series 9, and polished titanium cases are almost 20 percent lighter than stainless steel Series 9.
Completely replaced across premium mainstream tiers by polished Grade 5 titanium.
Retired in favor of larger 42mm and 46mm formats while preserving legacy band connector compatibility.
Retained the standard 18-hour daily runtime rating despite a 10 percent internal volume reduction.
41mm bands remain fully compatible with 42mm cases, and 45mm bands remain compatible with 46mm cases.
iPhone · Standard
A18, Camera Control, Action button, and Apple Intelligence readiness shift the standard tier toward proactive camera and AI controls.
A dedicated camera control added direct physical interaction for capture and camera settings.
The programmable Action button expanded beyond the Pro tier.
The standard tier jumped to A18 with Apple Intelligence support.
iPhone · Plus
The large standard branch gains Camera Control, Action button, A18, and Apple Intelligence support.
The Plus branch gained the same dedicated camera interaction as iPhone 16.
iPhone · Pro
Larger displays, A18 Pro, Camera Control, and 4K120 Dolby Vision push the Pro camera/video system forward.
The smaller Pro model increased its display size while narrowing borders.
The video pipeline added higher-frame-rate 4K Dolby Vision capture.
iPhone · Pro Max
The Pro Max grows to 6.9 inches while sharing the new A18 Pro and 48MP Ultra Wide camera architecture.
The Max display grew while maintaining the Pro generation’s thinner borders.
iPad · mini
Supercharges the 8.3-inch ultraportable canvas with A17 Pro silicon, Apple Intelligence, Apple Pencil Pro support, and 2x faster USB-C.
6-core CPU (2 performance and 4 efficiency cores, delivering a 30 percent boost over A15 Bionic), 5-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading (up to 4x faster ray tracing and 25 percent graphics boost), and a 16-core Neural Engine that is over 2x faster for on-device machine learning and Apple Intelligence models.
Hardware capability engineered for Apple Intelligence features including Writing Tools, Clean Up in Photos, and Siri intelligence.
Compatible with Apple Pencil Pro, introducing squeeze gestures, barrel roll rotational brush control, custom haptic feedback, and Find My tracking.
Displays precision visual cursor feedback up to 12 mm above the 8.3-inch screen.
Upgraded from 5 Gbps to 10 Gbps (USB 3.1 Gen 2), enabling rapid offloading of large media files, high-res photos, and connection to external displays up to 4K at 60Hz.
Entry capacity doubled from 64GB to 128GB at the same $499 starting price, adding a new 512GB top tier alongside 256GB.
Tri-band Wi-Fi delivering up to 2.4 Gbps download throughput.
Upgraded computational photography pipeline on the 12MP Wide rear camera.
Cellular models omitted the physical nano-SIM slot worldwide.
Available in Blue, Purple, Starlight, and Space Gray.
Incompatible with Apple Pencil 2 due to re-engineered magnetic charging infrastructure.
Retired on all global cellular models.
8.3-inch Liquid Retina display (LED-backlit IPS, 2266-by-1488 resolution at 326 ppi, 500 nits brightness, P3 wide color, True Tone, fully laminated with anti-reflective coating).
Top-button Touch ID capacitive biometric sensor.
Landscape stereo speakers.
Portrait-oriented 12MP Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage.
Ultraportable 6.3 mm aluminum unibody enclosure weighing 293 g (Wi-Fi) / 297 g (Cellular).
19.3-watt-hour battery delivering up to 10 hours of web surfing on Wi-Fi.
Mac · iMac
M4 brings Apple Intelligence-era compute, a 12MP Center Stage camera, nano-texture option, and expanded Thunderbolt connectivity to the 24-inch iMac.
M4 chip and 16GB starting unified memory.
12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View.
Nano-texture display option and up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The color palette and color-matched USB-C accessories are refreshed.
Mac · Mac mini
Mac mini is redesigned around Apple silicon into a dramatically smaller 5-by-5-inch enclosure, with M4/M4 Pro and front-facing ports.
New 5-by-5-inch enclosure designed around Apple silicon thermal architecture.
Front USB-C ports and headphone jack.
M4 Pro configuration introduces Thunderbolt 5 to Mac mini.
M4 and M4 Pro replace the M2/M2 Pro platform.
Mac · MacBook Pro
The M4 generation expands the 14-inch base model, adds Thunderbolt 5 to M4 Pro/Max, and introduces a 12MP Center Stage camera and nano-texture option.
M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max chip family.
12MP Center Stage camera.
Nano-texture display option.
Thunderbolt 5 on M4 Pro and M4 Max models.
The base 14-inch M4 model starts with 16GB unified memory and three Thunderbolt 4 ports.