WWDC 2023: An update on the expected announcements

Whether it’s iOS 17, the Mac remote control, the latest macOS version or the mixed reality headset, Apple intends to fill the eyes of the lucky readers who will follow the conference in physics as well as those who will watch it online on the YouTube channel or on the firm’s website. A last-minute update on everything we can expect to see tonight at 19 p.m., French time.

Among the big Apple events of the year, WWDC is by far the most important for the firm. This annual high mass brings together many developers from all over the world and is dedicated to third-party software developers who create applications for Apple’s platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc. If the festivities last a week, they however begin with an opening speech this Monday morning, at 10 a.m. in California.

To follow the event in Europe, you will therefore have to wait 19 hours. On this occasion, the Cupertino firm intends to put the package on the ads. Some of them – the updates to Apple’s big five operating systems, in particular – are as predictable as the date of the event. But as always, the firm will also have some surprises in store for us.

Focus on the next OS: iOS 17 headlining

WWDC is entirely dedicated to development, so we can be sure that Apple will reveal the details of its next operating system updates for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, HomePod or Apple Watch. Available in the form of a beta version to be tested at first, they will then be made available to everyone a few weeks later via a public beta version. Finally, the next OS will be available for download to everyone in the fall (usually in September for iOS/iPadOS/watchOS and in October for macOS).

iOS 17 is by far the headliner of the event given the number of iPhone owners on the planet. According to a recent Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) research report, the adoption rate of the iPhone by Android users is currently higher than it has ever been in 5 years. Among the respondents, 83% of them said they had already owned an iPhone. Thus, these few million users will be delighted to learn that iOS 17 will focus mainly on improving performance, while bringing optimizations to the Control Center, Dynamic island and Spotlight search, as well as updated versions of the Camera and Health apps. Note that the release of the public version of iOS 17.0 is scheduled for next September after a battery of tests.

iPadOS 17 will also receive its share of updates and should integrate most of the features of iOS 17, but adapting them to an interface for a large screen. When Apple’s two mobile operating systems separated in 2019, they were similar in many ways, but the iPad version is gradually moving towards its own domain. Among the functions likely to arrive in iPadOS 17, we find the customizable lock screen launched in iOS 16 and other more modest improvements. It has also been reported that the upgrade will no longer support the first generation iPad Pro (9.7 and 12.9 inches) and the fifth generation iPad.

macOS 14 and watchOS 10 are coming

After macOS Ventura, a fourteenth major version of macOS will succeed it. Even if its name remains a mystery, we can bet on that of a Californian monument. So far we have had: Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura. It has been reported that macOS 14 will be more of a maintenance version than a feature-rich version, so it is possible that Apple will choose a place close to Ventura.

As for the next OS for the Apple Watch, the latter will be more of a niche than the iPhone, iPad and Mac updates mentioned above. The focus will be on more health and fitness tools for the owners of the smartwatch. In April, analyst Mark Gurman indicated that watchOS 10 would bring “notable changes to the user interface” and “should be a fairly important update”. A little clarification: this update will be available only for owners of a Series 4 watch or a newer model. Finally, tvOS and HomePod should also be improved but the mystery around these OS remains whole.

A variation of Mac to come

After a first part of WWDC dedicated to OS, Apple will take the time to launch several products. There is no doubt that many of the announcements will concern the Mac universe. In recent years, Apple has unveiled the iMac Pro (in 2017), alongside updates to the iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro, and announced a Mac Pro and the Pro Display XDR in June 2019. During WWDC 2020, he presented Intel’s transition to its own chip, and that of 2022 saw the launch of the M2 chip in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. So today we can expect an ultimate Mac Pro model. The latter should take advantage of the transition from the Intel chip to its own chip. The machine will be equipped with an M2 Ultra processor and its design will be similar to that of the current model indicate the latest rumors.

A 15-inch MacBook Air will also make its entrance on the podium. Weighing just under 1.4 kg, it is only 12 mm thick, which is only 0.7 mm thicker than the 13-inch model. It will have a 15.2-inch screen, to be exact, for a resolution of 2880 x 1800 (against 2560 x 1664 on the 13-inch model). However, it is not expected that the M3 chip will make its appearance, so Apple will stick to the M2. The choice of a slightly less powerful chip may be important for other reasons. Apple says the upcoming MacBook Air has the longest battery life of any laptop it has made. Note that it starts at 256 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM at a price of $ 1,599 excluding VAT.

Finally, the iMac will blow out its two candles. An update at WWDC would therefore make sense, but rumors suggest that Apple is waiting for the M3 chip before updating the iMac, so this terminal may not be launched until later in the year. Moreover, it is rumored that Apple is currently working on a 42-inch iMac with an OLED screen, but it is likely that it will not be launched until 2024 or 2025.

Another star: a Reality Pro headset for developers

The Reality Pro headset is eagerly awaited at the turn. Apple has been the subject of rumors for years about the launch of an AR/VR headset, which should finally arrive in 2023, and there is a good chance that it will appear at the WWDC keynote. The firm has a very particular vision of AR and intends to fill our eyes with it. “Augmented reality on iOS and iPadOS transforms the way you work, learn, play and see the world. And this is just the beginning”. In detail, the helmet would look like a pair of ski goggles, with 8K screens, many cameras and an external battery, for a price that could exceed $ 3,000 (far from being accessible to everyone therefore).

We can therefore bet on the fact that this headset is primarily aimed at application developers. It should introduce its own platform of applications and services focused on an immersive experience. If Apple is indeed launching its headset tonight, one of the main elements of the presentation will indeed be the famous xrOS (extended reality OS). So, all that remains is to wait a few hours until the opening of the event to have all the answers to these questions! A dedicated website is already available.