Apple enthusiasts worldwide were abuzz on the day the company unveiled its upcoming series of major software releases. Alongside the anticipated updates, Apple also took many by surprise with the introduction of a feature that wasn’t expected to be revealed until later in the year.
There is even some new hardware for you to get excited about that is coming over the next few weeks. Although the dust hasn’t exactly settled just yet, these are the biggest announcements to come out of WWDC 2023.
There are a couple of products that Apple has been rumored to be working on behind the scenes for years now. One is the Apple Car, which seems further away than ever, and the other is a headset capable of using both augmented reality and virtual reality.
In the company’s first “One More Thing” in years, the Apple Vision Pro was announced. This is Apple’s first AR/VR headset, and could end up changing the way that we interact with our devices and the world around us.
We’re going to have plenty more coverage on the Apple Vision Pro, but this “spatial computing device” is slated to release in “early 2024.” And as for the cost, you’ll be looking at an eye-watering $3,499 price tag. But if what Apple showed off in the demo during the WWDC ’23 Keynote is real, it could just end up as the best computer you’ve ever used.
The Mac Pro isn’t Dead Yet
It’s been four years since the Mac Pro was last updated, but the wait is finally over for professionals who want a Mac with expandability. The 2023 Mac Pro also brings Apple Silicon to the company’s tower desktop. Powered by the M2 Ultra chip, this can be configured with up to a 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU, and an incredible 192GB of RAM with 800GB/s of memory bandwidth.
While the case for the 2023 Mac Pro is practically identical to the one released in 2019, there are some differences inside. For one, this is the first Apple Silicon-powered Mac that includes PCIe expansion thanks to the seven expansion slots. Apple states that there are “six open expansion slots that support gen 4, which is 2x faster than before, so users can customize Mac Pro with essential cards.”
Unfortunately, those who were hoping to use third-party external GPUs are going to be sadly disappointed. Even with the PCIe expansion slots, you will not be able to use something like NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 GPU paired with Apple Silicon. We’re still holding out hope that this will change in the future, but until then, we’ll just have to live with what Apple is providing.
15-inch MacBook Air
With this redesign, the 2023 MacBook Air features slimmer bezels around all four edges of the display, reaching its largest point in the notch at the top. As is the case with the 2021 MacBook Pro models, the 2023 MacBook Air’s notch houses the new-and-improved 1080p FaceTime HD webcam.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but Apple is sticking with the standard M2 chip on the 2023 MacBook Air. With the M2, this new chip is up to 1.4x faster than the M1 and up to 15x faster than the last Intel-based MacBook Air.
Best of all, the new 15-inch MacBook Air is priced at $1,299, making it just $100 more expensive compared to a 13-inch MacBook Air with the same specs. Plus, Apple is also planning to keep the M1 MacBook Air hanging around, perfect for those who are looking for a powerful laptop that costs less than $1,000.
Apple Is Taking Gaming More Seriously
Game Mode was also announced with macOS Sonoma, as this will deliver “an optimized gaming experience with smoother and more consistent frame rates, by ensuring games get the highest priority on the CPU and GPU”. However, it will also lower audio latency with AirPods, while also “significantly reducing input latency with popular game controllers like those for Xbox and PlayStation by doubling the Bluetooth sampling rate”.
Apple also announced a slew of new gaming titles that will be making their way to the Mac in the coming months. This included a special announcement for DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR’S CUT, along with Stray, No Man’s Sky, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, and many others.
But perhaps even more exciting was the introduction of the Game Porting Toolkit with macOS Sonoma. With this toolkit, Apple claims developers will be able to help “evaluate your existing Windows game for graphics feature compatibility and performance.” This could open the door to AAA games finally coming to the Mac in the future, but only time will tell if developers will take advantage of the new features.
Health Improvements Everywhere
There was a lot of focus on mental health at WWDC, and the new Journal app has the potential to be quite an intriguing addition. With Journal, you’ll be able to “reflect on and relive special moments”, complete with being able to add photos, music, and more to your entry. iOS 17 takes advantage of on-device machine learning to provide personalized suggestions, but you’ll also be able to just write out your entries if you want to.
On the Apple Watch, the Mindfulness app has been updated allowing users to “conveniently log their momentary emotions and daily moods”. There are a variety of pre-populated prompts available to describe how you are feeling, “select what is having the biggest impact on them, and describe their feelings.”
Apple even went so far as to finally bring the Health app to the iPad, which is great for those who have been wanting to view their health and fitness data on a larger screen. The new app is familiar, while also being redesigned to take better advantage of the screen real estate offered by an iPad.
Andrew Myrick is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is having a never-ending supply of different keyboards and gaming handhelds that end up collecting more dust than the consoles that are being emulated.
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