WWDC 2023: What to expect at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

Apple’s upcoming WWDC is expected to be one of the biggest yet. After years of rumors and leaks, Apple could finally reveal its mixed reality headset, ushering the company into a new product category and giving the world a first look at its attempt to prove that VR is worth investing in.

There’s sure to be a lot more: OS updates, new apps and features, and possibly new hardware too. Here, we’ve rounded up details on how and when you can watch the WWDC keynote, as well as some of the announcements to expect from Apple.

This year’s WWDC keynote is scheduled for Monday, June 5 at 1pm ET / 10am PT. It will take place as a digital and in-person event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, with Apple CEO Tim Cook expected to kick off.

Apple to Live Stream WWDC Keynote from your website and Youtube channel. You can also watch the stream that we will embed at the top of this article once it is published. If you can’t watch the keynote live, you can always watch it from the pre-recorded version that Apple will post on YouTube after it airs.

With that said, let’s look at some of the biggest announcements we expect Apple to make during WWDC.

Apple’s mixed reality headset is arguably one of the company’s most exciting products in years. While Apple has yet to confirm its existence, reports suggest it will be capable of providing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences.

The headphones likely exist as a stand-alone device, with a battery that connects to the headphones via a proprietary cable. So far, reports suggest that Apple has been busy creating VR versions of some of its native apps, including Safari, FaceTime, Apple TV, Apple Books, Freeform, and more.

With an expected price of around $3,000, Apple’s headphones won’t come cheap. Although Apple is reportedly working on more affordable versions of the device as well, chances are we won’t see them at this year’s event.

Apple is also expected to launch a larger 15-inch option for the MacBook Air, a device that has long featured a standard 13-inch screen. We first heard about the device last year, and more detailed rumors have been piling up ever since.

The 15-inch MacBook Air will likely come with the internal M2 chip that was used in MacBook Air models released last year. As a report from Bloombergit can also feature the same 3024 x 1964 resolution as the 14-inch MacBook Pro, though the display might be a bit less sharp since it has an extra inch of space to fill.

Other than that though, it’s not exactly clear if Apple has any plans to reveal any other new Macs. The company is rumored to be working on a 13-inch MacBook Pro, a 13-inch MacBook Air, and a 24-inch iMac, all of which could come with a new M3 chip.

WWDC is a developer event, which means we’re bound to see some updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and more.

That includes the reveal of iOS 17, which is rumored to come with a variety of smaller quality of life upgrades. Apple has already previewed the suite of accessibility features likely to come with the new operating system, including a personal voice tool that lets users create a synthetic voice with 15 minutes of training.

Apple is also expected to include some updates to Stage Manager in iPadOS 17, the multitasking interface that my colleague David Pierce said “still doesn’t work” even after Apple officially released it last October. The updates sound like they are more on the technical side of thingshowever, and less about its general functionality.

Not much is known about what’s in store for macOS 14 and tvOS 17, but Apple is reportedly giving watchOS 10 a pretty big update that adds a new interface full of widgets.

Speaking of iOS 17, a report of The Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple will release a new journal app for the iPhone that will allow you to write down your thoughts and activities throughout the day.

It can also provide suggestions for topics you can write about and offer “All-Day People Discovery” to keep track of who you spend time with and even detect when you’re doing something you don’t normally do on any given day. While Apple is expected to reveal the app at WWDC, the company will likely launch it in the fall.

Apple is running out of time to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). While some of the rules have already gone into effect, “digital gatekeepers” like Apple have until March next year at the latest to allow users to download third-party app stores and download apps within the EU, something to which that Apple has strongly expressed its opposition. security concerns.

That’s why it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Apple uses WWDC to preview some of the changes it’s making to its iPhone and iPad ecosystems. (Or at least calmly inform the developers that the change is coming.) According BloombergApple is looking to “revise” iOS to comply with European regulators.

In addition to allowing sideloading, speculation is rampant that Apple will no longer require third-party browsers to use Apple’s own WebKit engine, allowing for more differentiation in mobile browsers. The company could also open up access to its NFC chip, which is currently limited to Apple services like Apple Wallet and Apple Pay.

Apple has plenty of new Macs on the cards, and while we don’t expect all of them to show up at WWDC, it’s always a possibility. In addition to the upcoming MacBooks that we mentioned above, we know that Apple is working on a Mac Pro with internal Apple chipan updated 24-inch iMac and two new Mac Studio models.

We’re also keeping an eye on Apple’s next move in the AI ​​space. While the company has been relatively quiet about its AI ambitions, the the company’s job offers indicate who is looking to hire people who specialize in the field. It also recently restricted employees from using ChatGPT over concerns about data leaks, raising the question of whether it will build its own AI system for workers like Samsung is.

Of course, we can also expect the iPhone 15 to launch later this year. Rumors suggest that all iPhone 15 models will come with Dynamic Island this time around (not just the Pro), and it could also include a USB-C charging port (thanks to another EU regulation). That, however, will have to wait until September.