WWDC 2023 recap: All the big announcements

If you’re the sort of person who wants to remove all uncertainty from your life, head over to Bloomberg’s WWDC preview, where Mark Gurman gives a rundown of what he’s expecting during Apple’s keynote today. Since Gurman is pretty wired into Apple’s comings and goings, we’d imagine the forecast is pretty close to the mark.

The predictions reiterate a lot of the widely held expectations for WWDC — a new Apple headset, at least two new Macs and a boatload of software previews — but there are some interesting tidbits scattered in there.

• We’re only getting a preview of the Apple VR/AR headset today, without a ship date. The headset could ship later this year, or Apple could even push things back into early 2024.
• Apple is going to “spend a notable amount of time on the Mac” during the keynote, Gurman says.
• The new Mac Studio will run on either an M2 Max or M2 Ultra chip. The former can be found in 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, while the Ultra is a new chip with 24 CPU cores and up to 76 graphics cores.
• Don’t expect many macOS changes – most of the new features will be aimed at adding compatibility with comparable iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 features.
• SharePlay in iOS 17 is getting enhancements tied to the new Apple headset.
• The Health app is coming to the iPad.

We'll see if those predictions pan out later today.

There's likely to be one dominant story out of WWDC this week, and no, it's not the tvOS 17 update. Instead, we expect much of the talk to center around the Apple mixed reality headset that's likely to get a preview during the WWDC 2023 keynote.

It's a big moment for Apple and not just because this is the first new product category the company has tried to enter since the Apple Watch nearly a decade ago. Rather, it's because the VR/AR market has yet to go mainstream, and the thinking is that if anyone's ever going to popularize these headsets, it's likely to be someone with the reach of Apple.

Here's Mark Spoonauer on how the Apple headset is a make-or-break moment for VR and AR.

There’s been a lot of talk about a 15-inch MacBook Air making its debut at WWDC 2023, presumably to give people a larger-screen option if they’re not willing to pay up for a MacBook Pro. It’s a fine idea in theory, but computing editor Alex Wawro isn’t sure a 15-inch MacBook Air is a good idea, arguing that it complicates Apple’s laptop lineup. 

If a late-breaking iOS 17 rumor is accurate, you’ll soon be able to cut to the chase in your conversations with Siri. Currently, you have to say “Hey Siri” to summon the virtual assistant on your phone, but reports claim iOS 17 will allow you to just say “Siri” when you want to grab the assistant’s attention — no more “hey” required.

That may not seem like a big deal, eliminating a single word, but it would bring Apple’s Siri in line with the likes of Amazon’s Alexa when it comes to a single wake world. And Google phones running on the Tensor G2 chip — think Pixel 7 and Pixel 7a — have been able to eliminate the “Hey Google” wake word on some tasks like turning off alarms and answering phone calls. So chalk this up to Apple making its own effort to streamline the way you interact with its virtual assistant.

As soon as Apple finishes previewing its various software updates last year, it’s going to make beta versions available. But these are going to be developer betas, so unless you’re paying Apple $99 a year to participate in its developer program, you aren’t going to be able to get your hands on that software. Instead, you’ll have to wait for the public betas.

So how long will that wait be? There’s no way of telling, though Apple’s track record after recent WWDCs does give us some clues. Typically, the public betas for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS show up several weeks after WWDC. That would mean the earliest we’d see any sort of public beta would be in the last week of June. 

Our guide to the potential iOS 17 release date goes into greater detail. And of course, we’re expecting to see final versions of all those assorted software updates go live in the fall. 

The big change coming to watchOS 10 is reportedly an overhaul to the user interface of the Apple Watch software. Specifically, Apple could be planning to implement a new widget system for the watch that’s designed to give you personalized information about activities, weather, upcoming appointments and more.

Kate Kozuch is our in-house Apple Watch expert, and she thinks the changes on tap for watchOS 10 could make it the biggest Apple Watch upgrade in years. 

Among the Apple AR/VR headset's features, Apple may focus heavily on a virtual-reality take on a familiar app: FaceTime.

Reporting from Bloomberg claims that the headset's version of Apple's big new product will feature digital avatars for video conferencing, collaborative whiteboard tools and more. We can apparently expect VR gaming and Apple TV content too.

CarPlay is likely to be featured among Apple's expected raft of software updates today at WWDC, and there are some big things to possibly look out for.

For one, we expect to see more cars confirmed as compatible with the new enhanced version of CarPlay, which is able to read data from the vehicle itself as well as your iPhone. There are currently very few cars that work with the combined infotainment/HUD display that CarPlay can support.

We also wonder if Apple will have any big new features to show off. With some car makers trying to abandon CarPlay and Android Auto in favor of a home-grown interface, Apple could do with making a case for why manufacturers are better off continuing to license its tech instead.

According to one leaker who's allegedly seen the design of Apple's new AR/VR headset, we can expect to see some AirPods Max design elements appear on the device.

This will seemingly include the presence of both a button and a Digital Crown for external controls, and the overall curved shape of the headset.

If you go to the Apple Store website now, you'll be greeted with the above message telling you that it's not online at the moment. This is what Apple normally does before a big update to the store, such as adding new products.

Hopefully, this means we'll find the rumored new 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple AR/VR headset and other new Mac products available to look at (if not pre-order or purchase) shortly after the WWDC keynote concludes.

It figures to be a big day Macs if pre-WWDC rumors are anything to go by. We’ve heard reports that as many as three new Macs could show up today. And one of those rumored Macs — the Mac Studio — could introduce new Apple silicon in the form of the M2 Ultra chip.

What to expect from the M2 Ultra? Well, based on a Bloomberg report, the Ultra could feature 24 CPU cores and up to 78 graphics cores. The M2 Max tops out at 38 graphics cores.

An M2 Ultra would certainly make sense for any new Mac Studio. After all, the original Mac Studio introduced us to the M1 Ultra when it debuted last year. 

Expect to hear more about No Man's Sky on macOS at WWDC 2023. The massive sci-fi space exploration game came out on Macs last week, but we'd not be surprised if it's used as a way to demonstrate gaming on the Apple VR/AR headset. 

And we'd posit that this could be the tip of the spear to true gaming on Macs. Given the power of the Apple Silicon chips, including how surprisingly capable the MacBook Air M2 is at gaming, it would seem a decent bet that Apple will talk about gaming at WWDC 2023.

If you find yourself on the Apple campus today for the WWDC keynote, a treat awaits you at the Apple Park visitor center store — sweet Ted Lasso merch.

The shirts seem to be exclusive to the physical store at the moment, but Mark Gurman says Ted Lasso merchandise should be coming to the Apple online store at some point in June. Now, if you really love me, you’ll get a Dani Rojas jersey in the AFC Richmond home kit colors. 

So, what exactly will be coming to iOS 17? Most significantly, a new "smart" lock screen that displays more than just notifications looks to be in the next version of Apple's phone OS. Other new features include a revamped Wallet app, Emotion tracking, more AirPlay access, and even the ability to sideload apps — at least in the EU. For more, be sure to check out the 7 biggest iOS 17 rumored features coming to your iPhone. 

Our U.S. Editor-in-chief Mike Prospero hopes that the smart lock screen will turn the iPad into a real smart home hub, like the Amazon Echo Show 15. 

Apple's new AR/VR headset will also bring with it a new operating system, which might either be called realityOS or xrOS, depending on the rumors you give the most weight. In fact, Apple might use both terms — realityOS for an iPhone-like platform, and xrOS more like a MacOS system for more powerful applications. To muddy the waters further, Apple also applied for a trademark for xrProOS. 

However, only xrOS has popped up as of yet, which developer Steve Troughton-Smith saw in an error message while in Apple Store Connect.

According to Bloomberg's Marc Gurman, the new operating system — whatever it's called — will look similar to iOS, and will have mixed-reality versions of Apple's apps, such as Safari, Calendar, Maps, Messaging, Notes, Photos, and Music. Other features might include a VR FaceTime, immersive video and Apple Fitness, and integration with Apple's other hardware. 

News on the next version of macOS, macOS 14, has been very limited. That's likely just how Apple wants it, but it does mean we've got no idea what to look out for during the WWDC keynote.

macOS Ventura was last year's installment of Apple's computer software, and introduced some big new features like Continuity Camera (pictured) and Stage Manager, perhaps indicating that this year's release will be a smaller one. Considering the