WWDC 2023: All the Shiny New Hardware From Apple This Year
Apple’s new products include Apple Vision Pro, a 15” MacBook Air, and the M2 Ultra chip.
- WWDC is a platform for the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization to flaunt its coveted products.
- Apple launched the Apple Vision Pro, a 15” MacBook Air, the new Mac Pro and Mac Studio, and new iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Soloma, and watchOS versions.
Like in previous years, Apple’s ongoing Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2023 saw a slew of new product announcements packed into the keynote address on Day One. The highly anticipated event is a platform for the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization to flaunt its coveted products.
At WWDC 2023, Apple added another product, the Apple Vision Pro, to its product lineup. Besides the run-of-the-mill updates to iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and others, the company also showed off its biggest laptop yet for consumers.
Here’s what Apple announced at WWDC 2023 so far:
Apple Vision Pro and visionOS
Powered by visionOS, a new addition to Apple’s list of device-specific operating systems, Apple Vision Pro certainly isn’t very affordable at $3,499. The mixed reality headset marks Apple’s official foray into the AR/VR race though it seems the company is focusing on mixed reality, at least for now.
This is evident from EyeSight, a spatial computing feature that enables 3D imaging while revealing the user’s eyes to the outside world, thus ensuring the user isn’t cut off. However, the user does have the option to tune in and out of the immersive experience as needed.
Apple Vision Pro packs the powerful M2 chip (also used across high-end Macbooks), 4K displays (one for each eye), an OLED outer display, a new R1 chip to process data from a dozen cameras, five sensors (LiDAR), and six microphones that take inputs from the user’s hands (gesturing), voice, and more. The chip also processes inputs from interior cameras that track eye movements.
visionOS is developed from scratch, with the company noting it as “the first OS designed from the ground up for spatial computing.” The new OS borrows iOS frameworks and is architecturally similar to iOS and macOS.
It features foveated rendering, a 3D engine, Optic ID for authentication, and some apps (Adobe Lightroom, Microsoft Teams and Office; Cisco WebEx, Zoom). The choice of apps indicates the company could market the device for work-related purposes at the outset. It could evolve for gaming later on.
Apple Vision Pro will be available in early 2024.
See More: Apple Bans ChatGPT Use, Seeks Hundreds of AI/ML Professionals
15” MacBook Air
Apple now has the distinction of developing what it claims is the “thinnest 15-inch laptop to date.” The company confirmed at WWDC 2023 that the new device will ship on June 13, 2023.
The 15” MacBook Air is more or less similar to last year’s MacBook Air 13, complete with an M2 chip, up to 24 GB RAM and 2 TB of internal storage, a MagSafe connector, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, TouchID in the keyboard, a 1080p camera, and a Liquid Retina display.
Differences include a bigger battery (66.5 W vs. 52.6 W in MacBook Air 13), the display of course (15.3” vs. 13.6”), and the thickness (0.45” vs. 0.44” in MacBook Air 13, and the weight (3.3 pounds vs. 2.7 pounds).
MacBook Air 15 caps at $1,299, while the company has reduced the price of the MacBook Air 13 to $1,099.
M2 Ultra Chip
It isn’t just devices galore at WWDC 2023. Apple introduced the M2 Ultra, the powerful new iteration of its internal silicone, following the M1, M1 Ultra, the M2 Max, and the M2 Pro. M2 Ultra is designed with two M2 Max dies through Apple’s UltraFusion technology.
M2 Ultra is designed on the 5 nm wafer and features 20 CPU cores (20% faster than M1 Ultra), 64 GPU cores (capable of up to 76 cores and 30% faster than M1 Ultra), and 32 Neural Engine cores (40% faster). It can support up to 192 GB of memory, 134 billion transistors, 800 GB/s bandwidth, and six Pro Display XDRs.
Mac Pro M2 Ultra
Apple confirmed that the Mac Pro workstation is shedding Intel for the company’s in-house silicon, thereby completing the transition for its entire product line. However, the company surprised everyone by announcing the new Mac Pro model featuring the M2 Ultra.
Clearly, Apple is targeting the high-end computing needs of professionals with 192 GB of RAM, a 24-core CPU, and up to 76-core GPUs. And if that’s not enough, Apple built in six open PCIe Gen 4 slots and eight Thunderbird ports for additional expansion. The two HDMI ports also have a higher bandwidth, capable of delivering signals at 240 Hz and 8K resolution.
Mac Pro Specifications
Source: Apple
Mac Pro also has two 10 GB ethernet ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), one USB-A port (up to 5Gb/s), two serial ATA ports (up to 6Gb/s) packed into two different designs: (Tower finish – 20.8 x 8.58 x 17.7 in, 37.2 pounds) and Rack finish (8.67 x 18.98 x 1.81 in, 37.9 pounds).
Mac Pro Tower is priced at $6,999, while the Mac Pro Rack is priced at $7,499.
Mac Studio (M2 Max and M2 Ultra)
Mac Studio, while tiny, should deliver the performance you’d expect from being powered with what is supposedly Apple’s most powerful silicone ever, the M2 Ultra. Mac Studio also comes with the M2 Max chip.
Apple claims the M2 Max version of the compact budget desktop is 50% faster than the previous generation Mac Studio (powered by M1 Ultra) and up to 4x faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac, while the M2 Ultra version of Mac Studio is twice as fast as the M2 Max one.
Compared to Mac Pro, Mac Studio understandably features less power. The M2 Max model comes with a 12-core CPU, up to a 38-core GPU, and up to 96GB of unified memory with 400GB/s of memory bandwidth, while the M2 Ultra model is powered by a 24-core CPU, up to a 76-core GPU, and up to 192GB of memory with 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.
Mac Studio M2 Max and Mac Studio M2 Ultra Specifications
Source: Apple
The M2 Ultra Mac Studio supports 8K resolution, 240Hz frame rates, six Pro Display XDRs, and has 64 GB RAM, 1 TB storage, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb Ethernet port, an enhanced HDMI port, and two USB-A ports, and more.
The M2 Max Mac Studio is priced at $1,999, while the M2 Ultra model would cost $3,999. Both models will begin shipping on June 13, 2023.
Operating System Updates From WWDC 2023
Apple introduced visionOS for the Vision Pro headset. The company also rolled out upgrades to all of its operating systems.
iOS 17
The next iOS version isn’t all that flashy regarding upgrades, but it has some excellent improvements for users. They are as follows:
- Live Voicemail enables voicemail transcribing in real-time, i.e., as and when the caller leaves a note, similar to Google Pixel’s Call Screen.
- NameDrop is an AirDrop feature for contact information, photos, and more activated through device proximity.
- Contact Posters for contact personalization using either images or Memojis.
- Messaging upgrades include the ability to use search filters and ease of resuming chats where the user left off.
- Check In is a safety feature that lets family and friends know you’ve reached your destination safely.
- Voicemail functionality in Facetime.
- Autocorrect upgrades.
- Standby converts your iPhone into a smart screen displaying weather, calendar, notifications, and more.
- Journal is a journaling app for personalized suggestions.
Expect iOS 17 rollout in fall 2023.
macOS 14/macOS Sonoma
- Windows Vista-esque desktop widgets, albeit the ones on macOS Sonoma, are interactive.
- Widgets synchronize with iOS.
- FaceTime overlay functions.
- Improved frame rate for gaming through CPU/GPU prioritization in Game Mode.
- Video screensavers.
- Private Browing and anti-tracking improvements in Safari.
- Surprise move: Popular game director Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding Directors Cut will be a part of Macs later this year.
macOS Sonoma public beta is expected in July, with a broader release scheduled for fall 2023.
iPadOS 17
- Interactive widgets and lock screen customizations akin to iOS 16.
- The Health app, initially only for iOS, is coming to iPadOS.
- A redesigned lock screen with widgets, an astronomy area, Live Activities, and photo shuffle.
- Stage Manager multitasking functionality.
- Functional improvements for PDFs, including the ability to discover empty fields.
iPadOS 17 isn’t expected until fall 2023.
watchOS 10
- Once again, Apple includes widgets in watchOS 10 accessible through the Smart Stack.
- It has an updated user interface; for example, users can switch between widgets through the digital crown.
- Apple previewed functional improvements in Activity, World Clock, and other apps.
- Support for Bluetooth bike sensors for cyclists and topography and elevation data in the Compass app for hikers.
- New watch faces: Snoopy and Woodstock and Palette faces.
- Update to Mindfulness app to reflect the user’s emotional state through color-coded indicators.
- Ability to FaceTime group audio chat and view FaceTime video messages.
Apple also previewed FaceTime on Apple TV and unveiled the new AirPods.
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Image source: Shutterstock
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