WWDC 2023: Did Apple One Up Meta in the AR/VR Race?
Reportedly, Apple is already working on a cheaper XR headset model, which should be available by the end of 2025.
- At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023, Apple cut back on software feature upgrades in the successive iterations of iOS, macOS, etc. Still, it didn’t hold back on catering to the consumer demand for hardware and dropped some powerful toys.
- WWDC 2023 also marks the completion of the company’s transition to in-house silicon with the new Mac Pro.
- The company announced the M2 Ultra Chip, Apple Vision Pro, a 15” MacBook Air, the new Mac Pro and Mac Studio, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma (macOS 14), watchOS 10, tvOS 17, and more at the conference.
Late last week, Apple wrapped up its annual developer conference. At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023, the company cut back on software feature upgrades in the successive iterations of iOS, macOS, etc.
Even as users got lesser updates than they were used to, Apple didn’t hold back on catering to the consumer demand for hardware and dropped some powerful toys, including the M2 Ultra chip and the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Read more about them here in the Spiceworks round-up of Apple’s WWDC 2023 announcements.
WWDC 2023 also marks the completion of Apple’s transition to in-house silicon with the new Mac Pro, which until last week, was the only product line yet to make the jump. However, Mac Pro, a supposedly high-end product for demanding computing needs, was overshadowed by consumer-driven offerings like the Vision Pro, the Mac Studio, and even its tvOS.
While The Apple Vision Pro represents Apple’s foray, if a tad risky one at that, especially at the price point ($3,499), into AR/VR, the 15” MacBook Air (up to $1,299) represents the company’s efforts to reinvigorate stagnating Mac sales without compromising on the underlying M2 chip.
|
Quarter |
Mac | Quarter-over-Quarter Change | Year-over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | $7.16 billion | -7.37% |
-31.38% |
|
Q4 2022 |
$7.73 billion | -32.78% | -28.75% |
| Q3 2022 | $11.5 billion | 5.82% |
25.40% |
|
Q2 2022 |
$7.38 billion | -29.24% | -10.32% |
| Q1 2022 | $10.43 billion | -3.87% |
14.61% |
Apple Vision Pro also comes with the M2 chip, complete with CPU, GPU, and AI accelerators, high-resolution 4K displays, over a dozen cameras and sensors, and more. “[Apple] ends up having three displays on this headset, which are not cheap by any measure,” said Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, to IEEE Spectrum.
“The two micro-OLEDs on the inside, I’ve never seen implemented in anything. This is an extremely low volume, high-cost display with a three-element lens and optical system, which was obviously custom designed for this headset.”
Besides the cutting-edge tech specs, Apple has one more thing to one-up its closest competitor in the ZR/VR/XR space, Meta’s Oculus. That’s the Apple ecosystem.
As such, expect the numbers in the following table to rise.
|
Quarter |
Wearable, Home and Accessories | Quarter-over-Quarter Change | Year-over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2023 | $8.75 billion | -35.08% |
-0.63% |
|
Q4 2022 |
$13.48 billion | 39.68% | -8.30% |
| Q3 2022 | $9.65 billion | 19.43% |
9.90% |
|
Q2 2022 |
$8.08 billion | -8.18% | -7.86% |
| Q1 2022 | $8.8 billion | -40.13% |
12.38% |
See More: Apple Bans ChatGPT Use, Seeks Hundreds of AI/ML Professionals
And for those demotivated by the $3,499 price tag, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is already working on a cheaper XR headset model, which should go on sale by the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, the new Mac Pro M2 Ultra ($6,999 and $7,499, which can be configured up to $12,199) seems like a move to recover its investment in the workstation almost one and a half decades ago.
For instance, Mac Pro buyers won’t be able to upgrade the RAM and cannot expand the SSD. It also doesn’t support AMD’s Radeon PCIe video cards. However, the top (rather, bottom) draw seems to be the lack of expandable GPU support, despite fitting six PCIe slots onto the system.
Clearly, Apple isn’t too worried about the product not appealing to game developers and seems to be targeted mainly toward film editing, though Apple promises it can train large language models (LLMs). In its current form, the Mac Pro looks like a machine designed for internal company use, which is being marketed as a prosumer system. Whether Apple sunsets the Mac Pro or develops its own PCI cards remains to be seen.
On the other hand, the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra chip seems like a state-of-the-art addition to its miniature desktop lineup, capable of delivering a score of 2,837 on single core and 21,730 on multi-core, roughly 20% over M1 Ultra. Mac Studio also comes with an M2 Max chip.
Apple’s operating system updates for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma (macOS 14), watchOS 10, and tvOS 17 are all slated for a September 2023 release preceded by a public beta launch sometime in June-July. Apple is continuing its long-term support for dated devices. The OSes should be compatible as follows:
- iOS 17 with iPhone 15 series as well as with iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and iPhone SE.
- iPadOS 17 with iPad Pro (2nd generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (6th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later).
- macOS Sonoma with iMac 2019 and later, iMac Pro 2017, Mac Pro 2019 and later, Mac Studio 2022 and later, MacBook Air 2018 and later, Mac mini 2018 and later, MacBook Pro 2018 and later.
- watchOS 10 with Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch Series 8, and Apple Watch Ultra and requires iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later with iOS 17.
- tvOS 17: Apple TV HD, Apple TV 4K (first generation), Apple TV 4K (second generation), Apple TV 4K (third generation).
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Image source: Shutterstock
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