From Monday 5 to Friday 9 June the WWDC 2023, one of the most important events of the year for Apple, where we expect a lot of news. In fact, it could be one of the most ad-laden editions of the traditional developer event organized by those from Cupertino.
It is true that the activity in Apple Park will last until Friday the 9th, but, as usual, the keynote opening of the event will take all eyes. And this time it will be truly special because several highlights are expected in terms of releases, both in terms of software and hardware.
The most important thing that is expected of the WWDC 2023 is, without a doubt, the presentation of Apple’s mixed reality glasses. A product that has been the subject of endless rumors and contradictions for years, but that finally seems ready to hit the track. To which is added the expectation for the launch of new Macs -both portable and desktop- and updates to its ecosystem of operating systems, with a particularly interesting focus on iOS 17 and watchOS 10.
WWDC 2023 is set to be a buzz, and everything you need to know—before, during, and after the event—is here. hypertextual.
What is WWDC 2023?
WWDC 2023 is Apple’s largest annual 100% developer event. The acronym of the event means Worldwide Developers Conference or world conference of developers. In its 2023 edition, it will be held at Apple Park, the company’s headquarters, for the second time. It is located in Cupertino, California, in the center of Silicon Valley.
WWDC has been held annually since 1983 —at that time it was called The Apple Independent Software Developers Conference—. But it wasn’t until 2002 that the company decided to start using the event as a major release event for new software and new hardware. Although the mythical launch of the Macintosh in 1984 was made in the context of the event for developers. That was the first year they invited the press.
How to watch WWDC 2023?
WWDC 2023 will go live Monday June 5 and, as in 2022, some invitations have been distributed to developers, students and the press who will be able to participate in the event in person. The rest of the world will be able to follow the announcements through the broadcast that Apple will offer both on their official websiteas in Youtube. hypertextual is one of the accredited media present at Apple Park, in Cupertino, during the keynote inaugural.
Let’s not forget that the event will also be available on the dedicated Apple app. This is available for both Apple TV and Mac, iPhone or iPad. The link to watch the live broadcast usually appears in the app hours before it starts.
What is still unknown is how will the keynote inaugural. In 2022, although the event had a face-to-face component, the announcements were made through a previously recorded presentation —the same one that was seen by streaming— and that was projected to the attendees on a large screen located in the courtyard of Apple Park. It is still unknown if WWDC 2023 will follow the same trend, or if the company will bet on a return to a traditional format with stage launches, as was the case before the pandemic.
Whatever the case, all the news will be instantly in hypertextual. In addition to the usual coverage with articles from each release, we will offer updates on our Twitter accountdirect from Cupertino, California.
Start time of the keynote WWDC 2023 inaugural
The keynote Apple developer conference kicks off will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Here are some of the schedules to follow WWDC 2023 from outside the United States:
- Spain: 19:00 (CEST).
- Mexico: 11:00 (GMT-6).
- Argentina: 14:00 (GMT-3).
- Colombia: 12:00 (GMT-5).
What we expect from WWDC 2023
We already made it clear that the inaugural event of WWDC 2023 will be plagued with announcements. Of course we hope that, like every year, Apple will review how its products and services are having a great impact globally. And, as we indicated at the beginning, many new features are expected in terms of operating systems and computers. Although what everyone hopes is that those on the block finally present their mixed reality glasses to society.
Apple Glasses or Reality Pro?
The intrigue surrounding Apple’s mixed reality headset starts from the name itself. When they were still a product years in the offing, they were unofficially identified as apple glasses. However, since last year the denomination Reality Prowhich although it is not official – at least for now – does seem a little more like a name that those from Cupertino would really use.
If its announcement at WWDC 2023 is fulfilled, Apple would launch a new category of hardware for the first time since 2014, when it introduced the Apple Watch. The rumors around this product have been so many in recent years that at times the dividing line between reality and pure speculation has been difficult to distinguish. It is even said that its availability could be limited. Not just because the first generation would be released in limited numbers, but because it would be priced at around—or more than—$1,000. $3,000.
Some possible characteristics of mixed reality glasses
- Virtual reality and augmented reality capabilities, being able to switch between modes using a knob similar to the digital crown on the Apple Watch.
- More than a dozen cameras and sensors not only intended to capture what is happening around the user, but also for gesture control and body detection. A very strong rumor points to the inclusion of an iris scanner as a method of user identification and authentication.
- Lightweight and comfortable design. Apple would have chosen to remove the battery from the headset and use an external one, which could be carried in a trouser pocket or hung on the waist.
- Lowered the hood, Apple’s mixed reality headset would incorporate two M2 chips. Thus, the device would have a processing capacity similar to that of a Mac.
- The screens would be micro-OLED and would have a diagonal of 1.41 inches each, a density of 4,000 pixels per inch, and a maximum brightness of 5,000 nits. All of this would translate to 4K resolution for each eye.
- The device’s operating system would be called xrOS and would feature an iOS-like interface. Several Apple services and apps such as Safari, FaceTime or Apple TV + would be available by default. While applications would be adapted for iPad, to offer them as optimized versions for glasses.
15-inch MacBook Air and other Macs
Just because Apple’s mixed reality glasses are the centerpiece of WWDC 2023, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more. Another point of great attraction will be the introduction of new Macsand there has been a lot of play on rumors here, too, in the weeks—and months—leading up to the event.
At the moment, everything indicates that WWDC 2023 will bring us the expected 15-inch MacBook Air. This model would use a chassis of the identical design to the 13-inch version with M2 that was released last year, which could also receive an update. There’s even rumors of a new 13-inch MacBook Pro. The latter would come as a surprise, as the only model available is still offered with touch bar and it is one of the least popular in Apple’s laptop catalog.
He Mac Pro is another of the highly anticipated announcements for the keynote inaugural WWDC 2023. This team has been waiting years for its relevant update to Apple Silicon and could appear on the scene squeezing the capabilities of the M2 Ultra chip to the fullest. At the time there was talk of a version with M2 Extreme, but apparently Apple canceled it.
However, more desktop computers could make a surprise appearance next Monday at the event’s opening. In the last few hours, it became known that Apple would be preparing two new devices with powerful configurations based on M2 Max and M2 Ultra, that they would not be portable or the aforementioned Mac Pro. Will there be refreshed versions of Mac Studio at WWDC 2023? We cannot rule it out, although it would be a contradiction to Apple’s alleged plans to discontinue it despite its short existence.
Software, software, and more software at WWDC 2023
Last but not least, we must talk about software. We already mentioned xrOS, but Apple will also take advantage of the keynote inaugural WWDC 2023 to announce new versions of their operating systems. The reference is valid for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, tvOS 17, and watchOS 10.
In any case, in the months prior to the event, the most outstanding news have been linked to two of the aforementioned platforms. We are referring specifically to the Apple Watch and iPhone software, respectively.
In the case of watchOS 10, Apple would introduce a major redesign of its graphical interface. And although it has not been specified what changes would be applied, it has been hinted that they would be notable. If it comes to fruition, it will be a welcome novelty, considering that the appearance of the Apple Watch operating system has not undergone significant changes since its arrival on the market in 2015.
In the case of iOS 17, meanwhile, Apple has chosen to do something unusual. Recently, the company revealed new accessibility options that will arrive with the software, and the one that has attracted the most attention has been live speech. With this, users will be able to “duplicate their voice” so that the iPhone speaks for them, and it will only take 15 minutes to train it. It would not be unusual for the company to show a demo at WWDC 2023.
What’s new in artificial intelligence?
Today artificial intelligence is on everyone’s lips, especially when talking about tools like ChatGPT. However, Apple seems to be the only big technology in the world that today is not getting on the bandwagon of generative artificial intelligence. At least not in the same way that Google, Microsoft or Amazon are doing. This does not mean that those from Cupertino do not have interests or projects underway, so it is logical to ask ourselves if we could have news on the matter during WWDC 2023.
This is not to say that Apple will appear on the scene with an artificial intelligence chatbot, or with a service to generate images from voice commands sent to Siri. Nothing is further from reality. Nonetheless, it would make sense to start to see a greater emphasis from the company on the use of AI in current or future products and services. about live speech in the accessibility options of iOS 17 could be the first proof of this.
Let’s not forget that Apple is supposedly working on a new health and wellness service that would be able to detect our emotions. It would use artificial intelligence applied to the data collected by the Apple Watch, to encourage users to improve their eating habits, exercise or sleep better. Likewise, it is rumored that the intention would be to bring it to the iPhone to identify mood swings from the voice using new algorithms. Will we get a first look at this bet at WWDC 2023? For now, we have to wait. The good thing is that the event is just around the corner.