Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is expected to be one of its biggest conferences yet. After years of rumors and leaks, Apple can finally take the lid off 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 virtual reality is worth investing in.
There’s also definitely a lot more: OS updates, new apps and features, and maybe some new hardware too. Here, we’ve rounded up details on how and when you can watch the keynote at WWDC as well as some of the announcements we can expect from Apple.
This year’s WWDC keynote address is scheduled for Monday, June 5 at 1pm EST / 10am PT. It will be held as a digital and in-person event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, where Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to kick things off.
Apple will broadcast the WWDC Keynote live from its website and YouTube channel. You can also watch the broadcast which we will include 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 to YouTube after it’s broadcast.
With that said, let’s get into 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. Although Apple has not yet confirmed its existence, reports indicate that it will be able to provide virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences.
The headset will likely exist as a standalone device, with a battery pack that connects to the headset using a special cable. So far, reports indicate that Apple has been busy creating VR versions of some of its original apps, including Safari, FaceTime, Apple TV, Apple Books, Freeform, and more.
With an expected price tag of around $3,000, the Apple headset won’t come cheap. While Apple is supposed to be working on more affordable versions of the device, we likely won’t see them at this year’s event.
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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 since then.
The 15-inch MacBook Air will likely come with the internal M2 chip used in the MacBook Air models released last year. As noted in a report from bloombergIt may also have the same 3024 x 1964 resolution as the 14-inch MacBook Pro, although the screen may be less sharp since it has an extra inch of space to fill.
Aside from that, it’s not entirely clear if Apple has plans to unveil any new Macs. The company is rumored to be working on updating the 13-inch MacBook Pro, 13-inch MacBook Air, and 24-inch iMac, all of which could come with a new M3 chip.
WWDC is an event for developers, which means we’re bound to see some updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and more.
This includes the unveiling of iOS 17, which is rumored to come with a variety of smaller quality-of-life updates. Apple has already previewed the suite of accessibility features likely to arrive with the new operating system, including the Personal Voice tool that allows users to 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 Pearce said “still doesn’t work,” even after Apple officially released it last October. The updates seem to be more on the technical side of things, and less on its general functionality.
Not much is known about what’s in store for macOS 14 and tvOS 17, but Apple is said to be giving watchOS 10 a rather big update that adds a new widget-heavy interface.
Speaking of iOS 17, a report from The Wall Street Journal It 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 may also provide suggestions for topics for you to write about and offer “All-Day People Discovery” to keep track of the people you spend time with as well as even discover when you’re doing something you wouldn’t normally do on a given day. While Apple is expected to unveil the app at WWDC, the company will likely release 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 sideload apps within the EU, something Apple has most strongly expressed opposition to. of security concerns.
That’s why it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Apple used WWDC to preview some of the changes it’s making to the iPhone and iPad ecosystems. (Or at least calmly inform the developers that a change is coming.) According to bloombergApple is looking to “fix” iOS in order to comply with European regulators.
In addition to allowing sideloading, speculation is rife that Apple may not require third-party browsers to use Apple’s WebKit engine, which would allow for greater differentiation of mobile browsers. The company can also unlock access to its NFC chip, which is currently limited to Apple services like Apple Wallet and Apple Pay.
Apple has a lot of new Macs on deck, and while we don’t expect them all to show up at WWDC, it’s always a possibility. Aside from the upcoming MacBooks we mentioned earlier, we know Apple is working on a Mac Pro with Apple’s in-house chip, an updated 24-inch iMac, and two new Mac Studio models.
