Is Apple bringing the MR headset alongside iOS 17 and macOS 14?

On Monday, June 5, 2023, at 7 p.m. Central European Summer Time, Apple’s WWDC 2023 will start with the keynote. During the event, which is expected to last two hours, Apple boss Tim Cook and his management team around Craig Federighi, John Ternus, Eddy Cue and others will announce the most important innovations related to iOS and iPadOS 17, macOS 14 and watchOS 10.

These topics are considered set. With this year’s WWDC set to be “Apple’s biggest and most exciting event yet,” according to Susan Prescott, Apple’s Vice President of Global Developer Relations, the company may have a lot more up its sleeve.

It was rumored last year that Apple could give a first look at the mixed reality headset and the dedicated operating system RealityOS (rxOS) at WWDC 2022. This was obviously not the case – among other things, the group had to contend with various technical challenges. This year, however, it finally seems to be happening.

Apple boss Tim Cook recently agreed in a long interview on the advantages of AR and VR. Despite internal skepticism, including from the design department, not to release the headset yet, there are indications that the company’s first new product category since the Apple Watch is likely to be unveiled in June. “Anyone who dares to innovate will encounter skeptics” – with this statement in an interview he took the wind out of the skeptics’ sails.

Even if the headset could be shown at WWDC 2023, according to the latest reports, the market launch should take place much later. This is not unusual for completely new Apple products. Apple also took a lot of time between the announcement and the start of sales for the modular Mac Pro presented in 2019, the first Homepod and other products.

The first headset is also not planned for the general public. The headset should be quite heavy and have a price point of 3,000 US dollars. When it comes to purposes, there is talk of virtual video meetings, 3D videos in virtual rooms and more.

After the big iOS 16 update in 2022, no big leap with too many innovations is expected this year. Nevertheless, iOS 17 is said to have all sorts of new functions on board, including features that users would have liked. Unfortunately, there are no more specific details.

However is rumored, that the control center should experience major changes for the first time since iOS 11. Apple could possibly allow users to customize the control center more according to their own habits.

There is also talk of Apple reacting to the EU’s Digital Markets Act with the update, among other things, and introducing support for alternative app stores and sideloading. However, this feature is only expected for the European market.

On the other hand, iOS and iPadOS are predicted to open up to alternative browser engines. Chrome, Safari and other browsers would no longer have to rely exclusively on Apple’s own Webkit engine.

The update is also intended to prepare iPhones for support for the upcoming MR Reality headset and the major Carplay 2.0 update. Apple teased the latter during WWDC 2022. With Carplay 2.0, Apple wants to access more car data and take over all screens in the vehicle.

The update to watchOS 10 will bring “notable user interface updates,” according to a fairly reliable source.

A major UI update would be welcome, as watchOS’s design hasn’t changed much over the past few years. Over the past few years, Apple has made more iterative improvements, such as activity tracking and a handful of new watch faces.

Not known for revolutionary design changes, Apple is cautious about updating due to the large user base of its operating systems, so we’re very excited to see what will happen with watchOS 10.

macOS 14, tvOS 17, HomepodOS 17 …

The two other operating systems for Macs, Macbooks, the set-top boxes and homepods are also guaranteed to be updated. There are no concrete details about possible innovations to report.

With macOS, however, it is conceivable that Apple will move its desktop operating system closer to iOS and iPadOS and will continue to support models with Intel processors, but will miss fewer new functions than computers with in-house chips.

In addition to the possible announcement or a teaser of the MR headset, tangible hardware is also expected. So it is expected that Apple will announce the third generation of its own chips, which should be named M3.

These will most certainly be produced for the first time using the three-nanometer process, after the first generations were based on five-nanometers. The new architecture should not only bring a performance boost, but also be more energy-efficient than its predecessors.

One of the first products with the M3 chip is said to be a larger Macbook Air that comes with a 15 or 15.5 inch display. An announcement of the new computer was originally expected in April. In terms of design, it is certainly based on the Macbook Air with M2 chip (test) introduced in 2022, which is likely to receive an M3 processor update in the course of WWDC 2023.

Apple actually wanted to be finished with the transition from Intel processors to its own M chips by the end of 2022. One product in the Mac portfolio is still waiting: the professional computer Mac Pro, which is still sold with Intel chips for a lot of money, but lags behind the cheaper Mac Studio (test) presented in 2021 in terms of performance.

We do not expect a market launch for the Mac Pro with an M-series chip at WWDC 2023. However, Apple could at least tease the computer and make it available in the fall. So far it was expected that the new Mac Pro could be equipped with a powerful M2 Ultra processor. However, it would not be completely impossible for Apple to enter the professional computer with an M3 Ultra.

Recently it was said that the professional computer should be in the same housing as the Intel Mac Pro. However, due to the ARM architecture, the new Mac Pro will no longer be as modular as the current model. It can be expanded to include graphics, media and network cards, they say.

It is unclear whether Apple will give the Mac Studio a processor upgrade for WWDC 2023. The compact desktop computer still runs on a first-generation chip.

We will find out what Apple will actually present in the end on June 5, 2023. We will provide you with all relevant news promptly and accompany the event with a live ticker.