Everything announced at Apple's WWDC 2023
Apple kicked off their annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last night, unveiling a plethora of new products and tech on the first day of the 5iO-day event. If you have missed the latest announcements, here's a quick rundown of everything Apple has shown us in this year's WWDC so far.
Apple Vision Pro
After several years of rumours, Apple has finally confirmed dipping their toes into the VR headset game - revealing their upcoming Apple Vision Pro, an AR (artificial reality) and mixed reality headset. The last time Apple introduced a brand new line of products was back in 2015 with the Apple Watch.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The Vision Pro headset will run on Apple's M2 chip and a new OS (operating system) called visionOS, which Apple says is a unique, spatial platform built just for the new mixed-reality headset. The headset can be navigated by using eyes, hands and voice, and can run apps on a 3D-like environment using facial gestures.
Similar to an iPhone, this headset can answer FaceTime video calls, send messages and browse the web, and features Apple's first 3D camera, which the company says can capture both photos and videos in 3D. The headset also has a custom micro-OLED display system, which has 23 million pixels, alongside a three-element lens that will create a display-like feeling everywhere the user looks.
Apple's Vision Pro is priced at US$3,499 and will be officially launched early next year.
15-inch MacBook Air
After years of rumours, Apple is finally releasing a 15-inch version of the MacBook Air. With a 15.3-inch display, 11.5 mm thickness and weight slightly over 1.3 kg, the new MacBook Air is being claimed by Apple as 'the world's thinnest laptop'.
15-inch MacBook Air will retain the MagSafe charging connector and headphone jack from previous iterations and will have two USB-C Thunderbolt ports with support for up to 6K external display. It will also have 18 hours of battery life, a six-speaker sound system, a fanless design and a Liquid Retina display with up to 500 nits of brightness and support for 1 billion colours.
The new MacBook Air is priced at US$1,2999 with four available colours: midnight, starlight, space grey, and silver. The laptop will be officially available for purchase starting next week.
Additionally, Apple has adjusted the pricing of the 13-inch MacBook Air, which is now available at US$1,099.
The new Mac Pro and Mac Studio
Apple's new computer announcements don't stop with just the new 15-inch MacBook Air. Last night, Apple also unveiled the latest addition to their high-end desktop lineup with the new Mac Pro, equipped with the M2 Ultra Chip.
With the new 5-nm M2 Ultra Chip, the revamped Mac Pro features a 76-core GPU, 24-core CPU, 192 GB memory, eight built-in Thunderbolt ports and six open PCIe Gen 4 slots for additional expansion. According to Apple, a fully specced new Mac Pro will be three times more powerful than the previous Intel version.
The new Mac Pro will be priced starting at US$6,999 and will be available for physical purchase from June 13.
Additionally, Apple also introduced the new Mac Studio, with the M2 Max chip that is six times faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch Mac, and up to three times faster than the previous Mac Studio with the M1 Ultra chip. The new Mac Studio will have enhanced graphics editing support, and with 8K resolution and 240 Hz framerate, will support high-end 3D animation much better than past iterations of Mac Studio.
The new Mac Studio will be priced starting at US$1,999 and will be available for physical purchase from June 13.
iOS 17
WWDC events are known for introducing new releases of iOS, with this year being no exception. The newest iOS focuses on upgraded communication features alongside new options to better cater iPhones to everyday use.
iOS 17 introduces the personalised 'Contact Posters' feature, which will now display a full-screen photo of the contact during incoming calls. Apple says this feature can be customised freely, including being able to adjust the font type and colour, and will be available for third-party calling apps as well.
As for other communication features, Live Voicemail will now allow real-time transcription of received voice mails; FaceTime will have support for both audio and video messages; the Messages app will come with an expanded menu and a check-in feature to alert friends and family; and a new AirDrop system which will allow contact sharing between iPhones and Apple Watches by simply bringing them close together.
Additionally, iOS 17 will feature improvements to autocorrect, including sentence-level corrections to fix grammatical mistakes. Dictating to type will be easier on iOS 17 thanks to a more accurate speech recognition system. Furthermore, iOS 17 is introducing two new features, StandyBy - which gives a full-screen experience with glanceable information while the iPhone is charging, and Journal - which will act as a digital diary with automated suggestions based on the user's personal information.
Other new OS
Apple announced new operating systems for their non-iPhone line of products, now jam-packed with updated apps and new accessibility features.
iPadOS 17 for iPads comes with a new Messages feature and will give users access to AirDrop, which can let users quickly share files across devices or with other users.
The Mac lineup is getting a new operating system called macOS Sonoma, which will come with new features such as desktop widgets, newer versions of Safari and Messages, and a dedicated 'Game Mode' that redirects the CPU and GPU power to enhance gaming performance.
Apple TV is also getting an updated OS in tvOS 17, which will now support FaceTime to be usable on TVs. This means that Apple TV users can conduct video calls from their iPhone or iPad to the TV screen.
The new watchOS 10 for the Apple Watch introduces a cleaner widget-based UI, including the option to turn the digital crown to show widgets for apps such as calendar and weather. Rotating the digital crown will show a full-screen display. As for new apps, there's a world clock app now that changes colour based on the time of the day.
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