A good part of Apple’s WWDC conference should be dedicated to the brand’s computers. Between a new version of macOS and new devices, here’s what we expect from the conference.
On June 5, 2023, Apple’s developer conference WWDC will open. The star of the presentation will undoubtedly be the manufacturer’s mixed reality headset, even if we are also eagerly awaiting software updates such as iOS and watchOS 10. Rumors agree around an important place left to computers from the Californian manufacturer. Between new devices and an update of macOS, Apple should, in fact, have material to present new features.
macOS 14: the great unknown
The presentation of a new version of macOS at WWDC is almost guaranteed. This is one of Apple’s longstanding traditions and we should therefore very logically discover macOS 14 in broad outline, before its marketing scheduled for the fall. In the meantime, beta versions will be offered to developers and then to the general public to test new features in advance.
Very little is known about macOS 14 at this point. Rumors have been more vociferous regarding the opening of iOS 17 to competition or the major changes expected in watchOS 10. In any case, macOS 14 should once again integrate functions from iOS and iPadOS to improve the apple ecosystem, as well as compatibility with the future mixed reality headset.
We could, for example, imagine seeing Dynamic Island make its arrival on macOS. At this point, Apple has embedded a confusingly useless notch on its MacBooks. A software improvement could at least compensate for this weakness in the hardware design.
The Stage Manager function hadn’t really convinced the crowds with macOS Ventura, to put it mildly. The firm could therefore rework its copy with the new version of the system.
A MacBook “Air” with a 15-inch screen
Rumors agree around the presentation of a new MacBook at WWDC 2023. For several months, the rumors of the corridors evoke the development of a MacBook Air with a 15-inch screen. A project whose traces can be found in 2008 at Apple. More recently, machine certification backed up the theory with a presentation at the June conference.
It’s hard to know if this MacBook will bear the name “Air” with a diagonal of 15 inches which should logically make it larger than the current model. If Apple keeps the logic of its iPhones, we could discover a MacBook “Plus” here. Anyway, it would be a consumer machine equipped with a simple Apple M2 chip. The price should therefore not break the ceiling, even if the MacBook Air M2 already costs 1,499 euros in France.
And new Mac Studio?
Apple should also take the opportunity to renew its range of Mac Studio. This product line is still very fresh in the brand’s history since the first generation was launched in early 2022. However, it currently runs with Apple M1 Max or Apple M1 Ultra chips while the rest of the Apple range is passed to the M2 generation, M2 Pro and M2 Max, even the excellent Apple Mini.
No major changes are expected for the 2nd generation of the Mac Studio other than the integrated chip. Apple could even settle for a change on the Apple Store without mentioning it on stage at WWDC. This is what the brand sometimes does for simple product updates like here.
No Apple M3 at WWDC
After the launch of the Apple M1 in 2020/2021 and the rapid arrival of the Apple M2, rumors were rife around the development of the Apple M3 for this WWDC 2023. The chip is expected, because it would mark a technological gap greater than the renewal between M1 and M2. This would notably involve the adoption of the TSMC 3N manufacturing process, instead of the TSMC 5N used on the M1 and M2 generations. Apple would have notably got hold of most of the production capacity of the Taiwanese founder.
However, for a few weeks, the beams agree on a delay in the development of the chip. The presentation of the Apple M3 would therefore not be scheduled for this WWDC, but for another event later in the year. The firm is already testing the future Apple M3 Pro and Apple M3 Max in its labs.
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