One of Apple’s Most Anticipated Products Could Be Announced Soon

At WWDC 2023, Apple is expected to reveal its highly-anticipated AR/VR headset, a 15-inch MacBook Air and the next-gen software updates for iPhone, Apple Watch and more.

apple ceo tim cook delivers keynote at annual worldwide developers conference

By Tucker Bowe

Published May 31, 2023

·

Updated June 3, 2023

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is just around the corner — it will take place on June 5 and run through June 9. For those well-versed in Apple, this is the big mid-year event where it reveals the big software updates coming to all its gadgets (including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and more) in the fall.

Apple isn’t known for announcing a ton of new hardware at WWDC, but it’s also not out of the question. At last year’s WWDC, for example, Apple announced the M2 MacBook Air. And in years prior, the Mac Pro (in 2019) and the original full-sized HomePod (in 2017) were also announced.

This year, as you might’ve heard, there are a lot of rumors swirling around and it’s actually expected that Apple will announce a bunch of new hardware. That includes the highly-anticipated AR/VR headset and the first 15-inch MacBook Air.

The Reality Pro, Apple’s first AR/VR headset

Apple’s first mixed-reality headset, rumored to be called the “Reality Pro,” is finally expected to be revealed at this year’s WWDC this year. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the headset will have two micro-OLED displays — each of which will deliver a 4K picture with a reported 4,000 ppi and up to 5,000 nits of brightness — that will cover both your eyes and have a bunch of cameras facing outwards to pick up the outside. The idea is that the headset will overlay graphics on the real world for an AR experience or have the screens be completely immersive and block out the outside world for a VR experience.

As for price, it’s expected that each headset is going to sell for a hefty $3,000. That’s an order of magnitude more expensive than the Meta Quest 2, and even more than the cost of buying Valve’s Index headset and a PC to run it. Of course, neither of those offer augmented reality experiences.

While the headset may very well be announced at WWDC, don’t expect it for sale soon. This is an advance announcement to get developers to work on apps and other software, much in the same way that the Apple Watch was announced months prior to its actual release.

We may also get a bigger MacBook Air

The other big rumor surrounding WWDC is that Apple will be revealing a 15-inch MacBook Air. Apple currently sells two different MacBook Airs — one with only design and an M1 chip and one with the new design and an M2 chip — but both have 13-inch displays. If Apple does announce a 15-inch model, it will be the biggest-screen MacBook Air ever and it would slot nicely in between the current 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros.

According to analyst Ross Young, the 15-inch MacBook Air would share a similar new-age design as the current M2 MacBook Pros and M2 MacBook Airs — meaning it would have a more edge-to-edge display, an upgraded 1080p webcam and a MagSafe charging port.

That said, the upcoming 15-inch MacBook Air might not be the only new Mac that gets announced at WWDC. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. there could be “several new Macs” that also get revealed at the event. There’s not much info regarding exactly what these new Macs could be, however. It’s possible that the Apple announces a refreshed Mac Studio that’s been upgraded with Apple’s newer M2 line of chips.

Expect some big software updates to iPhone and Apple Watch

While the new Reality Pro headset and 15-inch MacBook Air might steal the headlines, a big focus at this year’s WWDC will be the next-gen software updates that will roll out to Apple’s various gadgets in the fall. This biggest ones are expected to be iOS 17 for iPhone and watchOS 10 for Apple Watch.

According to Gurman, iOS 17 is expected to deliver several highly requested features to the iPhone. This includes an a more user-friendly Lock Screen with more smart home controls for more easily controlling your various smart home devices. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, it’s also expected that Apple will debut a new wellness journaling app.

The Apple Watch is expected to get several big software updates with watchOS 10. In fact, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, watchOS 10 could be the Apple Watch’s biggest software update in years. It’s rumored that some big interphase changes will be introduced, including the return of widgets for the Apple Watch. The idea is that you’ll be able to see more information (with things like activity tracking and weather) just by scrolling and without having to actually launch an app.