WWDC 2023: What to expect at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is expected to be one of the largest yet. After years of rumors and leaks, Apple was finally able to take the wraps off its mixed reality headset, enter the company into a new product category and give the world a first look at its attempt to prove that virtual reality is worth investing in .

There’s definitely a lot more to come: OS updates, new apps and features, and possibly some new hardware too. Here we’ve gathered details on how and when you can watch the main WWDC keynote, as well as some of the announcements we expect from Apple.

This year’s main WWDC keynote is scheduled for Monday, June 5 at 1pm ET / 10am PT. It will take place as a digital and in-person event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, with Apple CEO Tim Cook expected to kick off.

Apple will live stream the WWDC keynote from its website And Youtube Channel. You can also watch the stream we’ll be embedding at the top of this article once it goes live. 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 airs.

With that said, let’s dive into some of the biggest announcements we expect from Apple during WWDC.

Apple’s mixed reality headset may be one of the company’s most exciting products in years. While Apple hasn’t even confirmed its existence yet, reports suggest it will be able to offer both 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 via its own cable. So far, reports suggest that Apple has been building VR versions of some of its native apps, including Safari, FaceTime, Apple TV, Apple Books, Freeform, and more.

With an expected price tag of around $3,000, Apple’s headset won’t come cheap. While Apple is supposedly working on more affordable versions of the device as well, we probably won’t see them at this year’s event.

Apple is also expected to launch a larger 15-inch option for the MacBook Air – a device that has long had 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 ship with the internal M2 chip used in the MacBook Air models released last year. As noted by a report from Bloombergit may also have the same 3024 x 1964 resolution as the 14-inch MacBook Pro, though the screen might be slightly less sharp as it has an extra inch of space to fill in.

Other than that, though, it’s not entirely clear if Apple has plans to unveil even more new Macs. The company is rumored to be working on a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro, 13-inch MacBook Air, and a 24-inch iMac, all of which may ship with a new M3 chip.

WWDC is a developer event, which means we’re bound to see some updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and more.

That 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 ship with the new operating system, including a 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 Pierce said “still doesn’t work” even after Apple officially released it last October. The updates sound like they are more on the technical sidethough, and less about its general functionality.

Not much is known about what’s in store for macOS 14 and tvOS 17, but Apple is reportedly giving watchOS 10 a rather big update that adds a new widget-heavy interface.

Speaking of iOS 17, a report of The Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple is about to launch a new journaling app for the iPhone that will allow you to record your thoughts and activities throughout the day.

It can also suggest topics to write about and offers “All Day People Discovery” to keep track of who you’re spending time with and even detect when you’re doing something you don’t normally do on any given day. While Apple is expected to unveil the app at WWDC, the company will likely launch it in the fall.

Apple is running out of time to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). While some rules have already come into effect, “digital gatekeepers” like Apple have until March next year to let users download third-party app stores and sideload apps within the EU, something Apple has strongly opposed for security reasons. .

Therefore, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Apple uses WWDC to preview some of the changes it’s making to its iPhone and iPad ecosystems. (Or at least quietly inform developers that the change is coming.) According to BloombergApple is seeking an “overhaul” of iOS to comply with European regulators.

In addition to allowing sideloading, speculation abounds that Apple may no longer require third-party browsers to use Apple’s proprietary WebKit engine, which would allow for more differentiation in mobile browsers. The company could also allow access to its NFC chip, which is currently limited to Apple services such as Apple Wallet and Apple Pay.

Apple has tons 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 that Apple is working on one Mac Pro with Apple’s internal chipan updated 24-inch iMac and two new models of the Mac Studio.

We’ll also keep an eye out for Apple’s next move in the AI ​​space. While the company has remained relatively quiet about its AI ambitions, the indicate the vacancies of the company that it is looking for people who specialize in the field. It also recently banned employees from using ChatGPT over data breach concerns, raising the question of whether it will build its own AI system for employees like Samsung.

Of course, we can also look forward to the release of the iPhone 15 later this year. Rumors suggest that all models of the iPhone 15 will ship with the Dynamic Island this time around (not just the Pro), and that it could also feature a USB-C charging port (thanks to yet another EU regulation). However, that will have to wait until September.