Apple’s WWDC23
At this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that it would be joining the AR/VR market with its long-anticipated showcase of the Apple Vision Pro. In addition to the Apple Vision Pro, Apple plans to release a 15-inch MacBook Air, the second generation of Mac Studio and Mac Pro, a new version of watchOS, and improvements coming with iOS 17. We’re here to give you a brief rundown of what’s new in the world of Apple.
Apple Vision Pro
The biggest release at this year’s conference was undoubtedly the new Apple Vision Pro. The product is truly revolutionary for Apple since “it’s the first Apple product you look through, and not at,” according to CEO Tim Cook. The Apple Vision Pro will be capable of producing both augmented and full virtual reality landscapes for the user. The device is set to rival the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro because of its controller-free design that relies on
VisionOS to track the user’s eye movements. The user will also be able to use hand movements and voice commands to control their environment. However, with this innovative technology comes a steep price tag,
$3,499 to be exact.
A New 15-inch MacBook Air
At the convention, Tim Cook also announced that Apple would be releasing its largest MacBook Air to date. The 15-inch MacBook Air will feature an M2 chip and a Liquid Retina display. Despite the larger design, the 15-inch MacBook Air is expected to have a battery life of up to 18 hours. The new 15-inch model will retail at $1,299, leading to a price reduction for the 13-inch MacBook Air.
M2 Ultra Gets Added to the New Mac Pro
The newest edition of the Mac Pro is getting a big upgrade with the addition of the M2 Ultra chip. The powerful chip has the capability to import and encode up to 24 different 4K camera feeds at once. These state-of-the-art features come at a starting price of $6,999. The new desktop monitor outfitted for the Mac Pro, will feature a 32-inch 6K Retina display and up to 1,600 nits of brightness and will be an additional $4,999.
The Second Generation of Mac Studio
The second generation of Mac Studio was announced during the convention as well. This generation of Mac Studio will be separated into two different models: the M2 Max and the M2 Ultra. The M2 Ultra is made up of two M2 Max chips, which doubles the size of the GPU (graphics processing unit), Neural Engine, memory, and storage. This also results in higher performance speeds and machine learning for the M2 Ultra version of Mac Studio. Both versions of the second generation can support six Pro Display XDR displays on one Mac Studio device.
watchOS 10 Release
The watchOS 10 update has a focus on health and fitness. New updates to the compass app will automatically set two waypoints for users, a feature that should improve safety for runners and hikers. The first will be set at the point where the user last had cell service, and the second will be set for a previous point so that if the user makes an SOS call their location can be tracked more accurately. Cyclists will also get an upgrade with the ability to connect their AppleWatch to their bike sensors.
Apple is also introducing a way to track mental health through the Health app. This will include questionnaires to track mood which will correlate with the user’s activity levels. Users will also have the ability to share this information directly with their healthcare provider.
iOS 17 Release
iOS 17 is packed with small updates to make using an iPhone even easier. Perhaps the most anticipated update is the new FaceTime voicemail feature, which will allow users to leave a short video message. As for phone voicemails, users will now be able to watch them be transcribed in real-time when they miss a call.
Apple has implemented a new safety feature in iOS 17 which will allow users to check in when they reach a destination. The check-in notification will include the name of the location, the town or city, and the approximate time they reached that point.
A couple of other features have been added to iMessage to make the app more user-friendly. A new “catch-up” button to see unread messages that have been sent in a group chat and a new “swipe to reply” feature will allow users to read and reply to messages quicker than before.
Most of the products and software updates announced during the Worldwide Developers Conference are set to start being released this week. Visit the SparkShoppe blog to stay up-to-date on the latest technology releases!
