Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which incorporates all of the Apple information you missed final week in a helpful bite-sized roundup. We name it Apple Breakfast as a result of we predict it goes nice with a Monday morning cup of espresso or tea, however it’s cool if you wish to give it a learn throughout lunch or dinner hours too.
One week to go
There are simply seven days to go till Apple’s WWDC 2023 keynote presentation, the second largest occasion within the firm’s calendar and the primary of any variety since final fall. This time subsequent week, the fortunate few can be attending the watch occasion at Apple Park (and looking out ahead to their particular tour; no, after all, I’m not envious), whereas the remainder of us can be huddled round our displays listening to the newest bulletins. Each teams, it’s truthful to say, could have excessive expectations.
From the sounds of issues–and for all Apple’s ruthless efforts to maintain issues secret, quite a bit has leaked–there can be some huge information to justify the hype. The issue is that the information, as huge as it’s, will solely be related to a small viewers.
Once you work within the media, you rapidly study to establish the issues which might be fascinating to the most important variety of folks. On Macworld we’re nicely conscious that an article in regards to the iPhone can be related to many extra folks than one in regards to the HomePod, and is consequently seemingly, all issues being equal, to get extra pageviews; the previous is just extra extensively common than the latter. It’s extra mainstream. Following an identical logic, at WWDC every year Apple tends to concentrate on the software program that runs on the merchandise with the most important consumer base. For that reason iOS tends to be the marquee part of the presentation. There are many iPhone house owners on the market, and so they wish to know what new options are on their method.
Now, I’m not saying that Apple goes to disregard the iPhone fully at WWDC 2023. iOS 17 is anticipated to incorporate a raft of recent options, together with a intelligent sensible show operate and, very seemingly, the momentous skill to put in apps from third-party shops with out jailbreaking. However most pundits agree that that is going to be a quiet replace with no “tentpole enchancment.” It’ll be about fixing bugs and enhancing reliability, with a couple of “good to have” new options chucked in as a bonus.
In the meantime, macOS seems to be headed for a uninteresting June–a lot in order that my colleague has puzzled if Apple cares about macOS anymore. “Our macOS 14 information hub has nothing,” he laments. “The chirping crickets simply gave option to the unhappy trombone.” On the brilliant aspect, there’s the potential of new Macs, comparable to a 15-inch MacBook Air and a Mac Professional (lastly).
And these, bear in mind, are the flagship merchandise. iPhone and Mac, aspect by aspect, dragging Cupertino out of its 90s doldrums and making it the envy of Wall Road and Silicon Valley alike. Certainly Apple has one thing to say about these titanic product traces that’s value listening to? Maybe not.
As an alternative, the highlights of WWDC 2023 are more likely to sit in two classes: the combined actuality headset, and watchOS 10. Actuality Professional is actually an fascinating prospect to me, on condition that it’s a wholly new product line that might ultimately be extra vital to Apple’s fortunes than the iPhone. It’s actual futurist, risk-taking stuff. The issue is that, for now, it’s area of interest. A TrendForce report final week predicted that Apple’s headset will initially be focused at builders, not shoppers and that this 12 months’s shipments are more likely to fall wanting 100,000 items. By Apple’s requirements, that is peanuts, and the product is basically irrelevant to the overwhelming majority of individuals watching the keynote.
The Apple Watch isn’t fairly as area of interest as that, however it’s nowhere close to as mainstream because the iPhone and even the iPad. Relying on which analysis agency you ask, there are most likely between 1 billion and 1.5 billion iPhone customers on the earth proper now. The Apple Watch consumer base, against this, sits someplace between 100 million (which the road formally handed in 2021) and 200 million, the approximate complete quantity ever bought. And so it’s debatable how a lot the WWDC viewers will care about even a basic rethink of the best way we management our Apple Watches.
I’ve argued up to now {that a} uninteresting Apple occasion is higher than no occasion, and I believe it’s vital for Apple to offer correct consideration to the merchandise on the margins. Apple can’t make each occasion in regards to the iPhone, any greater than we are able to make each article about it. Except for anything, it wants to search out the product that can take the iPhone’s place as soon as the tills cease ringing.
However make no mistake: that is going to be the riskiest set of bulletins Apple has made in years. A colossal world viewers has been ready a very long time for this occasion. It might be daring, to say the least, to spend many of the occasion speaking about one product whose gross sales get rolled in with residence merchandise and equipment, and one other whose buyer base for this 12 months would slot in a big sports activities stadium.
Foundry
Opinions nook
Trending: Prime tales
Apple is lastly prepared to confess the Apple Watch is all mistaken.
Apple’s AI future may very well be quite a bit brighter than it appears, says Jason Snell.
Bungie’s Marathon revival is a missed alternative for Apple and the Mac.
Jason Cross argues that Warner Bros. Discovery blew it with the brand new Max app for Apple TV.
ChatGPT can provide you recommendation on shopping for a brand new Mac. It simply occurs to be dangerous recommendation.
Samsung’s new Good Monitor M8 is the subsequent smartest thing to a 32-inch iMac.
The rumor mill
A leaked listing of key gamers in Apple’s headset staff reveals the challenge’s misguided priorities.
Apple has given us a large WWDC clue by inviting the VR press to the keynote.
The iPhone 15 might not want a MagSafe-certified charger for 15-watt quick charging.
And the 12 months after, Apple reportedly plans to change again to a vertical digital camera structure on the iPhone 16.
Patent exercise suggests a future Apple Pencil might have Discover My assist.
Podcast of the week
On this episode of the Macworld Podcast, it’s all about your scorching takes! You have got ideas on the newest happenings on the earth of Apple! Let’s hear what it’s important to say!
You possibly can catch each episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our personal website.
Software program updates, bugs, and issues
No, iOS 16.5 hasn’t killed your iPhone’s battery.
New iOS and macOS updates have mounted extreme flaws in iPhones and Macs from the previous 10 years.
Look out: The watchOS 9.5 replace may flip your Apple Watch display screen inexperienced.
iOS 16.5 fixes a safety gap that was supposedly addressed final 12 months. Thoughts you, it additionally stops an Apple adapter working with some iPhones and iPads.
And with that, we’re executed for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you happen to’d prefer to get common roundups, join our newsletters. You can even observe us on Twitter or on Fb for dialogue of breaking Apple information tales. See you subsequent Monday, and keep Appley.