Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which incorporates all of the Apple information you missed final week in a useful 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, nevertheless 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 greatest occasion within the firm’s calendar and the primary of any sort since final fall. This time subsequent week, the fortunate few might be attending the watch social gathering at Apple Park (and looking out ahead to their particular tour; no, in fact, I’m not envious), whereas the remainder of us might be huddled round our displays listening to the most recent bulletins. Each teams, it’s honest to say, may have excessive expectations.
From the sounds of issues–and for all Apple’s ruthless efforts to maintain issues secret, so much has leaked–there might be some large information to justify the hype. The issue is that the information, as large as it’s, will solely be related to a small viewers.
Once you work within the media, you shortly study to determine the issues which are attention-grabbing to the most important variety of individuals. On Macworld we’re properly conscious that an article concerning the iPhone might be related to many extra individuals than one concerning the HomePod, and is consequently seemingly, all issues being equal, to get extra pageviews; the previous is just extra broadly standard than the latter. It’s extra mainstream. Following an analogous logic, at WWDC annually Apple tends to deal with the software program that runs on the merchandise with the most important person base. For that reason iOS tends to be the marquee part of the presentation. There are many iPhone homeowners on the market, they usually need to know what new options are on their manner.
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 latest options, together with a intelligent good show perform 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 bettering 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 boring 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 solution to the unhappy trombone.” On the intense aspect, there’s the potential of new Macs, reminiscent of 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 Avenue and Silicon Valley alike. Absolutely Apple has one thing to say about these titanic product traces that’s price listening to? Maybe not.
As an alternative, the highlights of WWDC 2023 are prone to sit in two classes: the combined actuality headset, and watchOS 10. Actuality Professional is actually an attention-grabbing prospect to me, provided that it’s a wholly new product line that would finally be extra essential 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 yr’s shipments are prone to fall wanting 100,000 models. By Apple’s requirements, that is peanuts, and the product is essentially irrelevant to the overwhelming majority of individuals watching the keynote.
The Apple Watch isn’t fairly as area of interest as that, nevertheless 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 this planet proper now. The Apple Watch person base, in contrast, sits someplace between 100 million (which the road formally handed in 2021) and 200 million, the approximate whole quantity ever bought. And so it’s debatable how a lot the WWDC viewers will care about even a elementary rethink of the best way we management our Apple Watches.
I’ve argued previously {that a} boring Apple occasion is best than no occasion, and I believe it’s essential for Apple to provide correct consideration to the merchandise on the margins. Apple can’t make each occasion concerning the iPhone, any greater than we are able to make each article about it. Apart from the rest, it wants to seek 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 could be daring, to say the least, to spend a lot of the occasion speaking about one product whose gross sales get rolled in with house merchandise and equipment, and one other whose buyer base for this yr would slot in a big sports activities stadium.
Foundry
Opinions nook
Trending: Prime tales
Apple is lastly able to admit the Apple Watch is all mistaken.
Apple’s AI future may very well be so much 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 unhealthy recommendation.
Samsung’s new Good Monitor M8 is the subsequent smartest thing to a 32-inch iMac.
The rumor mill
A leaked checklist of key gamers in Apple’s headset staff reveals the venture’s misguided priorities.
Apple has given us a enormous 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 yr after, Apple reportedly plans to change again to a vertical digicam format on the iPhone 16.
Patent exercise suggests a future Apple Pencil might have Discover My help.
Podcast of the week
On this episode of the Macworld Podcast, it’s all about your scorching takes! You could have ideas on the most recent happenings on this planet of Apple! Let’s hear what it’s important to say!
You’ll be able to catch each episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our personal web site.
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 yr. 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. For those who’d prefer to get common roundups, join our newsletters. You can too observe us on Twitter or on Fb for dialogue of breaking Apple information tales. See you subsequent Monday, and keep Appley.
