Apple simply wrapped up its Far Out occasion, giving us a glimpse on the new iPhone 14, three new Apple Watch fashions, and the following era of AirPods Professional earbuds. However what about all the pieces Apple didn’t announce?
Some rumors we’ve been listening to for the months main as much as the occasion simply didn’t find yourself panning out, and a few of our long-shot hopes have been deflated alongside the way in which. Right here’s all the pieces that might nonetheless come sooner or later — or could have confirmed to be a bust.
The mixed-reality headset
Apple’s mixed-reality headset has develop into the elephant within the room at its occasions, with rumors in regards to the gadget solely getting extra detailed. Whereas there was no signal of the headset on the Far Out occasion, that wasn’t essentially a shock.
We aren’t anticipating the headset till early subsequent 12 months, with Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicting it may hit the market in January 2023. It seems like Apple’s getting nearer to launch, too, as Apple has filed for “Actuality One” and “Actuality Professional” emblems that might trace at its branding.
The gadget is meant to be a standalone headset powered by an M2 chip that’s able to mixed-reality experiences and video games. Apple’s board of administrators reportedly bought to check out the gadget earlier this 12 months, and hopefully, we received’t have to attend for much longer to see it for ourselves.
A $100 premium on the iPhone 14 Professional
I feel we will all breathe a sigh of reduction on this one. Apple didn’t find yourself elevating the costs of its Professional and Professional Max mannequin, one thing Kuo stated he anticipated again in August. Similar to final 12 months, the Professional will begin at $999, whereas the Professional Max will begin at $1,099.
Satellite tv for pc calling and texting
Apple’s starry Far Out occasion branding made it appear to be the corporate was making ready to launch some groundbreaking satellite-powered connectivity for the iPhone 14. It didn’t assist that rumors about Apple’s plans to assist satellite tv for pc calling and messaging have been floating round for months now.
There was some substance to these rumors. Apple ended up saying the power to ship SOS alerts to emergency providers utilizing satellite tv for pc connectivity on the iPhone 14. This function was rumored for the iPhone 13 final 12 months, and it’s good to see it lastly come to fruition. With carriers like T-Cellular seeking to dip into satellite-powered messaging, Apple may get within the recreation finally, and these SOS alerts might be its first step.
(On a considerably amusing aspect word, Huawei would possibly’ve thought Apple was planning on revealing some loopy new satellite tv for pc options, too, because it introduced assist for satellite tv for pc texting on its Mate sequence units the day earlier than the occasion.)
A fever-detecting function for the Watch Sequence 8
Earlier rumors indicated that Apple would introduce a brand new fever-detecting function to the Watch Sequence 8. And whereas Apple did add two new temperature sensors to its gadget, their primary function is for fertility monitoring.
The Watch Sequence 8 can take customers’ temperature each 5 seconds and will detect modifications as little as 0.1 levels Celcius, serving to customers work out after they final ovulated. Maybe Apple may one way or the other increase on this function sooner or later to supply alerts you probably have a fever. It’s attainable that its fever-detecting functionality simply didn’t cross inner testing, one thing Apple tracker Mark Gurman warned may maintain again temperature sensing earlier this 12 months.
A brand new iPhone Mini
Sorry small telephone followers, however the iPhone 14 lineup doesn’t embody a brand new Mini mannequin. Apple’s newest iteration of the Mini (and maybe its final) got here out with the iPhone 13 final 12 months. The gadget sports activities a smaller 5.4-inch show, and that may not be interesting to those that favor a bigger display, however its compact dimension makes it very best to pop into your pocket.
I’m not going to rule out one other Mini solely, although. Apple simply introduced again the Plus mannequin of the iPhone for the primary time since 2018. Maybe if Apple sees demand for a smaller gadget sooner or later (maybe as extra individuals latch on to folding telephones for his or her compactness), it’ll deliver it again.
Lossless audio for the brand new AirPods Professional
What Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner calls the “most superior AirPods” nonetheless include Bluetooth. Whereas the second-gen AirPods Professional do include some notable upgrades, together with improved noise cancellation and spatial audio, they don’t include the rumored lossless audio that was supposed to enhance audio high quality considerably.
Even when we didn’t get lossless audio this time round, a minimum of Apple included Bluetooth 5.3. This model of Bluetooth makes use of the brand new LC3 audio codec for a extra environment friendly strategy to transmit audio, leading to higher audio.
A USB-C port for the iPhone
Okay, this one was a little bit of an extended shot, however all of us can dream, proper? With Europe (and even Brazil) placing stress on Apple to ditch its proprietary Lightning port, we will anticipate Apple to introduce a USB-C port on its units comparatively quickly. Apple’s reportedly testing iPhones with USB-C proper now, however Kuo isn’t anticipating it till the second half of 2023.
What’s up subsequent
Apple isn’t executed releasing new units this 12 months — the corporate’s anticipated so as to add to its Mac and iPad lineups at an occasion going down this October.
There, we’ll possible see a brand new iPad Professional with an M2 chip, in addition to an entry-level iPad with a refreshed design. On the Mac aspect of issues, Apple’s rumored to announce three new Macs that come outfitted with the M2 processor, together with a Mac Mini, Mac Professional, and MacBook Professional. We’re additionally anticipating Apple to launch iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura round this time, too.