WWDC23 highlights: Apple Vision Pro, platform updates, Macs, more announced

• Look through lenses
• Familiar yet entirely new
• Eyes, hands, and voice controls
• Spatial audio
• Introduces spatial computing

Screenshot

• Widgets now part of core experience with crown now set to scroll widgets, and the widgets are interactive.
• Corner icons in fitness app, and digital crown now shows full screen views
• Rotating the digital crown opens up apps for more information.
• Two new watch faces – Snoopy and Woodstock

• iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 features will be available on macOS Sonoma.
• Widgets – could be moved from notification center to desktop. Instantly fades in background with main apps on front for least distractions. Widget gallery for easy desktop placement. iPhone widgets could be transferred, if the phone is nearby or on the same Wi-Fi network.
• Gaming – Game mode prioritized games on CPU and GPU. Works with any games. Death Stranding Director’s Cut game is coming to Macs later this year.
• Video conferencing – presenter overlay (small and large) to make you part of your presentation. Reactions are coming to video conferencing apps such as FaceTime, Zoom, Teams, and Webex.
• Safari – Locks private browsing windows, blocks trackers from loading, profiles for multi-account access on single device, web apps with option to put them directly on the dock.
  

• Widgets – now with better interactivity
• Lock screen – iPhone-like interactive lock screen arrives on iPad, but with left-aligned area for widgets (in horizontal orientation). Live Activities also arrive.
• PDFs – Identify fields and allow easy auto-fill. Sign PDFs is natively supported. Notes app gets PDF support with full view and annotate function. Live collaboration works with PDFs in Notes app.

• Phone app – personalised contact posters (pictures and emojis) during calls

• Live Voicemail – Live transcription in real time on the screen, handled on-device for privacy

• FaceTime – Leave a message, if the person on the other side is not available

• Messages – Search filters, Catch-up icon to quickly move on top of the conversation, audio message transcription, inline location sharing, check-in to auto inform friends and family if you have reached destination, '+' menu on bottom left side with stickers now part of it

• NameDrop – to share contact on a single tap or bring the phones close together

• Keyboard – Autocorrect, powered by on-device learning, gets refreshed design with a single tap option menu. Predicted text in-line as you type. Dictation, is now part of the keyboard.

• Journal – a new app that is coming later this year. Suggestions to inspire writing, including contact locations, music, and other. E2E and on-device processing

• Standby – a new full screen experience with always-on display (clock) when the iPhone is on charging.

• Siri – Hey is no more part of wake-up voice command. Siri wakes up with just “Siri” command.

• MacBook Air 15
• 11.5mm thin
• MagSafe charging
• 2 x Thunderbolt 4 port
• 15.3-inch screen – 500 nits, 1 billion colours
• 1080p camera for video calls
• 3-microphones
• 6-speaker with force cancelling woofers
• M2 Chip
• 18 hours battery life

MacBook Air 15

Apple is expected to debut its mixed-reality headset, which is expected to ship by the end of this year or early next year. In the existing line, the American technology giant would add new Macs and introduced new chips. Besides, the company would update its platform with new features and tools. Among the major changes in the existing platforms is the app sideloading feature coming with iOS 17 for iPhone.

Apple Inc shares hit a record high for the first time in 17 months on Monday, ahead of its annual developers conference where it is expected to launch a mixed-reality headset that is said to be its first big move in to a new product category since the introduction of the Apple Watch nine years ago. According to Reuters report, shares of the world's most valuable listed company were last up 1.5 per cent at $183.70. They have jumped nearly 40 per cent in 2023, compared with an 11.5 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P 500.

It has become a tradition for Apple to make its online store go down ahead of events. Today's event, though developers-focused, is expected to bring freshness in Apple hardware line. With the Apple store online down, it is time to wait and watch!

On the software side of things, Apple is expected to announce the iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and tvOS 15. With the iOS 17, Apple is expected to allow app sideloading to meet the requirements set by the European Union under its Digital Markets Act. Kicking in from 2024, the law requires technology companies to allow the installation of third-party apps and let users change default settings. In the watchOS 10, Apple is expected to bring widget-based UI.