Apple WWDC 2023 Live Blog: Seeing the Apple Vision Pro Headset, New Macs and More

The first Face ID-equipped iPhone will no longer receive software updates, starting with this fall's iOS 17. Apple's reveal of iOS 17 also came with a compatibility list that drops support for all of the iPhone models that were introduced in 2017, including the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X.

While all three phones received several years of updates, it's particularly notable to see Apple end software updates for the iPhone X, because of how it ushered in a radical redesign for the iPhone line. Nearly six years later, all iPhone models except for the iPhone SE continue to use a variation of the iPhone X's design. 

While the iPhone 8, the 8 Plus and the iPhone X will all continue to function after software update support ends, anyone still holding onto these phones should likely consider moving onto a newer device this fall in order to keep receiving new features and important security updates.

Apple's entire Mac computer line now ships with its in-house M series of chips. Now that the company has revealed a Mac Pro desktop computer that uses the M2 Ultra processor, every new Mac computer from the Mac Mini and up is designed with the home-baked silicon in mind.

The only Mac computer that hasn't received a bump to an M chip is the 27-inch edition of the iMac, which can be found in Apple's refurbished store, since the company no longer sells a new version of this iMac. Perhaps one day we'll see Apple redesign the 27-inch iMac to sport the looks of its 24-inch sibling with the M1 chip.

CNET's Dan Ackerman just got some hands-on time with Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Air, and he points out that Apple has not released a laptop with this size of a display for several years now. While many Windows laptops offer 15-inch displays, the MacBook lineup has mainly focused on 13-, 14- and 16-inch models.

Another early perk that Ackerman predicted is that since the design, chip and features are mostly the same as the 13-inch MacBook Air, Apple didn't need to give this 15-inch model a big price bump. The new 15-inch MacBook Air is $1,299, which is $200 more than the equivalent 13-inch model.

The $3,499 Apple Vision Pro headset is on display at WWDC, which includes the headset itself along with the battery pack it connects to when the headset isn't plugged directly into power.

Apple's new Mac computers -- the 15-inch MacBook Air, the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro -- are all on display at WWDC 2023.

Prior to today's WWDC presentation, Apple's stock hit a record high of $184, inching it closer to a $3 trillion valuation. The company showed off its new Vision Pro headset today, but at $3,499, it apparently failed to instill confidence. The stock has since ebbed to $179. Overall it's still well up from January of this year, when it fell to $125. 

Apple has just wrapped its WWDC 2023 keynote, but the developers conference is only beginning. Our reporting team will continue to be posting updates and stories from WWDC here as we get more information and hands-on time with Apple's new reveals.

Apple's Vision Pro looks fascinating on a whole host of levels, but I'm still a bit shocked at its design. It seems like it was ripped right out of Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, complete with translucent eyes. 

Apple has given the Vision Pro a hefty starting price of $3,499. It'll be released early next year at Apple retail stores in the US. It'll land in other countries later in 2024. Apple says more details will come out during WWDC.

Apple says it's committed to security with the Vision Pro. The way people will authenticate themselves is with Optic ID, an eye scan that verifies who you are. Apple also says that apps won't know what you're looking at, only when you make a click. It'll also be impossible for apps to see what's in your surrounding room.

The digital persona will move and talk while on calls. The headset will likely use its several sensors to help make this animated version of yourself appear as lifelike as possible, but ultimately you will still be having a conversation while wearing it.

The Apple Vision Pro includes 12 cameras, five sensors and six microphones, which are meant to help track your environment and to help avoid some of the discomfort, like motion sickness, that can occur with virtual reality experiences.

Unlike Meta's Horizon Worlds, which uses a cartoon-like avatar, the Vision Pro will use the cameras on the front of the headset to scan your face and create a digital render. This is handy for video calls so that people aren't just looking at you with a headset on.

The Vision Pro's construction is being described as the keynote continues, which apparently included Apple "studying thousands of heads" in order to create a comfortable design. 

The headset is built for all-day use when it's plugged into an outlet, or it can be plugged into a separate battery that's meant to be carried in a pocket.

Disney CEO Bob Iger took the virtual stage (in a fetching cardigan) to show off what the Vision Pro could mean for entertainment. This includes watching sports with 3D animations and live information on the side to bringing Mickey Mouse, Baby Yoda and Marvel superheroes into your bedroom.

Apple is spending a considerable amount of time talking about the entertainment aspects of the Vision Pro. From watching movies in your apartment or on an airplane, to playing Apple Arcade games, Apple really is pushing the Vision Pro as an entertainment device. It says the ability of creating a movie screen as large as you'd like is one of the headset's defining features.

Apple is touting Eyesight, the ability for people to see your eyes through the headset. From the video, eyes do look magnified. The Vision Pro will also show an aura image when you're viewing content and also indicating to others that they can't be seen. But as they come into your peripheral vision, the Vision Pro will bring them into focus.

Tim Cook says this is Apple's first step into spatial computing. Apple says digital images appear in front of your eyes as if they're really in the room with you. It doesn't seem that it requires a controller. Controlling digital items can be done with your fingers. It also seems that there's a wire running down the back of the headset, likely towards a battery.

Apple says it's helping vision health by letting you, or your kids, know if your eyes are too close to the screen. It'll give you notifications so that you pull your head back. 

The Apple Watch Ultra will feature a more powerful compass and the ability to point to the last pinged cell towers. So, when you're out in the wilderness and low on signal, you can start walking towards the nearest cell tower to regain connectivity.

Apple is integrating Widgets in WatchOS, that can be seen regardless of which app you're on. 

Rotating the crown gets a new design language that opens up apps for more information. So, the crown is more than just scrolling through information, but expanding upon it. 

Snoopy and Woodstock will also be adding their flair to Apple Watch, with contextual animations that go beyond just a new watch face. 

Apple is finally bringing FaceTime to the Apple TV. It feels long overdue, but it's finally happening. Similar to the Mac's Continuity camera feature that lets you use your iPhone's camera for computer video calls, the Apple TV FaceTime app will use the cameras on your iPhone or iPad so you won't need to plug anything in to get video chats onto the big screen. In addition to FaceTime, Apple also said it will allow the Continuity camera to work with third-party apps as well, with Webex and Zoom coming to Apple TV later this year.

A new sound-filtration system will come to AirPods that intelligently tunes out unwanted outside noise while also filtering in necessary sound. For example, it'll be able to filter out the noise of a lawnmower, but ensure that warning sounds like a bell or horn come through.

Famed game developer Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, showed off Death Stranding Director's Cut for Mac. He lauded Apple's upscaling and graphics tech for bringing the world of Death Stranding to Mac in high fidelity. He also said that future Kojima Productions titles will be coming to Mac.

The desktop software gets a better optimized mode for faster response time and reduced input latency with Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Apple also said a new game-exporting toolkit can help developers bring their games to Mac.

Apple is showing off the next version of MacOS, titled Sonoma. It'll include live wallpapers of famous cities and landscapes. Also, the widgets popular on iPhone and iPad can now be added to your Mac desktop. 

Whether it's tracking an Uber Eats order or flight information, iPadOS will now display the progress of certain apps on the home screen. It'll also be possible to have multiple timers running simultaneously.

As previous rumors had indicated, charging your iPhone on the side will put it in Standby Mode. It has glanceable information and is akin to a smart display. 

Apple's iOS 17 software will feature several new features that will revamp iMessage to include new stickers, filters and other features.

Apps that work with iMessage will also now be included underneath a "+" symbol instead of displaying above the keyboard.

iMessage is also getting a Catch-up feature to help when getting caught up in a busy message thread. Search filters will also help you find a specific messages thread.

Autocorrect in Apple's keyboard in iOS 17 will use a transformer, the same tech that powers the sentence-churning power of ChatGPT and Google Bard. Now, autocorrect can recommend the next word, which should make typing faster.

Name Drop is a new iOS 17 feature that allows people to share contact information with ease. Instead of loading up the phonebook app and typing in someone's information manually, two people can bring their iPhones together and contact information will transfer automatically. It'll also bring up your poster.

For audio recordings that come into iMessage, Apple will enable a new feature in iOS 17 that allows the recording to be transcribed, much like voicemail. This is handy if you can't listen to an audio recording for whatever reason. 

When making a FaceTime call with iOS 17, it'll be possible to record and send a message if a person doesn't pick up the call.

With personalized contact posters, callers can now link a custom poster that appears on the receiver's iPhone. This can feature a selfie or a Memoji, with a person's name.

Apple's large desktop Mac Pro is back and now gets Apple silicon. It'll be powered by the M2 Ultra chip. It can have 192GB of unified memory. Apple is gearing this for creators, with the power of seven Afterburner cards, eight thunderbolt ports up front, as well as an array of video outputs too. In terms of design, it looks identical to the last Mac Pro.

Apple updates the Mac Studio desktop. It'll feature the new M2 Max chip, giving the unit a big processing bump.

Apple announced a new 15-inch MacBook Air, a laptop that's starting at $1,299 and available next week. It's up for preorder today. Apple says it's the best 15-inch laptop on the market, being 2x faster than the bestselling 15-inch Windows laptop with a Core i7 processor.

Apple has brought out big names to present during its presentations in the past, but could Marvel be involved with today's event? Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was spotted in the audience ahead of the keynote, making it certainly possible he could appear on stage. While Apple and Marvel-owner Disney compete in the streaming space with their respective Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus services, the two companies have long had a close relationship. Maybe Marvel will be bringing some Iron Man VR to Apple's new headset? 

We're getting our seats at Apple's campus for the WWDC keynote presentation.

Apple is holding the WWDC 2023 keynote event outdoors.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has a reliable record when it comes to sharing Apple leaks and rumors, posted on Twitter that Apple might remove the "Hey Siri" trigger prompt. Gurman linked to his Power On newsletter from November 2022, which explains how Apple has an ongoing project that's centered on simplifying Siri. According to Gurman, Apple is testing getting rid of the "Hey" part of the phrase, so users could simply activate Siri by saying the name of the digital assistant. In his tweet Gurman writes, "I'd look out for that possibility next week." Well, next week has arrived and we should know shortly

The CNET team is now on-site at Apple's WWDC 2023. Apple has asked members of the press to wait in this balcony area until we get our spots at the keynote presentation.

Ahead of its WWDC keynote later today, Apple's stock hit an all-time high of $184.32. The stock is up by 46% from earlier this year, a major rebound. It also means that Apple is close to approaching a $3 trillion market valuation again, a number the iPhone-maker hit in January 2022.

Much of this investor confidence is likely coming from its strong revenues and balance sheets, but also from Apple's rumored entry into the AR/VR scene.

As is WWDC tradition, Tim Cook and gang are expected to announce the next major version of iPhone software, iOS 17, today. Though rumors point to the software update being overshadowed by new Mac hardware and a long-rumored AR/VR headset, the next version of iOS could still boast significant improvements.

The new iPhone software might have a feature that lets you view more items on your lock screen, according to a Bloomberg report. The lock screen would reportedly show calendar appointments, weather and notifications, similar to Android devices circa 2019 and smart displays like the Amazon Echo Show. This would follow on the heels of iOS 16, which brought a major overhaul of the iPhone's lock screen that made it more customizable.

With iOS 17, iPhone owners could also gain the ability to sideload apps, according to a different Bloomberg report. Sideloading means you can download an app on your iPhone without using Apple's App Store. The potential inclusion is likely meant to ensure compliance with new European regulations due to kick in next year.

In the years since its launch, the Apple Watch has grown into a well-rounded fitness tracker and a useful smartphone companion. But there are several ways Apple could make it even more helpful in both areas, and I'm hoping to learn more about how Apple is doing just that at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

For example, your Apple Watch can show how long you slept and how much time you spent in specific stages of slumber, like deep and REM sleep. But brands like Oura and Citizen aim to take that a step further by issuing a chronotype based on your sleeping patterns and other data. 

The term chronotype refers to whether your body has a natural preference for the morning or the evening. Oura measures this by analyzing your activity, sleep-wake cycle and body temperature, while Citizen crunches sleep data and alertness scores (which are generated after taking a test in the app).

I don't expect Apple to mimic this exact approach, but it would be helpful to see more insights around how sleeping patterns tie into my overall energy levels throughout the day. There's a lot more Apple could do when it comes to sleep tracking in general. While introducing sleep stage detection was a much-needed addition last year, I'd also still like to see some type of sleep score that summarizes the quality of my rest at a glance.

You might have only just gotten used to MacOS Ventura, but there's a good chance you'll be installing a new version later this year, and we might hear the first details about it today. 

Since 2013, these MacOS updates (formerly called OS X) have been named after California locations like Big Sur and Yosemite. Ventura added the ability to use your iPhone effortlessly as a remote camera, and added Stage Manager for better app multitasking. 

There has not been much in the way of rumors about what the next MacOS release could add, but further blurring the line between Mac, iPad and iPhone apps (and VR apps!) could be one area to grow. And since almost all Macs and many iPads run M2 chips, there's certainly a chance for greater synergy between product lines. 

Bonus! If you want to use your iPhone as a better Mac webcam, here's a link to a MacBook phone mount I designed for 3D printing. 

WWDC is a developer conference, and Apple's expected mixed reality VR headset -- the company's first brand-new product line since the Apple Watch -- is going to require a lot of explaining to interested app-makers. Reports already indicate that its XROS software will be unveiled and probably talked about for quite a while at WWDC (the keynote will reportedly last at least two hours). Assuming Apple's headset launches in the fall with an even more in-depth rundown of launch apps, WWDC could be a place where the hardware capabilities and the potential of the OS are emphasized. Expect a second fall event to be where focus shifts to a killer lineup of apps and experiences, if previous Apple product launches like the iPhone and Watch are the template.

Will XROS feel like an entirely new environment, or an extension of iOS? Reports have stated that the possibly named Reality Pro headset will run thousands of iPad apps. Could that make iPads with lidar sensors (which handle depth sensing for AR, much like Apple's headset is expected to) into developer kits for the headset?

Apple has already had AR development kits for iPhone and iPad for years. It would make sense that Apple builds on those already familiar tools and lets the headset feel like an extension of what AR on iOS already does. However, everything from the interface to the optics of VR/AR displays means XROS would have to rethink how information is laid out.

Also: Is there a chance that XROS forming a close relationship with the iPad leaves the Mac in an odd corner? Apple needs to lay out how this new software can be helpful to creatives working on any Apple device.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported as recently as Friday that Apple was testing a new Mac with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips and a codename suspiciously similar to the Mac Studio's -- and the M2 Ultra would be new to the line. Apple also announced it would begin accepting trade-ins for the existing Mac Studio line starting June 5. Make of that what you will.

The WWDC timing of a refresh with the higher-power chips makes a lot of sense as well. Apple's likely revealing its mixed-reality headset at the event, along with the operating system and developer tools necessary to create applications for it. So the company would probably want to be able to offer the most powerful platform possible to support development efforts. It's also possible that there are hardware changes necessary to support XR development, including more/different ports, upgraded Wi-Fi (or a new wireless headset communication) or something along those lines.

An M2 Ultra for the Mac Studio and an M3 for a rumored new MacBook Air are probably in the cards. 

Apple usually announces its entry-level next-generation chip around now, and if a 15-inch MacBook Air (or surprise Mac Mini) is really coming, that's the chip that would be in it. An M3 would also be on deck for the fall when Apple may update its top-end iPad Pro -- especially in preparation for an imminent XR headset to use with it. And a Mac Studio refresh is ripe for a higher-end processor.

Thus far, Apple's chips have, for the most part, been basic bumps to the cores in fixed increments, combined with linking the individual base processors into small arrays to scale up for the higher power versions. So beyond the simple generation-over-generation improvements, it will be interesting to see if that strategy needs to be adjusted (cooling or motherboard layout are the two which pop into my head) to fit into the small desktop.

WWDC 2022 was a big turning point for the MacBook… if you're really into having more color options for your laptop. It was the debut of the midnight color, a dark blue/gray that I think looks fantastic. Midnight joined starlight, space gray and silver, which were much more traditional Mac colors, and frankly all feel kinda the same to me. 

The only other really colorful Mac right now is the 24-inch iMac, which very deliberately mimics the colorful iMacs of old, in green, orange, yellow, blue and other colors. But if there's a new M-series 15-inch Air, it could offer midnight as a color option or even open up to some of the current iMac colors.

We haven't heard anything about screens getting upgraded at WWDC, but I'd love to see a replacement or alternative to the Pro XDR Display. Preferably, I'd like a new model that would sit between the Pro XDR Display and the Studio Display or below the Studio Display on the food (and price) chain. Normally monitors aren't a WWDC concern, but the changes I'd like would probably need updates in MacOS to support them.

The Pro XDR Display is great, but its weaknesses that were forgivable when it launched over three years ago really aren't any more. A pro monitor in 2023, especially at its $5,000 price, now needs Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort 2 for higher bandwidth support. This would enable high-resolution HDR and a minimum of a ProMotion-level 120Hz refresh rate, without relying on display stream compression or other operating system alchemy. A display with at least two of the connections would be nice, because sometimes you want a single monitor for two systems. I'm not even going to suggest that one of them might be running Windows, because HAHAHA.

The Studio Display launched without support for HDR, which makes sense given the panel it uses doesn't have local dimming. And HDR without local dimming is pretty meh. But that also means it shouldn't cost over $1,000 in its current incarnation. So drop the price and add a consumer HDR version of the display at $2,000; preferably with an HDMI connector so you can hook it up to a streaming device, you know, like an Apple TV.

I will die on the hill of physical controls. Neither of Apple's current monitors has any. At minimum, sometimes you just want to be able to power off with a button press.

It's taken Apple a lot longer than expected to wean its Mac Pro workstations (last year's rumors sound awfully familiar), launched in 2019, off Intel chips and move to its own silicon -- a transition Apple said would be complete by 2022. During the wait (and the pandemic), the Mac Pro clearly went into a holding pattern. There was no point upgrading the Intel-based architecture because moving to Apple silicon requires a redesign of the motherboard. So it's stuck with two-generations-old Intel Xeon processors, which is a lot at this particular moment, given the improvements in chip design over the past couple of years. It means PCI 3 instead of PCI 4, DDR4 not DDR5, and the smaller Intel 7 (10nm Enhanced Superfin) process, which provides improved efficiency on several levels. 

At this point the Mac Pro is slower than the MacBook Pro -- you can configure it with up to an M2 Max processor while the Mac Pro is still on the M1 generation -- and you're basically forced to trade speed for power, ECC memory and expandability.

I really doubt there will be significant changes in the look of the system, though. Apple tends to be slow to redesign its desktops and then make a radical design change to get it through the next 10 years. Plus, older workstations need to have an upgrade path for years longer than consumer systems do. And, in fact, AMD launched its W7000-series GPUs, the current-generation models of its workstation line and the silicon that Apple uses for its Mac Pro, in mid-April.

We've waited for Apple to make a move on its long-expected VR/AR headset for years, and it looks like WWDC will finally be the moment. Tons of speculation and details have already flooded the internet, and Apple is expected to have a VR device with mixed reality features similar to what Meta has done with its most recent Quest Pro headset. It's also expected to be seriously expensive -- maybe $3,000. The Apple headset is expected to have some sort of chipset based on Apple's M2 processor, and be a standalone device. However, Apple's hardware could try to distinguish itself from the rest of the headset landscape in a few key ways.

Will it have a better display to rival monitors?
The only VR headset I've ever tried that seemed almost pixel-free was the Varjo XR-3, an expensive business headset for PCs. Most VR and AR displays are good enough for gaming and work, but often feel steps behind the best monitors, or even phone and tablet screens.

Will hand tracking be the way to interact?
With eye and hand tracking expected to be onboard, Apple could skip using game controllers like the Meta Quest 2 uses. Other than Microsoft's HoloLens 2, other AR/VR headsets usually have some sort of physical controller input. Apple needs to show that its gesture language (or will there be a controller, too?) will be good enough to do work in and will feel as intuitive as multitouch has become everywhere else.

Can this headset connect well to all Apple devices?
VR and AR headsets are often clunky to sync and pair with phones, tablets and even PCs. Qualcomm, whose chips already power most headsets, is working on ways to have AR glasses and phones share apps better. Apple needs to show whether this Gen 1 headset can use Macs, iPads, iPhones or even the Apple Watch as part of its connected peripheral ecosystem.

One of the most consistent rumors about WWDC is that the keynote will include a new 15-inch version of Apple's MacBook Air laptop. 

Last month, I went over the case for a 15-inch Air and found it to be a strong one. First, this would not be the first time Apple has offered a MacBook Air in a different screen size. From 2010 to 2016, the company offered an 11-inch MacBook Air. Second, while the 13-inch MacBook Air remains my default choice as the single most universally useful laptop for most people, a 13-inch screen isn't necessarily big enough to be your all-day, everyday laptop.

Finally, Apple's long-standing 15-inch MacBook Pro vanished in 2019, replaced by new 14-inch and 16-inch versions, leaving Apple without a 15-inch laptop, which is still one of the most common screen sizes for Windows laptops. (But before you bet the farm on this, note that I made a similar prediction way back in 2012.)