The Apple year 2022 ended rather quietly. As usual, there were new iPhones in September and new iPads in October, but the last quarter of last year was a total failure for Macs. Neither the expected MacBook Pro models with the M2 Pro and M2 Max nor the long-announced Mac Pro with Apple Silicon came. Surprisingly, if you look at the list of historical releases, it was the first Christmas quarter in 22 years in which Apple didn’t launch a single new computer. The pipeline for 2023 is now correspondingly well filled.
Apple has some catching up to do
One annual date can already be noted in the calendar: the probability is very high that Apple will present fresh iPhones again in September. In 2023, this will likely be the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra – if Apple doesn’t mix up its usual lineup. The devices come with an improved interior, better cameras (possibly with periscope technology), hopefully finally USB-C instead of Lightning and one or the other technical surprise that has not yet leaked out. The Apple Watch Series 9 and – should Apple start an annual cycle here – the Apple Watch Ultra 2 are also expected in autumn. The rumor mill is hoping for new or improved biometric sensors, among other things, and Apple has been working on blood sugar and blood pressure for years. Whether an iPhone SE 4 is coming does not seem to have been decided yet.
In terms of iPads, the iPad mini is expected to be refreshed by autumn, and the iPad Air with an M2 chip is also due. You probably won’t hear anything about new Pro models with OLED screens until 2024. In terms of accessories, new HomePods – possibly with a screen or again in an enlarged version – and a second generation of AirPods Max are on the horizon. The manufacturer recently overhauled its Apple TV multimedia box.
Macs and Apple’s first XR headset
When it comes to Macs, Apple has a lot of catching up to do. The new edition of the MacBook Pro with 14 and 16 inches, which is more than a year old, may already be available in spring. The optics should be unchanged here, there are only said faster M2 chips (Pro and Max). The MacBook Air could get a new form factor with 15 inches, after years of staying at around 13 inches – when is still unclear. The Mac Pro with Apple silicon is supposed to be the fastest Mac of all time. Here it will be particularly interesting to see how Apple approaches the topic of expansion cards and how fast the workstation actually is. Also in the pipeline are a Mac mini with an M2 chip – which will presumably retain its traditional look – and a new iMac (possibly with an M3 and 24-inch, but we haven’t heard anything about a 27-inch version for a long time). The rumor mill continues to say that Apple could launch new displays, possibly a cross between Studio Display and Pro Display XDR. The latter has been on the market for three years.
The most exciting product innovation in 2023 at Apple is likely to be the long-awaited extended reality headset. It combines augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) and comes with its own operating system, which will probably be called xrOS after the term “realityOS” had long been circulated. The hardware should come with two 4K micro-OLED displays, have various cameras outside and even inside and bring its own app store. The device, which is intended to show competitors like Meta what Apple’s vision for the future is, will certainly not be cheap, currently several thousand euros are expected. Later generations should then be cheaper and, above all, more portable. The XR device is currently not expected until the second half of the year.
(bsc)
