The most anticipated products in 2023 (Apple, Google, Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi)

What will we remember from 2022? If the year was rich in technological innovations, it is clear that none will probably mark its time. The most striking events of recent months are rather the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk and the arrival of new forms of artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT. New products, for once, take a back seat.

Will 2023 do better? While the threat of an economic crisis may suggest that brands will remain wise, many of them should still launch into new categories. Enough to predict a much more favorable balance sheet at the end of the year.

Apple, finally the year of the mixed reality headset?

Like every year, Apple is the most anticipated brand. It’s normal, Apple has the incredible power to dictate what the industry should do. Whether you like Apple or not, it’s impossible to miss this phenomenon. When the Californian company does something, its competitors try to do the same. It’s systematic.

What to expect with Apple in 2023? According to rumors, here is the list of products that the brand should announce in the coming months. We start with the classics, the ones anyone could predict:

• The iPhone 15presumably with a USB-C port and a new Ultra model with a periscopic zoom.
• L’AppleWatch Series 9 and theApple Watch Ultra Series 2.
• New, more powerful revisions to the iPad.
• Updates for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.
• New Macs with more powerful chips (M2 Pro, M2 Ultra, M3, etc.), starting with the Macbook Pro 14 and 16 inches, then the first Mac Pro without Intel.

If all this is classic, we also expect Apple in new sectors in 2023. This is where Apple’s year could be interesting:

• After years of rumors, Apple could reveal his Reality helmet dedicated to mixed reality. This could be a major announcement, which would propel the industry into a new era.
• The connected home could be in the spotlight, with new versions of the HomePod including a model with a screen and a webcam for making calls.
• For the first time, Apple could launch a large Macbook Air with a 15 inch screen.

Apple’s headset is highly anticipated, as it would push the brand to launch a new operating system and pave the way for augmented reality, in which Apple has been a strong believer for several years. If this announcement takes place in 2023, it may be the most important of the year.

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Samsung, renewals or innovations?

Samsung is a brand that does many, many things. Smartphones, tablets, computers, refrigerators, ovens, televisions, sound bars… Koreans are everywhere. Predicting its year 2023 is extremely complicated, since Samsung has a habit of launching hundreds of products every year. It is therefore better to take an interest in the big trends.

For some time now, Samsung has been criticized for being less innovative. Will the Korean surprise again in 2023? While there are areas where innovation may be limited in 2023 (QD-OLED TVs are already here, and we doubt microLED will become affordable all at once), Samsung might surprise us in some categories at the end of the year:

• At CES in early January, Samsung should be talking a lot about home. In addition to new household appliances, the Matter standard, which unifies the connected home, should be in the spotlight. Will there be new products compatible with all ecosystems?

• At the beginning of February, the new smartphone season is expected to be launched by Samsung. The Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra should be slight revisions of their predecessors. One of the notable changes would be the abandonment of the Samsung Exynos chips in favor of the more reliable Qualcomm Snapdragon. They could also innovate on the photo with a 200 Mpix sensor.
• Throughout the year, Samsung is expected to steadily launch more affordable products. Like he usually does.
• This summer, we logically expect new folding smartphones. After a very successful Galaxy Z Fold 4, but very close to previous models, Samsung must react. The arrival of Chinese players like Oppo and Vivo could push the Korean to release new, more sophisticated models. We also expect Samsung on other products, such as tablets or folding computers.
• Finally, what about virtual and mixed reality? A pioneering time, Samsung has deserted this market. According to some rumors, the Korean brand would launch a mixed reality headset in 2023, just to not leave Meta and Apple too quiet.

Meta, a Quest 3 to make mixed reality affordable?

Meta is not doing very well, as evidenced by the dismissal of 11,000 employees. Facebook’s parent company has also closed most of its hardware divisions, such as the one in charge of Portal screens/speakers. Social networks and the metaverse are at the center of his concerns.

In 2023, however, there should be a material announcement from Mark Zuckerberg and his teams. After the ultra popular Quest 2 virtual reality headset in the United States (449 euros) and the extremely promising, but ultra expensive (1799 euros) Quest Pro mixed reality headset (1799 euros), Meta should offer a hybrid product between these two objects.

The only product really expected at Meta in 2023 is the Quest 3, the successor to the Quest 2 with color cameras, so you can see the real world without removing it (the Quest 2 is content with black and white). To slash mixed reality prices, Meta will surely make material concessions. It’s hard to imagine the Quest Pro controllers and eye tracking surviving this consumer product.

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Oppo is no longer afraid of the high end

Gradually, Oppo goes up. Known to the general public for partnerships with globally renowned events (Roland Garros, the Champions League, etc.), the Chinese brand has proven several times that it is capable of competing with Samsung and Apple. The Find X5 Pro, its smartphone released in early 2022, is undoubtedly the most convincing of the year.

In 2023, Oppo is expected to assume its status as a high-end Chinese brand even more (it somehow takes over the positioning of Huawei, held back by the United States). Although it knows it won’t sell as many as its 200-300 euro products, Oppo has already announced that it will launch a competitor to Samsung’s folding Galaxy Z Flip at the start of the year. The Chinese brand, which offers augmented reality glasses in China, also stood out with his scrolling screen smartphone. Will it be marketed this year?

Google, finally a folding smartphone?

What about Google, whose material ambitions we do not yet fully understand? The Pixel 7 are excellent, but the firm still seems far from competing with the top 5 best sellers. His way of announcing products several months before their announcement is also very surprising.

In 2023, here are the products expected at Google:

• News on the side smart home : the emergence of Matter could push Google to renew its Nest speakers and launch new generations of its accessories with the Thread standard.
• Some new smartphones : the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 7a are logically expected by the fall of 2023.
• A news show : after a very disappointing Pixel Watch, can Google release a more powerful and more durable product?
• The tablet Pixel Tablet : announced mid-2022, it should be launched in 2023. Until then, we can only hope that Google improves its design to make it truly competitive.

• Finally, Google should, after two years of rumors, launch a Pixel Fold folding screen. Its design should take that of the Galaxy Z Fold, namely a tablet capable of folding in half.

Xiaomi, the return of low prices?

Wang Xiang, the president of Xiaomi resigned at the end of 2022. After a complicated period (the Covid played bad tricks on Xiaomi), the Chinese brand wants to reinvent itself to gain market share and get back on track. conquest of the world. Ultra popular in France, Xiaomi is counting on William Lu, its vice-president in charge of the low-cost Redmi division, to take over. In view of the designated personality, logic would dictate that Xiaomi refocus on the entry level by continuing to cut prices.