My Predictions In Review
A Note on formatting, tables are used for listing comparisons between product predictions and product releases.
Example:
Macbook Air 15
| Predicted Minimum Spec | Announced Minimum Spec |
| Chip: M2 | Chip: M2 |
| Ram: 8 GB | Ram: 8 GB |
Bold Notes for are used for indicating the release status of a predicted software release.
Example
Software
- iOS 17 – Announced
Read my original predictions at WWDC 2023 Predictions.
WWDC 2023 In Review
The long awaited Apple Headset is finally here. This year’s one more thing, Apple Vision Pro, the worlds first spatial computer. As Tim Cook stated, “It’s the first Apple product you look through, not at.” To reiterate what I wrote last week, this year’s WWDC is sure to be one of the most important in Apple’s history. A legacy defining event for CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams.
In addition to the usual slate of annual Apple Ecosystem updates for all of its platforms, even if they are light on new features this year. Per Mark Gurman, First impressions of iOS and iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma and watchOS 10. “I’ve been testing iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma and watchOS 10 since the first developer betas were released on Monday and I find all of the new software updates to be fairly minor, and perhaps, in totality, the lightest set of changes in a single Apple update cycle in recent history.”
I was incorrect with my prediction regarding a major overhaul to Apple’s Services business with the shifting of Apple’s Pro Apps ecosystem to a subscription based software a la Adobe Creative Cloud. I still strongly believe that this will happen in the near future. Apple is very good at making money and in a stagnating and a mature iPhone, iPad, and Mac market, software subscriptions offer Apple a way to increase record Services profits. In addition hopefully recurring revenue streams will inspire them to fund the continued development and acceleration of improvements for their Pro Apps Bundle software suite. Yes, I’m writing about you Logic Pro, with it’s recently released and broken 10.7.8 update for Mac users. Auxiliary instrument tracks for multitimbral instruments currently don’t work. Sorta a big deal for film and media composers. Learn more about this issue via Apple Support.
Apple seemed to double down on its favorite and longstanding term for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML). Not referencing “AI” once during the keynote. My gut tells me their marketing teams wants to avoid using the term AI, due the negative connotations and impending future societal implications often associated with its widespread adoption and implementation. Read more about this via Forbes. Keeping the process on “Machine” somehow feels more comfortable, more controlled, more human?
Shifting back to this year’s software updates. Perhaps the best update to be included in this year’s operating system updated is the implementation of improved predictive text for all of Apple’s system level apps. Per Gurman, “The best new feature is the iPhone’s keyboard. After 16 years, Apple finally fixed its sometimes subpar autocorrect solution. There’s even predictive typing that works pretty well. You have to use it to see what I mean.” You can see the new predictive text/autocomplete being demonstrated in MacOS Sonoma at 07:30 via MacMost. These predictive text features are now powered by a LLM Transformer, shifting the software keyboards and system level apps away from the longstanding LSTM model. To learn more see Craig Federighi: Platforms and Software.
In typical Apple fashion they didn’t say the name of any of their competitors throughout the keynote.
On to the fun part, check out my WWDC 2023 predictions in review below. Overall, I feel pretty good about them. I’m disappointed the M1 iMac 24 inch lives on for another year with aging specs. However, for most people a separate Mac mini or MacBook Air or Pro with an external display is probably a better long term setup.
Apple Reality Pro – Released as Vision Pro
| Predicted Minimum Spec | Announced Minimum Spec |
| Chip: A17 | Chip: M2, R1 |
| Ram: 8 GB | Ram: TBD |
| Storage: 256 GB | Storage: TBD |
| Graphics: 6-core GPU | Graphics: TBD |
| OS: Reality OS aka rOS | OS: visionOS |
| Shipping Status: Available For Pre-Order This Fall | Shipping Status: Early Next Year |
| Developer Kit Available for Pre-Order Beginning Day of Event | TBD |
| Estimated Retail Price: $2,500.00 | Retail Price: Starting at $3499.00 |
| Predicted Maximum Spec | Announced Maximum Spec |
| Chip: A17 | Chip: M2, R1 |
| Ram: 8 GB | Ram: TBD |
| Storage: 512 GB | Storage: TBD |
| Graphics: 8-core GPU | Graphics: TBD |
| OS: Reality OS aka rOS | OS: visionOS |
| Shipping Status: Available For Pre-Order This Fall | Shipping Status: Early Next Year |
| Developer Kit Available for Pre-Order Beginning Day of Event | TBD |
| Estimated Retail Price: $3,000.00 | Retail Price: Starting at $3,499.00 |
MacBook Air 15 inch
| Predicted Minimum Spec | Announced Minimum Spec |
| Chip: M2 | Chip: M2 |
| Ram: 8 GB | Ram: 8 GB |
| Storage: 512 GB | Storage: 256 GB |
| Graphics: 8-core GPU | Graphics: 10-core GPU |
| OS: macOS Ventura | OS: macOS Ventura |
| Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event or 1 Week From Event Date | Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event |
| Estimated Retail Price: $1,699.00 | Retail Price: $1,299.00 |
| Predicted Maximum Spec | Announced Maximum Spec |
| Chip: M2 | Chip: M2 |
| Ram: 24 GB | Ram: 24 GB |
| Storage: 2 TB | Storage: 2 TB |
| Graphics: 10-core GPU | Graphics: 10-core GPU |
| OS: macOS Ventura | OS: macOS Ventura |
| Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event or 1 Week From Event Date | Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event |
| Estimated Retail Price: $2,699.00 | Retail Price: $2,499.00 |
iMac 24 inch
| Predicted Minimum Spec | Announced Minimum Spec |
| Chip: M2 | No Update At WWDC 2023 |
| Ram: 8 GB | No Update At WWDC 2023 |
| Storage: 512 GB | No Update At WWDC 2023 |
| Graphics: 8-Core GPU | No Update At WWDC 2023 |
| OS: macOS Ventura | No Update At WWDC 2023 |
| Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event or 1 Week From Event Date | No Update At WWDC 2023 |
Mac Studio
| Predicted Minimum Spec | Announced Minimum Spec |
| Chip: M2 MAX | Chip: M2 MAX |
| Ram: 32 GB | Ram: 32 GB |
| Storage: 512 GB | Storage: 512 GB |
| Graphics: 24-Core GPU | Graphics: 34-Core GPU |
| OS: macOS Ventura | OS: macOS Ventura |
| Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event or 1 Week From Event Date | Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event |
| Estimated Retail Price: $1,999.00 | Retail Price: $1,999.00 |
| Predicted Maximum Spec | Announced Maximum Spec |
| Chip: M2 ULTRA | Chip: M2 ULTRA |
| Ram: 160 GB | Ram: 192 GB |
| Graphics: 64-Core GPU | Graphics: 76-Core GPU |
| Storage: 8 TB | Storage: 8 TB |
| OS: macOS Ventura | OS: macOS Ventura |
| Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event or 1 Week From Event Date | Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event |
| Estimated Retail Price: $8,500.00 | Retail Price: $8,799.00 |
Mac Pro
| Predicted Minimum Spec | Announced Minimum Spec |
| Chip: M3 ULTRA | Chip: M2 ULTRA |
| Ram: 64 GB | Ram: 64 GB |
| Graphics: 64-Core GPU | Graphics: 60-Core GPU |
| Storage: 1 TB | Storage: 1 TB |
| OS: macOS Malibu | OS: macOS Ventura |
| Support for PCI and PCIE Expansion Slots | Support For PCI and PCIE Gen 4 Expansion Slots |
| Case Similar to 2019 Mac Pro | Case Same as 2019 mac Pro Internals Reflect M2 ULTRA Chip requirements Apple Silicon Mother Board |
| Shipping Status: Available This Fall | Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event |
| Tower Estimated Retail Price: $5,999.00 | Tower Retail Price: $6,999.00 |
| Rack-mount Estimated Retail Price: $5,999.00 | Rack-mount Retail Price: $ 7,499.00 |
| Predicted Maximum Spec | Announced Maximum Spec |
| Chip: M3 ULTRA Plus | Chip: M2 ULTRA |
| Ram: 320 GB | Ram: 192 |
| Graphics: 128-Core GPU | Graphics: 76-Core GPU |
| Storage: 16 TB | Storage: 8 TB |
| OS: macOS Malibu | OS: macOS Ventura |
| Support for PCI and PCIE Expansion Slots | Support For PCI and PCIE Gen 4 Expansion Slots |
| Case Similar to 2019 Mac Pro | Case Same as 2019 mac Pro Internals Reflect M2 ULTRA Chip requirements Apple Silicon Mother Board |
| Shipping Status: Available This Fall | Shipping Status: Pre-Orders Begin Day of Event |
| Tower Estimated Retail Price: $30,000.00 | Tower Retail Price: $12,448.00 |
| Rack-mount Estimated Retail Price: $30,000.00 | Rack-mount Retail Price: $12,299.00 |
- NOTE: Maximum Spec Retail Price Includes the following add-ons for both Tower and Rack-mount Configurations;
- Stainless steel frame with wheels add $400.00
- Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad add $400.00
Other Announcements
Software
- iOS 17 – Announced
- Iterative Update
- Focused around Reality Pro integration – No Updates At Keynote
- Learn via Apple iOS17
- iPadOS 17 – Announced
- Iterative Update
- Focused around Reality Pro integration – No Updates At Keynote
- Learn via Apple iPadOS17
- macOS 14 – Announced aka macOS Sonoma not macOS Malibu as I predicted.
- Iterative Update
- Focused around Reality Pro integration – No Updates At Keynote
- Focused around Reality Pro software development – No Updates At Keynote
- Learn more via Apple macOS Sonoma
- watchOS 10 – Announced
- Major Update
- Redesigned user interfaced focused on widgets
- Learn More via Apple watchOS 10
- tvOS 17 – Announced
- Iterative Update
- Focused around Reality Pro integration – No Updates At Keynote
- Learn More via Apple tvOS17
Development
- Xcode AI integration akin to GitHub Copilot – No update, Not Released or Announced as of this writing.
Services
- Apple iCloud Pro Storage Options for individuals – Not Announced
- Apple iCloud Ultra Storage Options for businesses and enterprise – Not Announced
- Apple AI integrations into iWork Suite – Not Announced
- Not announced per say, however there are improved app interoperability improvements across the iOS. Notably the ability to take a Note document and import it into any other iWork Suite Document. The example presented was a Note Pages document being imported into Pages for further formatting and typographic manipulation.
- All previous references to software and hardware Machine Learning (ML) switched to Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Not Announced
- This prediction turned out to be a moot point, Apple doubled down on using it’s beloved term Machine Learning when brining up anything related to and/or using AI. The most notable example being the updated ML LLM transformer based predictive learning keyboard for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
- See Improvements to Autocorrect and Dictation Deliver More Intelligent Input
- “Autocorrect receives a comprehensive update with a transformer language model, a state-of-the-art on-device machine learning language model for word prediction – improving the experience and accuracy for users every time they type. It also receives a refreshed design to better support typing, and sentence-level autocorrections can fix more types of grammatical mistakes. Users will now receive predictive text recommendations inline as they type, so adding entire words or completing sentences is as easy as tapping the space bar, making text entry faster than ever. Dictation leverages a new speech recognition model to make it even more accurate.”
- Siri Refinements and revamp with new AI integrations – Partially Announced, “Hey Siri” dropped for “Siri”
Pro Apps
- Depreciation of Pro Apps Bundle – Not Announced
- Subscription Tiers for all Pro Apps – Not Announced
- Monthly Option $4.99 per app
- Yearly Option $49 per app
- Possibly Bundled Pricing for all Pro apps akin to Adobe Creative Cloud
- Monthly Option $45 all Apple Pro Apps
- Yearly Option $499
- Apples Current Line Up of Pro Apps includes
- Final Cut Pro
- Logic Pro
- Motion
- Compressor
- MainStage
- Logic Pro 11 announcement – Not Announced
- shifts to subscription monthly/yearly
- Monthly Option $4.99
- Yearly Option $49
- requires macOS Ventura or later
- shifts to subscription monthly/yearly
- Final Cut Pro 11 announcement – Not Announced
- shifts to subscription monthly/yearly
- Monthly Option $4.99
- Yearly Option $49
- requires macOS Ventura or later
- shifts to subscription monthly/yearly
References And Further Reading
The Verge: I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It’s the best headset demo ever.
Apple’s Vision Pro is the Retina display moment for headsets
Mac Rumors macOS Sonoma Features Not Available For Supported Intel Macs
Mac Pro 2023 No External GPU Support
The Verge Macbook Air 15 Review