Apple Announces Updates to its Lineup of Software and Hardware at WWDC 2023
There is a lot to talk about after WWDC 2023, especially after Apple announcing a new major product category since the Apple Watch. Here are the updates Apple talked about at WWDC 2023.
Hardware
New 15-inch MacBook Air, with mostly the same specifications as 13-inch MacBook, except a bigger screen, better speaker system, 10-core GPU standard, 35W Dual Port Compact Power Adapter standard, and US$200 more expensive
Mac Studio updated with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chip
Mac Pro with M2 Ultra chip and 6 PCIe expansion ports
Software
iOS
Customize contact poster in Phone app
Live transcription for voicemail
Leave video messages in FaceTime
Improve keyboard autocorrect
Share contact cards by having two iPhones tap at the top
Apple Pay order tracking updated with Maps, receipts, add orders from email
StandBy mode shows info when iPhone is on its side
Support for presenting IDs such as a Driver’s license at participating business and venues to verify age and identity
Download maps for offline use in Apple Maps
Turn photos into animated stickers
Have Siri read the contents of web pages
Enhanced spam call filtering
Create a voice that sounds like you
Lock Safari Private Browsing behind Face ID
AirPlay in hotels
AirPlay now learns your device preferences
iOS 17 is supported on iPhone XS/XR and later.
iPadOS
Customizable lock screen
Interactive widgets
Support for external USB cameras, including the camera in the Studio Display, and microphones
iPadOS 17 will drop support for iPad Pro 1st gen, and iPad 5th gen.
macOS
Desktop widgets
Safari to support multiple browsing profiles
Simultaneous keyboard input and dictation
Presenter overlay when video conferencing
Presenter overlay when sharing presentations
Add websites as dedicates
CarPlay to gain support for SharePlay for the music app, support for EV charging availability, and new interface for replying to messages
“Game Mode” to boost gaming performance
Game Porting toolkit available for developers to port games from other platforms to Mac
Apple is deprecating support for many old Macs in the macOS Sonoma release. Supported Macs include:
iMac: 2019 and later
iMac Pro: 2017
MacBook Air: 2018 and later
MacBook Pro: 2018 and later
Mac Pro: 2019 and later
Mac Studio: 2022 and later
Mac mini: 2018 and later
watchOS
Widgets
Redesigned apps
New workouts
Mood tracking
watchOS 10 is supported on Apple Watch Series 4 and later with iPhone XS/XR and later
tvOS
Support for VPN apps
FaceTime support, use iPhone or iPad as camera
New Control Center
AirPods
Adaptive Audio that adjusts to your environment
Business-Specific Features
Declarative device management (DDM) to extend to software updates and certificate deployment, so the client decides how to update the OS, making it more consistent across many devices
Updated Automated Device Enrollment to make sure devices meet security requirements
New workflow for transferring device to a new user
Define password requirements for managed devices using regex
New restrictions in macOS on Apple ID logins, Internet accounts, adding new local user accounts, and performing Time Machine backups
Manage multiple apps in a single bundle
Managed Device Attestation coming to macOS, which allows a device to provide strong evidence about itself
Support for private LTE and 5G networks for 5G-capable iPhone models
Continuity, iCloud Keychain and Wallet available to Managed Apple IDs
Support for more identity providers with OpenID Connect support in Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager
New Product Category
Apple has released the long-waited entry into the AR/VR/MR space called Vision Pro, along with visionOS. Business are not likely to need to worry about this for a few years, but it is interesting to dream about potential uses. In the keynote, Apple showed off a person doing a presentation while sharing a screen, and the attendees floating in 3D space. Apple also mentioned that Microsoft will bring its productivity apps to Vision Pro. I think the bigger problem now with the Vision Pro is not necessarily the apps, but whether it is going to be comfortable to wear for prolonged periods of time, then it would just be a matter of having good apps. Again, not something to worry about, but businesses need to keep an eye on this product to see where it fits.
I cannot talk about a new product category without talking about the security aspect. Previously, our devices are out-of-sight (e.g. routers, switches, firewalls), or something we look at (e.g. laptops, phones, tablets) and if the devices break, there is no physical harm (besides the battery blowing up, but that’s another story). However, when you have a device strapped to your head, and covering your eyes, compromising the device can have much larger consequences. A lot of people experience nausea or dizziness, and that includes myself. It causes eye strain and wearing something on the head can cause discomfort. An attacker can potentially figure out a combination of outputs to the display that makes the user experience nausea, dizziness, eye strain and/or discomfort faster. For those who are much more malicious, the attacker can black out the screen, and “blind” the user. Now, it is not likely people are going to walk outside with such a headset, but it is not hard to imagine an attacker causing physical issues to the wearer. This is still some time away, but this is going to be a brand new area of research for security researchers.
References
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/ios-17-improved-autocorrect/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/ios-17-standby-mode/
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/13-vs-15-inch-macbook-air/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/06/ios-17-tidbits-whats-new/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/07/carplay-new-features-on-ios-17/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/namedrop-apple-ios-17/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/08/ios-17-wallet-app-apple-pay-new-features/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/ios-17-personal-voice/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/ios-17-phone-facetime-messages/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/06/ipados-17-external-usb-camera-support/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/06/ipados-17-drops-support-these-ipads/
https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/06/ipados-17-external-webcams-microphones/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/apple-announces-ipados-17/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/watchos-10-compatibility/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/apple-announces-macos-sonoma-with-desktop-widgets-and-more/
https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/05/which-macs-support-macos-14/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/08/macos-sonoma-tidbits-new-facetime-ui-safari-mail/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/tvos-10-facetime-control-center/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/apple-announces-watchos-10-with-widgets-and-redesigned-apps/
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/05/airpods-gaining-adaptive-audio/
https://blog.kandji.io/apple-wwdc-2023-recap