What does Apple have up its sleeve for 2023?

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n 2022, Apple played it pretty safe product-wise, with the usual annual iPhone and Apple Watch enhancements accompanied by Mac updates and iPad lines. Only the Mac Studio and accompanying Studio Display went slightly beyond the comfort zone.

But 2023 promises to be different. Sure, there are plenty of familiar products in the mix, but we’re expecting a few more wildcards, including a whole new product category to get you excited (if you have the money… it’s going to be expensive).

Wildcards

An Apple VR concept by designer Antonio De Rosa

/ Anthony of Rosa

It’s been four years since Apple launched an entirely new product category with the HomePodbut all signs suggest the company will end that hiatus in 2023 with the release of a mixed reality headset.

That means a headset that can run both virtual and augmented reality apps, with insider reports hinting at 12 cameras to track your movements and surroundings. It will essentially have the power of a MacBook Pro, with reports of an Apple M2 chip and 16GB of RAM – which seems like a stretch, until you realize that other specs being talked about include a 4K OLED display for each eye.

It won’t come cheap, though: reports suggest it will be between £1,500 and £2,500. If that’s right, suddenly the Meta Quest Pro seems much more reasonable.

Beyond mixed reality, other possible innovations are on the way, mainly in the area of ​​the smart home. While Apple ditched the full-size HomePod last year, reports suggest it will return and may come with other ways to get Siri around the house.

This is according to Bloomberg Marc Gurman, which says Apple is experimenting with a docking station that turns your iPad into a smart display, like Echo Show or Google Nest Hub. Amazon already has achieved something similar with its Fire tablets.

In the same post, Gurman mentions that Apple is working on the larger HomePod, as well as an “Apple TV and smart speaker combo device with a camera for FaceTime and other functions.” Packing three smart home devices into one would certainly be parking virtual tanks on the lawns of Alexa and Google Assistant.

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The usual suspects

Apple CEO Tim Cook with the iPhone 14 Pro

/ Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Of course, none of this is the bread and butter of Apple’s money-printing business, and while the company is exploring new product lines, that doesn’t mean it’s going to hijack attention. iPhoneiPad, Apple Watches and Mac.

The iPhone 15 is virtually inevitable, as is a September unveiling, given that all numbered iPhones have been announced since 2012 (except the iPhone 12, which was delayed to October, due to Covid- 19).

As is normal in recent years, we can expect a standard iPhone 15 and a Pro model, but there are also talk about an Ultra version this yearwith a titanium construction and other yet unknown improvements.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max, complete with Dynamic Island

/ Apple

The standard iPhone 15 is expected to catch up to this year’s iPhone 14 Pro with a possible 48MP camera and the introduction of dynamic islandbut the iPhone 15 Pro will go further with a potential periscope camera for dramatically improved long-range photography. All go finally make the jump to USB-C thanks to the European Union.

The world of iPads is arguably a bit more interesting, with talk of Apple introducing models with much larger screens than currently available, and further blurring the line between tablet and laptop. 14.1-inch and 16-inch models of the iPad Pro are planned, with start dates of 2023 and Q4 cited as possible launch dates.

For Macs in 2023, it’s all about power, as Apple’s own M chips are getting better and better. Very soon, we can expect 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros to arrive with M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. These were apparently expected this year, but have slipped to 2023, so a spring release seems likely for the flagship laptops.

Apple’s new iMac lineup

/ Apple

But it’s the desktop Macs that are really worth watching, especially two models that still use Intel chips rather than Apple’s own components. While the smaller iMac got a 24-inch facelift in 2021, the classic 27-inch all-in-one has yet to follow suit, so fans are hoping something bigger will follow.

Then there’s the Mac Pro. The current pro desktop “cheesegrater design” was released in 2019, and Apple is apparently working on a version powered by its own chips. These will apparently be extremely powerful: Bloomberg believes that the M2 Ultra chip powering the computer will be available with up to 24-core CPU and 76-core GPU, along with at least 192GB of RAM.

The existing Apple Mac Pro model

/ Apple

An “M2 Extreme” chip with doubled cores would have been shelved but, for context, the current M2 chipset maxes out at 8 CPU cores, so this is still a serious upgrade that will cost a lot silver. How much money? Well the current version 2019 from £5,499…

Finally, we’d expect Apple Watches to be at the same time as the iPhone 15, but it’s all been very quiet on the leak front, which suggests we’re not looking at a monumental update this time- this.

Not arrived yet

A foldable iPhone (made by hobbyists, not Apple)

/ Technical aesthetics

With such a hectic schedule, you can’t have it all, and there are three big omissions here.

First things first: no foldables (apart from fun third-party prototypes, like the one pictured above, that is). Insiders believe Apple won’t dip its toes into foldables until 2024 at the earliest, and then it’ll likely be a foldable iPad rather than an iPhone Flip. As foldable market flounders, Apple entering it could be a game-changer, as IDC Europe VP of data and analytics told The Standard in October.

Second, the apple VR The headset highlighted above is supposed to be the first step on the way to a set of Google Glass-style augmented reality goggles. But the dream of that is years away, with analyst Jeff Pu now plan a 2025-2026 launch window.

A similar delay is expected for the much-hyped Apple Car. While Apple apparently envisioned a self-driving vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals, it will now be considerably more conventional when it arrives in 2026, according to Bloomberg.