Apple's year ahead: Separating the rumors from reality - Macworld

We’ve made it to the extremity of 2022! Well, nearly. And barring immoderate much last-minute announcements retired of Cupertino, we’ve seen everything that Apple has to connection for the twelvemonth that was. Which, of course, means that we tin crook our eyes to the horizon, to the undiscovered state that is…2023.

With the biggest moves of 2022 successful our rearview mirror, it’s clip to pontificate connected what Apple mightiness person successful store for the twelvemonth ahead. What volition we beryllium looking backmost at, a twelvemonth hence, arsenic the company’s biggest moves successful 2023?

Here past are my picks for the areas that astir merit your attraction implicit the adjacent 12 months.

Get real

At this point, I’ve predicted capable times that Apple ought to marque a virtual world crippled wherever Lucy holds a shot arsenic I effort desperately to footwear it. But similar Bullwinkle attempting to propulsion a rabbit retired of his hat–if I whitethorn premix my cartoon metaphors–this clip for sure.

Meta is going to person caller contention from Apple successful 2023. Mark Zuckerberg, ticker out.

Meta

Smoke astir Apple’s mixed world headset has lone been thickening implicit the past mates of years, though nary uncertainty challenges similar COVID and the ensuing proviso concatenation woes person pushed backmost immoderate announcement model the institution was initially targeting. But arsenic we propulsion into 2023, the clouds person cleared a spot and it seems similar this virtual world mightiness yet go a existent reality.

This would people 1 of the biggest caller categories that Apple’s entered successful respective years and, similar galore of those erstwhile markets, it’s 1 that has plentifulness of existing players (Sony, HTC, and, of course, Meta) but is inactive lone successful its infancy. That’s often the benignant of concern wherever Apple excels, bringing clarity of imaginativeness and its expertise successful delivering what consumers privation (even if they don’t cognize it yet).

All of that is, of course, tempered by the reports that the company’s archetypal offering volition apt beryllium costly and possibly aimed much astatine developers successful beforehand of a later, much streamlined product. But if thing else, 2023 should beryllium the twelvemonth that we spot the outline of Apple’s program for this category, which could besides extremity up being the past large merchandise of Tim Cook’s tenure arsenic CEO.

Keep ’em interoperated

At the opening of 2021, I outlined three battles that Apple would beryllium facing successful the twelvemonth ahead, and the past of those–Apple versus governments astir the world–is inactive conscionable ramping up astir 2 years later. While the institution has remained mostly inured from superior challenges successful the U.S., regulators elsewhere astir the satellite person taken a harder look astatine Apple and recovered it wanting. Chief among them is the European Union.

The EU forced Apple to power to USB-C connected the iPad and iPhone. Will the EU bash much to unit Apple’s hand?

Michael Simon / IDG

The region’s Digital Markets Act, which comes into effect successful 2024, has the imaginable to upend Apple’s cart, perchance requiring the institution to fto competitors connection their wares connected iOS and iPadOS (and presumably tvOS) extracurricular of the App Store. Recent reports suggest that Apple is presently readying for specified an eventuality, which could travel successful an announcement alongside iOS 17’s debut.

But that’s not the lone disruption that the institution volition spot arsenic a effect of this regulation. It mightiness besides impact everything from browser engines connected iOS to messaging protocols to backstage APIs. The EU’s instrumentality astir charging ports besides takes effect successful 2024 and it’s wide expected that the adjacent iPhone volition regenerate the proprietary Lightning larboard with USB-C up of that requirement.

From a macro view, though, it volition beryllium fascinating to spot however Apple, a institution that prizes power to an astir fanatical degree, deals with decisions being taken retired of its hands. I expect this to beryllium 1 of the biggest challenges the institution has ever had to look from a strategical standpoint and it means 2023 is shaping up to beryllium 1 of the astir absorbing years to ticker successful Apple’s caller history.

The modulation lens

Even arsenic Apple missed its self-appointed deadline to modulation the full Mac merchandise enactment to Apple silicon wrong 2 years, rumors person sprung up that the institution is scaling backmost plans for its upcoming Mac Pro, the past large exemplary to marque the jump.

Besides a caller Mac Pro, 2023 could beryllium different large twelvemonth for the Mac lineup.

Foundry

The Mac has been going beauteous beardown successful the aftermath of that modulation and I don’t expect that to alteration successful 2023. But Apple’s going to beryllium making immoderate choices successful the twelvemonth up astir wherever it spends its clip and vigor processing its computers, which will beryllium absorbing to see. Dialing backmost the Mac Pro, arsenic rumor would person it, from a ridiculously almighty instrumentality to conscionable a tremendously almighty instrumentality volition nary uncertainty disappoint some, but it’s a bully denotation of the information that Apple knows wherever its marketplace is. The Mac Pro is already a niche merchandise that accounts for a tiny percent of Macs and the highest-end configurations are lone a tiny percent of those sales.

Selling products that entreaty to much consumers is simply a batch similar robbing banks: that’s wherever the wealth is. This is wherefore it’s besides small astonishment that the company’s said to beryllium readying a larger mentation of the MacBook Air, its astir fashionable model. The aboriginal of the Mac Studio and the iMac volition besides assistance clarify the company’s selling philosophy, assuming they are so updated successful the twelvemonth ahead. In immoderate event, with the excitement of Apple’s latest spot modulation coming to a close, it’s clip to spot what concern arsenic accustomed looks similar for the Mac arsenic its 40th day looms.

Everything else

Those are lone the highlights of what I’m looking for successful 2023: there’s a afloat twelvemonth of Apple events, caller products, and upgrades to come. What volition the iPhone 15 bring? Does the Apple Watch Ultra plan commencement trickling down to the remainder of the merchandise line? Hey, what astir that classical euphony app Apple said was coming successful 2022? And does anybody cognize what’s going connected with the iPad these days?

This past twelvemonth has been packed with its just stock of surprises, and there’s nary crushed to deliberation 2023 volition beryllium immoderate different. So popular successful your AirPods, occurrence up the Apple TV, and binge distant connected the latest Apple TV+ contented arsenic we usher successful the caller year.