WWDC 2023: Unveiling Apple’s Tech Marvels

Hey friends, before WWDC23, I made a conscious decision to stay away from all those rumors and speculations. Instead, I decided to go with the flow and keep my curiosity alive. By disconnecting from all that online chatter, I was able to go into the event with a totally open mind. And let me tell you, every single announcement during the keynote got me hyped up without any letdowns or dashed hopes. I’m definitely gonna stick to this strategy for future Apple events. So come on, let’s jump in and relive the excitement of WWDC 2023 together!

NEW MAC SIBLINGS

Alright, so Apple started off the event by dropping some fresh stuff for their Mac lineup. I kinda had a feeling that new Macs were gonna be part of the deal, so it wasn’t a total shocker. They unveiled this 15" MacBook Air rocking the M2 chip, and they made a big fuss about how portable and powerful it is. Then they went even further and introduced the M2 Max, a chip that’s even faster than the M2, and to top it all off, they came out with the M2 Ultra, which is basically two M2 Max chips combined into one beast. They didn’t stop there though. The Mac Studio got some hardware upgrades too, promising crazy fast performance thanks to the M2 Max. Just when I thought they were done with all the Mac talk, Apple hit me with a surprise announcement: the M2 Ultra for the Mac Pro, now available in both Tower and Rack mount enclosures. Man, with all this hardware excitement, it’s easy to forget that this was supposed to be a software event!

iOS 17

Alright, it's time to introduce you to Craig and the star of the show: iOS 17. This update is all about making our communications better, improving sharing, giving us smarter input options, and throwing in some cool new experiences. There are some exciting additions to look forward to, like Contact Cards and fresh iMessage menus that make our Phone and Message apps more personal. NameDrop caught my eye because it's like a futuristic version of AirDrop, which sounds and looks awesome. And finally, Autocorrect is getting some much-needed love, which is a relief because it's always been a pain for me to constantly correct the Autocorrect itself. Apple is also stepping up when it comes to mental health with their new Journal app, giving DayOne some competition. Stand-by mode, kinda like Bedside mode on the Apple Watch, now has more customization options. The latest change to Siri is a bit of a toss-up for me, though. Instead of saying "Hey Siri," you can just shout "Siri," but I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. I'll dive deeper into all these features in an upcoming article, and once it's published, I'll drop the link here for you to check out.

iPadOS 17

Guess what? iPad Lock Screen customization is finally here, although it's a bit quirky. Personally, I think the current placement of widgets is a little weird, but hey, maybe they'll improve it, or I'll just have to get used to it. By the way, speaking of widgets, the fact that they're finally interactive is a total win. Honestly, they should have been interactive right from the start, don't you think? If you agree with me, drop a comment and let me know. Now, Auto-fill for PDFs might not be a total game-changer, but the new "Live Collaboration" tool in the Notes app is gonna be a big deal, mark my words. So, that's pretty much the major changes in iPadOS. Oh, and get this, my buddy thinks it's just playing catch-up to iOS, and you know what? He might have a point there. And oh, before I forget, the Health app is finally on iPad, but seriously, where's the Calculator app? Let's hope they're saving that one for iOS 18 or something.

macOS Sonoma

Okay, so here's the deal. Even though I haven't used a Mac before, I'm still super pumped to talk about the Sonoma update. Let me start by saying that the wallpapers and screen savers are just mind-blowing. Apple deserves a round of applause for the smooth animations throughout their operating system. It's seriously satisfying to watch.

Now, let me give a shoutout to the impressive "Presenter Overlay" for video conferencing. It's gonna make those virtual meetings a whole lot better. And check this out, Safari's got these "Profiles" that boost productivity on the MacBook. I wonder if these Profiles can integrate with Focus Modes. If they can, that would be a total game-changer, don't you think?

Oh, and speaking of convenience, PassKeys makes sharing passwords with family members a piece of cake. And guess what? Web apps have also made their grand entrance into the macOS world. Although, I'm not quite sure if they were officially released on iPhones a while back. So yeah, that pretty much sums up what's new with macOS.

AUDIO & HOME

AirPods are like my go-to headphones because they're super portable and the battery life is insane. The idea of having active noise cancellation, which I haven't tried yet because I still have the 1st Gen AirPods Pro, is mind-blowing. Apple is really making it hard for me not to upgrade this year with the new Adaptive Audio feature. It's like a mix of Transparency and Noise cancellation that adjusts to your surroundings automatically, just like the name suggests. It's a bummer we still don't have a separate app for AirPods settings like we do for Apple Watch.

AirPlay is a big deal in my home because everything here is Apple. The upgrades they're bringing to AirPlay will make my Smart Home Entertainment Center feel super smooth. They're even adding AirPlay support in certain hotels, which is cool and all, but I ain't a traveler, and if I do travel, I prefer downloading content on my iPad and enjoying it from there. CarPlay also got some dope upgrades, like letting everyone have a say in the road-trip playlist.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about my Apple TV, but let's be real, tvOS doesn't get the love it deserves during these events. There's not much they can do to update it besides giving us the option to use a VPN app instead of a Smart DNS. But guess what? The wait is over because I heard we're finally getting VPN apps on tvOS17. I'm stoked! Besides that, we're also getting some cool stuff like being able to locate the Siri Remote without AirTags, a fresh design for the Control Centre (which looks hella cool, by the way), and I'm hoping they'll bring that to the rest of the Apple crew. Oh, and FaceTime is finally coming to Apple TV. That's pretty much the scoop!

watchOS 10

I'm still rocking the Series 6 watch, but after hearing about this new update, I gotta start saving up for the Fall release of the new one. The UI of watchOS got a major upgrade, and I'm genuinely hyped about it. They optimized every inch of the UI to make the most of those big screens on the newer watch models. It's like widget season at WWDC this year because we're getting widgets in watchOS10, and they're blowing my mind. Looks like I won't have to cram a bunch of complications on my watch face like I'm doing now. And of course, Apple had to bless us with some new watch faces, including Palette and the iconic Snoopy with his buddy. I'm not much of a cyclist, but watchOS 10 is bringing some cool new stuff to that workout type.

When you combine iOS 17 and watchOS 10, great things are happening in the Health app. They've introduced new ways to focus on our mental health, and as someone with vision issues, the new Vision Health feature is gonna be a game-changer for me. It'll remind me to pay attention to the distance between my screen and my eyes, now called Screen Distance. That covers the exciting updates in watchOS 10!

CONCLUSION

Friends, you won't believe how crazy WWDC 2023 was! Apple just unleashed some major updates that got me super excited. The new M2 chip in the Macs is an absolute beast, and iOS 17 is rocking some seriously awesome features like interactive widgets and badass communication apps. And get this, the upgrades aren't just for one OS, they're spreading the love to the whole Apple fam. I'm itching to try out these updates and write about the surprise Vision Pro next week! So, make sure you follow me to stay in the loop with my publishing schedule 'cause honestly, I don't have a set one right now.

Thanks a lot for reading this far and until next time, my friends, Take care and Stay Safe!