2023-12-23 22:07:45
Return of the HomePod, the start of “spatial computing” or even the arrival of a MacBook Air “XL”, 2023 will have been full of surprises.
Here we are already at the end of December, the opportunity for our editorial staff to take an interest in the year that has just passed in Cupertino. For years, Apple had accustomed us to well-oiled keynotes following a precise agenda. However, 2023 will have been somewhat of an exception to the rule.
Usually, the June WWDC was used to present new software products planned for the start of the school year and, more exceptionally, certain new products. This year will have been unprecedented since Apple has targeted a new segment with the Vision Pro. The European Union also forced it to turn to the universal charger and an emblematic Apple product made a comeback.
The generalization of USB-C
For months, the generalization of the USB-C port on smartphones, more officially called “universal port”, has been the talk of the European Council. And for good reason, for the very first time, EU Ministers unanimously approved in October 2022 the obligation for all smartphone manufacturers to switch to a USB-C charging port on their devices .
Obviously, this new law only concerned Apple, since both Samsung and Xiaomi and Oppo already offered this type of port on their phones. Already in 2014, there was talk of this type of law in European ranks, so we had to wait ten years for it to become effective. Less plastic and electronic waste according to the 27, a serious obstacle to innovation for Apple.
However, if the iPhone 15s have since switched to the USB-C port, it is to the detriment of owners of old iPhones, who have had to swap their Lightning cables for USB-C, which has obviously a cost. When presenting its iPhone 15, Apple obviously used commercial advantages to promote USB-C. Same charging cable as on the iPad Pro or certain MacBooks, so Apple used it as a selling point.
Apple Vision Pro
How can we talk about the 2023 results without mentioning the long-awaited announcement of the Apple Vision Pro? At the beginning, we talked about augmented reality glasses, Apple Glass. These will then very quickly be eclipsed by a mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro. A sort of ski goggles with two micro-OLED screens, this accessory was sold during WWDC as the computer allowing the start of “spatial computing”.
This is the most innovative product ever designed and marketed by Apple since the Apple Watch in 2014. First marketed in the United States in early 2024, the Vision Pro will cost $3,499 and will use eye and finger tracking. to analyze what you want to do. Thanks to external cameras, it will be able to film your environment to see what is happening around you and to project, for example, a macOS interface or a film.
Anyone who does not consider the Vision Pro to be a technological gem should reconsider their priorities. Very clearly, the one that has earned Apple the filing of some 5,000 patents may well be a game changer in the VR, AR or mixed headset industry. However, it must find its audience. And at that price, it’s not a win.
The arrival of the M3 chip
While we thought the year was over for Apple, a surprise press conference was announced on October 24 for… Halloween night. “Scary Fast” (that’s its name, Editor’s note.) could then be an opportunity for Apple to lift the veil on new iPads and Macs or MacBooks. The first option seems to have been ruled out in favor of renewing the Mac range.
A conference which will have disappointed more than one, since it will not have allowed Apple to present MacBook Pro 14″/16″ and iMac 24″. Three laptop and desktop models that all have one thing in common: a new Apple Silicon M3 chip.
If the announcement is notable for this year, it is because the pace adopted by Apple for the presentation of its chips for Mac is surprising. The M1 chip was presented in the middle of a pandemic, in November 2020. A year and a half later, it is the turn of the M2 chip to be presented during WWDC, in June 2022. We will have to wait a little longer one year, at the end of October 2023, for the M3 models to arrive.
With these new models, it is on the video game side that Apple wanted to focus, to allow gamers to finally be able to play on Mac. And the publicity stunt seems successful, since certain AAA games like Resident Evil 4, Baldur’s Gate 3 or Lies of Pi are perfectly playable on a computer thanks to the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips.
The return of HomePod
To start the year, Apple surprised everyone with the return of an explosive product which had a rather turbulent marketing period, the “big” HomePod. If the mini model very quickly met with great success, the larger model released in 2017 was a monumental flop, so much so that it was withdrawn from sale three years later, in March 2021.
In mid-January 2023, what was our surprise when we saw the return of this speaker on the Apple website. For the same price, Apple announces that it has made some changes to the sound rendering and has brought new software features, such as its ability to analyze the topography of the room to offer sound adapted to it.
Very quickly, the model will be criticized because of its lack of innovations compared to the first version and its price, considered too high. It is also this last element which would have precipitated the fall of the first HomePod, and which could also be fatal to this one.
Un MacBook Air XL de 15″
© Thomas NETENS
Also at WWDC, Apple unveiled what is now considered its largest MacBook Air the company has ever released. Previously focusing on 11″ and 13″ models, the MacBook Air presented in June 2023 has a… 15″ screen. With such a size, does the acronym “Air” still make sense on such a product?
Formerly a marketing argument for the MacBook Air range, the price had also been revised upwards due to this increase in the size of the screen. Sold from €1,599, the 15-inch MacBook Air is clearly not within the reach of all budgets.
However, our test of this new model could not have been more ambiguous: this increased size is a real plus for an ultra-thin laptop. only one downside persisted with the M2 chip, which would be replaced four months later by the M3 range. We can then think of a timing error on Apple’s part, some customers may indeed have felt wronged.
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