More from WWDC 2023 news: Apple Vision Pro, Mac Pro, iOS 17, and more
Apple’s so-called “Reality Pro” AR/VR headset that could cost as much as $3,000 is said to be running on an operating system called xrOS — a stylized wordmark for its “extended reality OS” that Apple wants to own. Seems like a solid bet at this point, but we’ll know for sure when WWDC kicks off on June 5th.
Palmer Luckey who, as the primary inventor of the Oculus Rift, should know a thing or two about VR headsets, tweeted out his one-line approval ahead of its expected unveiling on June 5th.
Then again, Luckey’s also a documented shitposter and troll with a sometimes bad goatee who failed to make VR an Apple-sized success while at Facebook, so.
What’s better than the most reliable Apple scoopster telling you what Cupertino’s got cooking? More sources corroborating the same. With the WSJ now citing its own “people familiar with the project,” Apple’s long-rumored “Reality Pro” seems that tiny bit more likely. Another thing the WSJ is corroborating, though, is a potential delay.
The Verge’s 2015 Apple Watch review:
Glances also feel like they have enormous untapped potential.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman today:
The new widgets system on the Apple Watch will be a combination of the old watchOS Glances system and the style of widgets that were introduced in iOS 14 on the iPhone. The plan is to let users scroll through a series of different widgets — for activity tracking, weather, stock tickers, calendar appointments and more — rather than having them launch apps.
We’ll see when WWDC kicks off on June 5th.
9to5Mac reports that a new version of iOS has silently added a system, “countryd,” that uses GPS, cellular and Wi-Fi data to verify which country you’re in. Apple may soon be forced to allow third-party app stores onto the iPhone in Europe, but not necessarily elsewhere. This could be a way to put location spoofers in their place — so to speak.
Bloomberg’s Apple correspondent Mark Gurman thinks the iPhone maker could take a scattershot approach to its headset.
It’ll reportedly launch with everything from games, to fitness services, productivity tools, and book reading, before Apple focuses in on what works based on feedback.
It was a similar story with the Apple Watch. It’s now marketed for fitness and wellness, but Apple originally pitched it as everything from a luxury timepiece to a communication device.
That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman from his appearance on this week’s edition of The MacRumors Show podcast. You can read a summary of what he else expects from Apple software in MacRumors’ recap here — so far, it seems like watchOS might get the most significant upgrades at WWDC this year. But I wouldn’t expect WWDC to be a boring show (even if we apparently won’t see the Mac Pro), as it’s the place where Apple is rumored to finally reveal its mixed reality headset.