Apple’s first major event for 2023 – the Worldwide Developers Conference, WWDC for short – has started. On the very first day, the company presented a number of innovations, including a completely new MacBook.
On day one of its developer conference WWDC, Apple not only presented the next versions of its operating systems, but also new versions of the Mac Studio and Mac Pro as well as a larger MacBook Air.
New 15-inch MacBook Air unveiled at WWDC
Apple unveiled the all-new 15-inch MacBook Air as the first device at WWDC 2023. The laptop comes with the M2 chip, which can also be found in the current 13-inch Air. It’s a cheaper alternative to the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros for those who need a larger screen but don’t need the higher performance of the Pro models. In addition, the M2 is passively cooled here, so operation is completely silent. According to Apple, the MacBook Air 15 should last up to 18 hours on a single charge.
The laptop shares the same design as the smaller 13.3-inch version but has a 15.3-inch screen. The display has a uniform outer frame of 5 mm and achieves 500 nits of brightness. A 1080p webcam for video conferences sits in a notch, along with three microphones and six speakers with 3D audio support. With a thickness of 11.5 mm and a weight of 1.5 kilograms, the housing is very compact and light.
Mac Pro and Mac Studio
Apple’s high-end computer Mac Pro received its last update in 2019 and since then has only been configurable with Intel processors and AMD graphics cards. Instead, Apple introduced the much more compact Mac Studio in 2022, which, despite its tiny size, competes with the Mac Pro in the best configuration. Also due to its extremely high price of up to 62,000 euros, the previous Mac Pro is therefore a slow seller.
Now both models have been upgraded with the new Apple M2 Ultra. The Mac Studio thus sees its first model refresh, with a chip that practically consists of two M2 Max. According to Apple, the M2 Ultra delivers up to 20 percent higher CPU performance, 30 percent higher GPU performance and 40 percent faster machine learning than the previous M1 Ultra. The computer has a new HDMI port that can output images in 8K resolution at up to 240 Hertz on up to 6 Pro Display XDR.
The Mac Pro finally gets chips from Apple’s own production. It is the first Mac with Apple silicon that is expandable via a PCI connection. This allows professional users to retrofit cards for audio and video editing or even special connections. While the Intel version still required after-burner cards for video acceleration, this functionality is directly integrated into the Mac Pro with Apple Silicon – and with the performance of seven of the old cards. The M2 Ultra in the Mac Pro comes with up to 192 gigabytes of unified memory – i.e. main memory.
Also interesting: All information about Apple’s iPhone 15
Other models in development
According to a report by the always well-informed trade magazine “Bloomberg”, Apple is working on a series of new Macs and MacBooks that are to be released in 2023 and early 2024. These are the models that start directly with the M3. Not only is a revised MacBook Air with a 13-inch screen in the works. There will again be a 13-inch MacBook Pro and refreshed 14- and 16-inch Pro models. In addition, the 24-inch iMac, which was released in 2021 with a completely redesigned housing and M1 chip, is to receive an upgrade. The iMac was the only device left out in the 2022 refresh round, where all M1 models received the M2.