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In January, I’m heading to Las Vegas for my first-ever CES – the world’s largest consumer tech gathering of the year.
I’m excited and nervous in equal measure. From what I hear about CES from those who have been and walked countless miles to cover as much new tech as possible, it’s a rather overwhelming experience.
However, in 2024, CES might have a big problem on its hands. If you weren’t aware, Apple doesn’t attend CES, but that won’t stop them from attempting to steal the limelight if they have half a chance. And next year, they may have the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Welcome to my weekly Apple news roundup!
Will Apple Vision Pro launch in January?
When Apple revealed what it believes to be the future of computing earlier this year, we were told that the Vision Pro headset would be available to buy in “early 2024”.
The initial release is confined to the United States but new intel suggests that it might happen as soon as January.
According to whisper-wielding rumour mill veteran, Mark Gurman, Apple is working hard to launch Vision Pro before March and, possibly, next month. Store employees are rumoured to be heading to Apple Park in January to begin sales training for the new product, which is said to be “carefully orchestrated” to ensure the best possible buying experience. That makes sense – this isn’t an iPhone; the user experience for Vision Pro is deeply personalised, and it’ll be fascinating to see how Apple handles the in-store approach.
If Apple manages to get Vision Pro out of the door in January, you can bet your bottom dollar they’re targeting the week CES kicks into life (the show runs from 9th to 13th January). That would swing a huge amount of attention away from the efforts of brands in Las Vegas, and towards Apple. Annoying for the former, but incredibly smart on behalf of the latter.
Will it happen? I have doubts. What I do know, however, is that if Vision Pro becomes available while I’m in the States, it might turn into an even more expensive trip away from the studio.
Journalists get hands-on with Vision Pro (kinda)
Apple recently invited a bunch of tech journalists to check out Vision Pro’s spatial video capabilities.
This followed the launch of iOS 7.2, which includes the option to record spatial video on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Shot at 1080p and 30fps, spatial video offers, according to the iOS settings app, “remarkable depth for viewing in the Photos app on Apple Vision Pro”.
The journalists were asked to shoot video themselves in the new spatial format and bring it with them to the hands-on event so they could experience the results on the new headset. Reports of being “almost there” while viewing the footage followed, along with suggestions that it looked as good as or better than what you’d see on a Mac or TV.
They also had the opportunity to view panoramic images on Vision Pro that had been shot on the iPhone. Lance Ulanoff from TechRadar claimed he was “startled” by the quality on offer and the ability to spot details he hadn’t seen before. Someone else reported the feeling of being transported back to the moment the video was filmed, and of his mother making ‘eye contact’ with him, which does, I’m afraid, still creep me out slightly.
Regardless, I’m looking forward to trying out spatial video once I get my hands on Vision Pro. Apple’s decision to include the feature in iOS 17.2 suggests they’re keen for early adopters of Vision Pro to start gathering their spatial video footage in preparation for delivery of the headset. It also adds further weight to the suggestion that we might see it sooner rather than later.
New M3 MacBook Airs expected in March (and the Mac Pro… much later)
If you currently have your eye on a MacBook Air but you’re concerned about the lack of an update to the M3 platform, it sounds like you might have to wait until March to have that thirst quenched.
New reports suggest that Apple is aiming to launch an updated MacBook Air with the M3 chip in March 2024. Those new laptops might appear alongside another much-needed M3 update in the Mac Studio (there’s no mention of the Mac mini, I’m afraid!).
March will be here before we know it, and, regardless, if you spec up an M2 MacBook Air today, you’re going to end up with a superb laptop that’ll last the test of time. The absence of the Mac mini from that list bothers me, but those who are waiting for another Mac update will be similarly perplexed.
According to the rumour mill, the Mac Pro isn’t going to receive an M3 update until late 2024, or, possibly, sometime in 2025. The big question I have is whether or not Apple’s top-end Mac will receive a redesign at the same time. If they just ‘slap’ an M3 inside that cavernous frame, it will only prompt more ridicule; surely it’s time for the Mac Pro to be brought properly into the Apple Silicon generation?
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