OPINION: The Apple Wonderlust event may have brought us a brand-new range of iPhones to play with, but what about everything it missed out on?
Apple went all in on the few things it announced at its Wonderlust event; the latest Apple Watch Series 9 comes with a nifty Double Tap feature, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have been treated to the once-exclusive Dynamic Island and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max come with the brand-new – but confusingly named – A17 Pro chipset.
If you’re wondering what other devices Apple chose not to mention during the Wonderlust event that were rumoured ahead of time then make sure you keep reading, as we’re here to remind you.
No more news on the Apple Vision Pro
The Apple Vision Pro was mentioned at the start of the Wonderlust event, but we were remiss to find out that there was no new information on Apple’s solution to VR. We did find out that a new, third season of The Morning Show will be premiering on Apple TV tomorrow – which you will be able to watch in all its glory with the Vision Pro – but nothing new on the specifications, release date or even design of the VR headset.
It’s not clear if Apple will give us any more hints on the Vision Pro for a while, but since the launch date is still slated to be early next year, we do hope that we can glean a little more information on it before it’s released into the wild.
Not a whisper about Apple TV
Speaking of Apple TV, we were hard-pressed to notice that Apple didn’t mention its TV streaming range at all. The next-generation Apple TV has been rumoured to launch in the first half of 2024, according to Bloomberg, so it’s a little surprising that we didn’t get any more information on the specs or pricing.
We expect Apple to reveal a little more about its next Apple TV either in another event like this one or a simple press release, but it would have been nice to hear it directly from Tim Cook himself.
No mention of the M3 chips or the Macs that’ll use it
We’ve been waiting on tenterhooks for more news on the highly anticipated M3 chipsets, and while it was almost expected that Apple wouldn’t dare touch on this topic during an iPhone announcement, it didn’t make it sting any less.
Other rumours have suggested that Apple won’t be releasing any new Apple Silicon M3 chips inside any of its laptops or desktops in 2023, with 2024 being the earliest release date. There is a chance that some Mac-related news will arrive in October, however, that is being plunged into doubt as more time goes on.
It is also safe to say that the new M3 chips will be announced alongside the MacBooks and Macs that pair up with them, so we wouldn’t advise holding out hope for news on the latest MacBook Air anytime soon.
Nothing to say about the latest additions to the iPad family
This one was a bit of a long shot to begin with, since Apple rarely announces an iPad in the same breath as an iPhone anymore, but it’s still worth pointing out. There have been no new additions to the iPad family for the entirety of 2023 and it would have been nice to hear at least some reassurance on that front.
There is a small chance that the next-generation range of iPads could come with the latest M3 chipsets – once they are announced – since the current-generation iPad Pro (2022) has been paired up with an M2 chipset. If this is the case then we should expect to hear about the new iPad ranges after the Mac announcements, which pushes things further into uncertainty.
With all that said, we will likely hear more about the new iPad lineup towards the end of the year or into next year, we may just have to keep our eyes peeled for that M3 chipset first.
Not even an announcement about the USB-C compatible AirPods
And finally, there was nothing said in regards to USB-C charging on the base AirPods. The premium AirPods Pro 2 were treated to the USB-C treatment – and confusingly enough, the newly released Apple EarPods – but there was no mention of the future for other AirPod lines.
The push to USB-C was an obvious one, with the new law from the EU not really leaving Apple with much choice, but it would have been nice if we got some more elaboration on what other Apple products will be affected now and in the future.
