I want to make it clear right at the top that hardware reveals are not overly very common at WWDC. WWDC is primarily a conference dedicated to giving developers a preview of the changes Apple is making to their platforms in the coming months. The conference, unlike events in September, are much more specifically marketed toward developers and professional users, not the average consumer. Hardware at WWDC is not something that is impossible, it does happen. In the past 10 years, 4 have had hardware announcements. So I don’t generally go into WWDC expecting hardware. Having said that, this is a year where there are multiple hardware rumors going around. So I want to discuss those rumors some while also managing expectations.

For starters, new Macs are being talked about as a possibility. This would be very exciting as there are a couple Macs that we are still waiting to get upgraded to the M2 chip. The iMac stands out as a product that could realistically get the M2. There have been rumors a larger 15″ MacBook Air with the M2 making its debut. This would be a nice product to have in the lineup, but it’s not very exciting on its own. Think of it this way- exactly a year ago Apple debuted the new 13″ MacBook Air with the M2 chip. Is it really interesting or necessary that they reintroduce the same product in a larger size with the same chip? The answer is no. Another product due for an upgrade, and one that would be very fitting and exciting for this conference specifically, is the Mac Studio. I can very easily see Apple bringing the M2 Max to this product and debuting the M2 Ultra chip at WWDC, marking the Mac Studio as the most powerful Mac in the entire lineup. There have been some rumblings on the Mac Pro making its debut, the last two generations have all been announced at WWDC, but the rumors seem to indicate that Apple hasn’t figured out how they can maintain the products signature modularity while giving it the boost Apple Silicon provides. So a Mac Pro reveal seems unlikely. Better to focus on the Mac Studio- a very impressive and warmly received product- and a larger MacBook Air that can be quickly introduced this summer ahead of the college shopping season.

The only other product that is supposed to appear, and is probably what you are reading this post for, is Apples new headset that, depending on the rumors you listen to, is either a virtual reality (VR) focused headset or a mixed reality headset that will incorporate elements of both VR and augmented reality (AR). It’ll be a new product category for Apple and the first new product category since AirPods were introduced. I have been a VR skeptic my entire life. So if this headset is mostly VR focused, I will have pretty minimal interest in the product. Especially at the rumored/anticipated $3,000 price point. If it is more AR focused, I’ll definitely be more intrigued, but that price is the biggest thing that consumers won’t be able to overcome. I don’t want to judge a product before it’s announced, but I am not looking forward to this headset in the way I was about AirPods, Apple Watch, or even the launch of Apples suite of paid services.

I do also want to point out that rumors can be very wrong. If you have been following Apple rumors for the past several years, you might remember the one about the Apple Watch Series 7 getting an all new flat design. That ended up not happening at all. In fact, the opposite was true- the Series 7 introduced curved glass that made the display look like it wrapped over the side of the Watch. I always keep that example in mind whenever rumors like the ones about the headset swirl about.

Whatever Apple does announced on Monday during WWDC, I will be sure to share my thoughts on it that day.