WWDC unlikely to see debuts of any new hardware at all

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in Future Apple Hardware

A new report doubles-down on the improbability of new hardware debuts at WWDC -- and pushes back the rumored arrival of an Apple TV set-top box update.

Apple's next Mac Studio and Mac Pro models won't be announced at WWDC
Apple's next Mac Studio and Mac Pro models won't be announced at WWDC



Walking back one of its own predictions, Bloomberg now says that no new hardware will be announced at 2024's Worldwide Developer's Conference, which kicks off on June 10th. It also revised its forecast for the next version of the Apple TV hardware box.

The newsletter had previously said that it expected a new version to arrive in the first half of 2024. This would include an upgraded processor from the current model's A15 Bionic.

"There's no hardware slated to be announced at WWDC, unless Apple unexpectedly previews a new device launching later," the newsletter reported. The predicted new model of Apple TV is also no longer imminent.

Another analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, had suggested that Apple might add a camera built directly into the next Apple TV box. The possible new feature would facilitate FaceTime calls, as well as third-party video-conferencing apps.

Currently, the Apple TV relies on a wireless connection to the back cameras of the iPhone to take advantage of videoconferencing.

An update to the Mac Pro and Mac Studio lines until sometime in 2025 has been previously reported. Both of those pro-level Macs are expected to use an M4 Max or M4 Ultra chip, neither of which have emerged yet.

When were the last Apple hardware updates?



It's been some time since an Apple TV update, and all of Apple's Mac laptops have been updated relatively recently.

  • Apple TV: October 2022

  • Mac mini: January 2023

  • Mac Studio: June 2023

  • Mac Pro: June 2023

  • iMac: October 2023

  • MacBook Pro: October 2023

  • MacBook Air: March 2024



Apple has already said that it intends for all of its Mac products to be upgraded to some version of the M4 chip across 2024 and 2025. Following the reveal of the M4 chip in the iPad Pro, the low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro and 24-inch iMac are the next devices likely to upgrade to M4 chips.

This is expected to happen near the end of 2024. The higher-end MacBook Pro models and the Mac mini are expected to be updated either in late 2024 or early 2025.

The next update to the MacBook Air line is predicted for the spring or later in 2025. The Mac Studio and Mac Pro are rumored to be the last models to get M4 upgrades in mid-2025, or later that year.

Rumor Score: Likely

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 44
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,081member
    Would be bad if Apple doesn't intro new machines you can't increase lagging Mac sales if you don't sales do appear to be lagging and there really is no excuse.
    edited June 2 d_2williamlondonaderutter
  • Reply 2 of 44
    keithwkeithw Posts: 145member
    It's too bad. My credit card is ready and waiting to purchase an M4 Mac Studio.  Anybody that buys an M2 Mac Studio now is acting foolishly.
    d_2williamlondon9secondkox2watto_cobraargonautjvm156
  • Reply 3 of 44
    paisleydiscopaisleydisco Posts: 113member
    The typical 'too bad. my credit card is waiting. Apple is taking too long' crowd has entered the chat.

    Meanwhile their current computer does everything they need everyday.



    chasmwilliamlondondewme9secondkox2beowulfschmidttmaywonkothesane
  • Reply 4 of 44
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,293member
    Who suggests for Apple to include a camera on Apple TV anyway, while most of us want that device tucked away in a TV cabinet. 😂🤷🏻‍♂️
    nubusAfarstarAlex1Nargonaut
  • Reply 5 of 44
    Chris_PelhamChris_Pelham Posts: 13member
    paisleydisco said:
    The typical 'too bad. my credit card is waiting. Apple is taking too long' crowd has entered the chat.

    Meanwhile their current computer does everything they need everyday.



    It remains to be seen if all the incoming AI tools will run as well on M2 as they will on M4. But it also remains to be seen how much those will ever be needed on desktops, given that most if not all people using those desktops will also have portable Apple devices with M4 (or will soon enough) that will run those AI apps. How many AIs do we need to communicate with at a time lol?  Take that out of the equation and it's more of just a strange look that the iPad Pro (and soon the iPhone) has the newest chip while many others are 2 generations behind, but as you say the M2 machines, especially with those with Pro or better chips, are still really good in practice.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 44
    keithwkeithw Posts: 145member
    paisleydisco said:
    The typical 'too bad. my credit card is waiting. Apple is taking too long' crowd has entered the chat.

    Meanwhile their current computer does everything they need everyday.




    No, I'm using a 2017 iMac Pro, and it's getting VERY long in the tooth. Yes, I DO need the power of a Mac Studio. I'm doing things now I never even dreamed of doing on the iMac Pro.  Yes, Apple IS taking too long. Buying an M2-based Mac Studio would be foolish at his point.  The M4 in the iPad Pro is 2.8x faster in single core and 1.74X faster in multicore than my old iMac Pro.  So please don't make generalizations!
    Chris_Pelhamwilliamlondond_2danox9secondkox2watto_cobraAlex1Nargonaut
  • Reply 7 of 44
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,404member
    Paisleydisco has a point: we're kind of a specialist crowd here, but the fact remains that MOST people who have any sort of recent Mac, iPhone, or iPad have a machine that is already more powerful than anything they can throw at it. For MOST people, the difference between an M1 and M4 is negligible -- oh good, Facebook opens two seconds faster! :lol:

    Thank goodness many of us here are the impatient upgrader types -- it helps pad the company's bottom line because we buy more often than the "normal attrition and switchers" crowd.

    That said, we're a tiny tiny minority of Apple users that sometimes get too big for our britches, as my grandfather used to say. :wink: 
    williamlondonsidricthevikingdewmewatto_cobraAlex1NmobirdChris_Pelhamargonaut
  • Reply 8 of 44
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,404member

    keithw said:
    No, I'm using a 2017 iMac Pro, and it's getting VERY long in the tooth. Yes, I DO need the power of a Mac Studio. I'm doing things now I never even dreamed of doing on the iMac Pro.  Yes, Apple IS taking too long. Buying an M2-based Mac Studio would be foolish at his point.  The M4 in the iPad Pro is 2.8x faster in single core and 1.74X faster in multicore than my old iMac Pro.  So please don't make generalizations!
    Yes, nobody's ever heard of buying the machine you need when you need it, and selling it for 80 percent of what you paid when the new one comes out ... :lol:
    NYC362williamlondonAlex1N
  • Reply 9 of 44
    NYC362NYC362 Posts: 89member
    I still find it hard to believe that Apple is going to let the Mac Studio sit with an M2 all the way up to the point when an M5 chip will either be announced or just weeks away.   No matter how small the market may be for Mac Studios and Mac Pro, to let them sit for almost two years between updates these days just makes no sense at all.

    williamlondondanoxwatto_cobraAlex1Nargonaut
  • Reply 10 of 44
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,390moderator
    NYC362 said:
    I still find it hard to believe that Apple is going to let the Mac Studio sit with an M2 all the way up to the point when an M5 chip will either be announced or just weeks away.   No matter how small the market may be for Mac Studios and Mac Pro, to let them sit for almost two years between updates these days just makes no sense at all.
    M5 Ultra won't be until 2026. M4 Ultra can arrive any time but not likely before Pro/Max chips for MBPs.

    Since M3 Air was in March 2024, I'd guess M4 Pro/Max MBPs in October 2024, possibly mini. M4 Air in 2025. While they could launch M4 Ultra in October, they usually do Ultra later e.g March-June 2025 for Studio and Mac Pro.

    2nm will be ready for iPhone 17 in September 2025:

    https://www.gsmarena.com/iphone_17_pro_to_be_the_first_with_a_chipset_built_on_tsmcs_2nm_process-news-62387.php

    M5 can be based on this with M5 Ultra in 2026.

    WWDC will most likely be about new AI features in macOS and iOS accelerated for M4 and the systems will ship later in the year with the refreshed hardware.
    edited June 2 williamlondonwatto_cobraAlex1Nchasm9secondkox2
  • Reply 11 of 44
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,421member
    chasm said:
    Paisleydisco has a point: we're kind of a specialist crowd here, but the fact remains that MOST people who have any sort of recent Mac, iPhone, or iPad have a machine that is already more powerful than anything they can throw at it. For MOST people, the difference between an M1 and M4 is negligible -- oh good, Facebook opens two seconds faster! :lol:

    Thank goodness many of us here are the impatient upgrader types -- it helps pad the company's bottom line because we buy more often than the "normal attrition and switchers" crowd.

    That said, we're a tiny tiny minority of Apple users that sometimes get too big for our britches, as my grandfather used to say. :wink: 
    Most Mac users would probably be fine with an iPhone and a docking station to connect a keyboard, mouse and display.
    dewme9secondkox2muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobraAlex1Nchasm
  • Reply 12 of 44
    Fred257Fred257 Posts: 246member
    Apple isn’t doing itself any favors by not updating the Mac Studio and pro this month.  This rumor makes no sense unless Apple isn’t serious anymore about their desktop pro lines
    williamlondontht9secondkox2Alex1N
  • Reply 13 of 44
    thttht Posts: 5,536member
    Fred257 said:
    Apple isn’t doing itself any favors by not updating the Mac Studio and pro this month.  This rumor makes no sense unless Apple isn’t serious anymore about their desktop pro lines
    They aren't "serious" about their entire desktop line. Look at the iMac 24. It did not get an M2 SoC and went over 2 years without update. Sound familiar?

    One the one hand, it speaks to desktop computers being only 10% of their Mac units, but on the other hand, you'd think the effort to update the iMac, Mac mini and Mac Studio on a yearly basis to be minimal. It should be worth that effort, but sigh. Same with everything that is not iPhone, Watch or Macbook. iPads could go 18 months or more. Apple TV is every 2 years or more. Some story with the software too. 

    For the M Ultra, they need to find a way to put it into the MBP16 and for use as a server, to spread the development costs around so that they can have yearly Mac Studio and Mac Pro updates.
    9secondkox2watto_cobrawilliamlondonAlex1N
  • Reply 14 of 44
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,520member
    I really like my Apple TVs and would love to see one integrated into a soundbar format with HomePod audio, a HomePod TV, but any announcement at WWDC involving an Apple TV product seems like it would be very underwhelming considering the focus of WWDC being a developer event. Unless of course it was the third or fourth product announcement preceded by product announcements for things much more in-demand by developers, like a higher performance Mac or a new product that developers may want to build apps for. The app market for Apple TV seems quite insignificant compared to other Apple platforms. 

    I understand the “need for speed” mentality surrounding  potential new computer products. It’s different for everyone and how you’re using them and how their functionality and performance impact your bottom line. I always try to buy the best computer I can get for how much money I’m willing to spend - when I need it. 

    No matter what you buy now, a few months or year later, you’ll be seeing newer versions that render your current computer last year’s model that’s moved down a tier. Your time at the top of the hill doesn’t last long and you’ll have to decide how long you can tolerate being pushed down lower and lower in the pecking order every time a new model arrives. Computers don’t really get any slower with age, the burden we place on them keep getting higher and heavier. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 44
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,893member
    The typical 'too bad. my credit card is waiting. Apple is taking too long' crowd has entered the chat.

    Meanwhile their current computer does everything they need everyday.


    Shades of “
    640K ought to be enough for anybody.”

    according to this logic, who needs an iPhone when you have a rotary.
    Who needs email when you have usps. 
    Who needs an iPod when you have a record player. 
    Come on dude. You know what’s up. 


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 44
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,893member
    tht said:
    Fred257 said:
    Apple isn’t doing itself any favors by not updating the Mac Studio and pro this month.  This rumor makes no sense unless Apple isn’t serious anymore about their desktop pro lines
    They aren't "serious" about their entire desktop line. Look at the iMac 24. It did not get an M2 SoC and went over 2 years without update. Sound familiar?

    One the one hand, it speaks to desktop computers being only 10% of their Mac units, but on the other hand, you'd think the effort to update the iMac, Mac mini and Mac Studio on a yearly basis to be minimal. It should be worth that effort, but sigh. Same with everything that is not iPhone, Watch or Macbook. iPads could go 18 months or more. Apple TV is every 2 years or more. Some story with the software too. 

    For the M Ultra, they need to find a way to put it into the MBP16 and for use as a server, to spread the development costs around so that they can have yearly Mac Studio and Mac Pro updates.
    once we hit 2 nm, I believe we will see Ultra SOCs in MBPs. Especially if it’s a monolithic die. 
    edited June 3 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 44
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,893member

    mikethemartian said:
    chasm said:
    Paisleydisco has a point: we're kind of a specialist crowd here, but the fact remains that MOST people who have any sort of recent Mac, iPhone, or iPad have a machine that is already more powerful than anything they can throw at it. For MOST people, the difference between an M1 and M4 is negligible -- oh good, Facebook opens two seconds faster! :lol:

    Thank goodness many of us here are the impatient upgrader types -- it helps pad the company's bottom line because we buy more often than the "normal attrition and switchers" crowd.

    That said, we're a tiny tiny minority of Apple users that sometimes get too big for our britches, as my grandfather used to say. :wink: 
    Most Mac users would probably be fine with an iPhone and a docking station to connect a keyboard, mouse and display.
    No. Most IPHONE users might be ok with that, but not Mac users. 

    Heck, we have a giant iPhone that does those things now. It’s called the iPad. And it’s no Mac. 
    watto_cobraChris_PelhamAlex1N
  • Reply 18 of 44
    michelb76michelb76 Posts: 657member
    danox said:
    Would be bad if Apple doesn't intro new machines you can't increase lagging Mac sales if you don't sales do appear to be lagging and there really is no excuse.
    That's why you'll see them later this year and NOT at a developer conference.
    watto_cobrachasm
  • Reply 19 of 44
    kiwimacheadkiwimachead Posts: 20member
    Why do PC makers have to constantly release new product? Sony by comparison have released 5 PlayStation models in 29 years. It’s become as wasteful as fast fashion despite all the bullshit talk of recycling materials etc. The irony is of course that Apple products have a really long service life if you’re not a power user. I have had 3 Macs since 1999; ‘99 Tangerine iBook, 2005 iMac G5, 2011 MBA. Will be upgrading to an M4 MBP when they’re released this year and see how long I can keep it trucking! 
    edited June 3 watto_cobrawilliamlondonargonautAlex1N
  • Reply 20 of 44
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,626member
    Apple is a publicly-traded company and as such owes it to its shareholders to make as much money, and sell as many devices, as it can.
    aderutterchasmwatto_cobra
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