Apple Store is down ahead of 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple XR headset and more expected at WWDC

The Apple Store is down — as is tradition — ahead of Apple hardware and software announcements coming later today as part of WWDC 2023.

We are expecting several new Macs to be announced, including a 15-inch M2 MacBook Air and maybe a M2 Apple Silicon update to the Mac Studio and a status update on the mysterious Mac Pro. But the big hardware announcement of the day is the final unveiling of the long-awaited and much-rumoured Apple XR (virtual and augmented reality) headset.

The Apple headset device is expected to feature industry-leading technology, with high-resolution OLED screens (one per eye), more than a dozen cameras and sensors for hand and eye tracking, and be powered by an M2 Apple Silicon chip. All this tech comes at a price though, with estimates in the range of $3000.

While we believe the operating systems it runs will be called ‘xrOS’, the marketing name of the headset itself remains a mystery; Apple has filed trademarks for ‘Reality Pro’, ‘Reality One’, ‘XR’ and more.

The headset will be announced for the first time today, but is not expected to be available to buy until later in the year, or perhaps early 2024. We should get some initial hands-on impressions of the product though, with Apple constructing a special demo area for press inside the Apple Park campus.

The Mac hardware updates are likely shipping within the next month, and could possibly go on sale today. This includes the launch of a 15-inch MacBook Air, with similar internal specs to the M2 13-inch MacBook Air except for the much larger screen. M2 Max and M2 Ultra variants of the Mac Studio have also been rumored. The fate of the Mac Pro also remains uncertain, more than a year after Apple VP John Ternus said that “was for another day”.

The other focus of the WWDC keynote will be software; Apple will unveil the next versions of its platforms including iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS 14, and tvOS 17. New features for iPhone include updates to the Dynamic Island and always-on display, a new journaling app, Wallet app redesign and more. Apple Watch is expected to get a significant OS overhaul with watchOS 10 comprising a major rethinking of the operating system’s design, including redesigned apps and a more widget-centric home screen experience.

These will all be available today as developer betas, with a public release date in the fall.

The Apple Store doesn’t go down for technical reasons; it’s all marketing. And Apple has a lot to hype this time around. With so many announcements on deck, we are easily looking at a two-hour-long keynote today. The show starts at 10 AM Pacific Time — stay tuned to 9to5Mac for full coverage of all the announcements.