Ernst Roelofs and Bert van Dijk

The kick-off of Apple’s developer conference WWDC traditionally starts with the announcement of the new operating systems and Mac-related hardware. These new operating systems will only be available in the autumn, until then betas (trial versions) are available to get acquainted with the new possibilities and, above all, to see what errors are still present.

The announcement of the new iPhone and iPad models will usually follow later in the year, something that the new operating systems are already anticipating.

New hardware and software
This year, Apple has done a great job. This report from the WWDC mainly focuses on the new hardware that Apple has announced, the lion’s share of which is now for sale. Apple has the new Vision Pro

Announced and released a new Mac Studio, MacBook Air 15” and, finally, a new Mac Pro. In addition, macOS (14) Sonoma, iOS / iPadOS 16, Watch OS 10 and TV-OS have been announced. In the upcoming issue of PC-Active the focus will be on the innovations of the operating systems.

Vision Pro
The most notable WWDC news is Apple’s highly anticipated VR (virtual reality) glasses, the Vision Pro, which look a bit like diving goggles. So it is not a projection on the glasses, as was once the case with Google’s Glass, a revolutionary product that never really appeared on the market. The Vision Pro is not certainly the first VR glasses. Competitor Microsoft now has the second version of HoloLens and there are more suppliers.
What is special about the Vision Pro is that it is a stand alone computer. Operation is carried out by hand and eye movements. This by Apple spatial computer said device has two small 4K screens which should provide a great visual experience. For people who wear glasses, there are special lenses that click into place on the inside. The Vision Pro is packed with cameras and sensors and is expected to work seamlessly with all Apple devices at home and/or work. The power supply takes place via an external battery that is attached with a cable. This battery is only good for two hours of viewing pleasure, but you can probably buy extra batteries.
The Vision Pro will not come onto the market until next year and initially not in the Netherlands and Flanders, so we will have to wait a while. The price is hefty at $3599. Of course you can get rid of your TV, but if you have to buy glasses for every family member, it will cost you a lot of money and that doesn’t even include the guests. Fortunately, there are rumors that Apple is working on a cheaper version.

New Macs
With the arrival of the new M2 Macs: MacBook Air 15″, Mac Studio, Mac Pro and the previously announced Mac mini Pro, the range is now quite complete and there is something for everyone; both in terms of price and computing power. And now all Macs are equipped with Apple’s own M processor.

The MacBook Air 15” M2 is more or less identical to its smaller brother, the MacBook Air 13”, which has immediately been reduced in price. The screen is of course larger and speakers have been added for even better sound quality. Just like the MacBook Air 13”, this MacBook also has no fan and barely heats up. Since the arrival of M-MacBooks, laptops can again be used on your lap without it getting hot; just a bit inconvenient in winter. By integrating the processor, graphics card, working and storage memory in one chip SoC (system-on-a-chip), the M-Macs are not only fast and powerful, they are also energy efficient and barely heat up even during intensive use, making them quiet in use. Because they consume little energy, they can also operate for a relatively long time on a single battery charge. An SoC has one major disadvantage: in the event of any defect, you will generally lose all data, because there is no longer a separate SSD.

Membership administration
One became a member by transferring the contribution and that involves administration. Dick: “Fortunately, a member came forward, Piet Mansvelt Beck, who had a modest administration office at home (next to his job) and wanted to automate it. He bought a Heathkit kit, learned to solder and built his first computer. He himself wrote the software for the membership administration with a cassette recorder as input and a cassette recorder and digital printer as output that could also print labels on chain, necessary to send the newsletters (neatly sorted by zip code). Every few weeks I cycled to Pijnacker to add the newest members to the file. Piet has been doing this work for years, with increasingly better equipment.”

M2 family
The M(2) family now consists of: M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra as the top model in increasing performance. The M2 Max, like the M1 Max, is a larger chip than the basic version of the M2. The M2 Ultra is 2 internally connected Max M2 chips. The M2 Ultra is one of the fastest and most powerful personal computers that have ever been made, partly because all important computer components are integrated into one chip. If you go for an M2 model, we recommend (at least) 512GB of storage memory: the basic configuration with 256 GB is considerably slower.

Apple’s Studio is now also equipped with the M2 SoC with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chip, making it a lot faster than their predecessors. The Mac mini (Pro) is for the consumer who does not necessarily have to work on the road and/or saves the heavier work (Pro) for at home. The Studio is for the more seasoned video editor or intended for professional use, which certainly applies to the Studio M2 Ultra.

Mac Pro
The updated Mac Pro has remained unchanged in appearance. With the Mac Pro, the last Mac has now switched to Apple’s own M-chip. In terms of performance and composition, the Mac Pro is equal to the Studio M2 Ultra in its maximum configuration. However, in terms of price, the Studio is considerably cheaper. So why the Mac Pro? This is mainly due to the extra connection options. For example, the Mac Pro has seven PCIe slots; intended for high end expansion cards. The Mac Pro is therefore mainly for work that requires expansion cards. In terms of price (starts at €8399), this computer is mainly for companies.

It is striking that no new iMac has been announced. The 24” iMac with (basic) M1 chip is the most recent model; a larger, M 27” iMac does not exist (yet). Of course, the Mac mini Pro and Studio, combined with the Apple Display, will take you a long way, if not considerably further, but they are not an integrated computer. Here you will find an overview of all Macs: https://www.apple.com/nl/mac/compare/

Operating systems
In terms of operating system, there are no major innovations this year Stage Manager or Universal Controlalthough Stage Manager on the iPad has been improved. Rather, they are small innovations and improvements that will certainly appeal to some readers. We will discuss this in more detail in the next PC-Active.

Betas
The first public betas (trial versions of software) will most likely be available around the release of this PC-Active. This year there is a free one Developer account became available in addition to the paid account of 100 euros and more users can have one developerbeta to download. However, this is not wise without prior knowledge and only on a spare Mac and/or an external SSD or hard drive, because developer betas can still be full of bugs.

Betas and updates of current operating systems also continue to be released. In any case, support in the form of security updates will continue to appear (much) longer, even long after official support has stopped.