WWDC23 Bingo
Grab your daubers, it’s time to play some WWDC Bingo!
It's been nine months since Apple's last event (Far Out, September 07, 2022). And this event, the opener to Apple's annual WWDC week, has the makings to be one of Apple's most significant in recent memory, as all eyes (pun intended) are on Apple to announce and preview their VR platform and headset. And amongst that are also anticipated updates to iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, macOS, and maybe even a hardware announcement or two. It's forecasted to be a jam-packed keynote, and here are some of my picks and predictions of what we might see.
BINGO Board
Picks Explained
Note: The picks made in this entry were made the week of May 21. I locked them in as of May 27 but have added updates as new rumours dropped in the week leading up to WWDC.
realityOS/xrOS Announced: From trademarks filings to news that the who's who of the VR world will be in attendance at the keynote, there's so much smoke that this is finally the event where we see an announcement and demo of Apple's long-anticipated VR platform.
macOS Sequoia has a lovely ring to it. Photo by Josh Carter
macOS Sequoia: 15 California place name trademarks remain, including Skyline, Diablo, Mammoth Sonoma, Sequoia, Redwood, and Shasta. I've long loved the name Sequoia and am making it my pick as the place name Apple uses for macOS 14. Fingers crossed that Apple's crack marketing team gets lost in the woods this year.
Although, I'm ready and willing to license my Rancho Cucamonga wallpaper if Apple wants to go in that direction this year.
watchOS Redesigned around Widgets: The rumour this year is that watchOS is expected to get a redesigned user interface experience that puts widgets as one of the main methods of interaction and getting glanceable information. The Siri watch face on watchOS has long been one of my favourites for this reason; it would promote timely information as the day unfolded - sports scores when my team was playing, information about weather changes and calendar events as events arose, and timers when set. It was an intuitive and helpful way of interacting with the watch, and I welcome Apple furthering that implementation this year.
Redesigned Control Center for iOS/iPadOS: Control Center on iOS is the junk drawer of the platform - full of valuable trinkets but hopelessly cluttered and torture to organize. I hope iOS 17 brings some modern updates and improved customization to this vital part of the OS.
Redesigned Compass for iOS: watchOS 9 debuted a radically updated and beautiful compass app that provides vital way-finding features and the ability to put markers and backtrack your route. I would like to see these features brought to iOS 17, whose compass app has been unchanged since it was cosmetically redesigned for iOS 7 a decade ago.
Camera App Receives a Significant Update: It's fine for a quick snap, but anytime it comes to trying to customize the exposure, switch photographic styles, or go into Burst Mode (is it hold and pull left or right on the shutter?) Camera's UI becomes more hostile than helpful. A 'Pro Mode' shooting environment with precise and quick single-tap access to more advanced camera controls would be a godsend.
Keynote Runtime is Under 115 Minutes: Based on the past three years of virtual keynotes, I would say this prediction is a safe bet, but with the number of anticipated products and operating systems to address, keeping everything to a tight 2 hours will be no small task.
Update: A May 30 rumour suggests Apple's keynote may "easily exceed two hours" so I’m beginning to have some doubts about my sub-two-hour prediction.
Apple VR Headset Previewed: We finally get our first peek at Apple's VR headset and learn about some of the bells and whistles powering the device. Like the Apple Watch announcement in 2014, we'll only get a small taste of the headset initially, with more specific information and features to come at a separate event later in 2023/early 2024.
15-inch MacBook Air Announced: It's not a given that hardware will be announced at WWDC, but recent years have seen Apple preview of the HomePod and Mac Pro, and last year we got the announcement of the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro & Air. Rumours have swirled that these machines have been ready for some time, and WWDC would be a good time to launch a larger MacBook Air - a perfect product for people who want a larger display but who have no appetite or need to spend thousands in upgrading to a MacBook Pro.
A Minimum of 5 Graphs are Presented: Apple is at the intersection of Technology, Liberal Arts, and vague unlabeled graphs with no axis reference points. And what better way to talk about their VR headset than a bunch of graphs?
Widgets Announced for iPadOS 17 Lock Screen: it's becoming a trend that features from one iOS year roll into iPadOS the next. We saw it with widgets, and now I'd like to see the same Lock Screen/Widget customization we saw come to the iPhone last year.
tvOS Features not Discussed: There will be too much happening with every other platform that tvOS gets snubbed from the main keynote for a second straight year. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride; but in the case of tvOS, not even invited to the wedding.
New Mental Health/Journalling App Introduced: Rumours have been vague but suggest a new journaling application coming to iOS 17 with a bend towards focusing on mental health and well-being instead of a more standalone journalling app like Day One. I have no plans on jumping ship from Day One, but I'd like to see the addition and integration of mood tracking inside the Health app (currently using How We Feel for that).
A Secret Location is Accessed Via Whimsical Transition: In addition to the expected drone footage around Apple Park, at some point, we'll transition from one place to the next via some fancy corridor, escape hatch, portal, or secret underground tunnel accessed via the fountain inside the courtyard of Apple Park.
Dynamic watchOS Compilations: I'd like to see something akin to Focus Filters or time/location-specific watch faces and complications. For example, on a workday morning, I might see weather and calendar events, and later in the evening, complications for outstanding reminders, my Activity Rings, or a shortcut to the Home app to control my devices would appear. The rumoured watchOS redesign around widgets would be a perfect way of implementing this dynamic information on the Apple Watch.
Starting Price & a Tentative Date for Headset Shared: Again, in keeping with the preview now, launch later strategy that Apple has used for devices like the Apple Watch or Mac Pro, I expect Apple to preview their headset at WWDC but only provide a vague sense of its release (early 2024 for example) and only provide a starting price.
Sports-Focused App on iOS/watchOS: This is me wishcasting, but I would love to see an app dedicated to sports scores/news on Apple Watch. Specifically, I would love to see Apple's first-party take on an app on watchOS that shows sports scores and notifications for teams I'm following. I hate fiddling with the notifications across different sports apps to follow the teams and leagues I care about or waiting for leagues to adopt features like Live Activities or Widgets. Apple could create a cleaner and more integrated first-party app for this basic functionality.
Emphasis on AI/ML Features in iOS/macOS: Without explicitly using the word AI, I expect Apple will make a prominent push to incorporate and emphasize new Machine Learning features across its platforms. Apple already includes this technology in their accessibility offerings and data detectors for images, texts, events, etc. Whether this comes as a copilot for Xcode coding, intelligently pulling reminders from Messages/Emails, or more context-aware Siri commands, I want to see more AI-inspired features come to Mac and iOS.
You know stuff’s about to go down when these words flash across the screen…
The Event Features 'One more thing...": Typically reserved for more significant, highly-anticipated, or surprise announcements, I imagine this event is as good as any to feature the iconic words of the late Steve Jobs. I can't square if the VR headset would get this treatment and how the timing would work, but we'll see something announced behind these words.
VR FaceTime/Memoji Demo: I imagine Apple will have to devote some time demoing what their VR headset does, and I think a VR FaceTime call would be a perfect application to showcase the social connection, Memoji features, and facial/spatial tracking this headset is rumoured to have.
Update on CarPlay: Remember that wild CarPlay announcement that came out of nowhere last WWDC? The one where the entire dashboard and console were screens? Although I struggle to think of where and when Apple can squeeze it in, I hope to see more information about their automotive effort - sharing any new features, deeper dive into the UI, and more specifics on potential launch partners.
App Sideloading is Not Addressed: Despite the pressures Apple is under to allow third-party App Stores in the EU, I am assuming Apple will not discuss sideloading/alternate App stores at the WWDC keynote. It's too much of a lightning rod that would muddy and take away from the positive vibes WWDC is going for. Save it for a press release on an unassuming weekday nearer the deadline.
Image credit: Apple
A Memeable Federighi Moment: Do I really need to explain this one?
Apple Silicon Mac Pro is Not Announced: At this point, the elephant in the room is the Mac Pro. Despite being teased last spring, its existence now feels as real as AirPower. However, M2 isn't the chip on which Apple wants to build the narrative about how the Mac Pro meaningfully differentiates itself from the Mac Studio. With the move to the 3nm M3, we might begin to see more details emerge.
Update: On Wednesday, Mark Gurman reported that the M2 Ultra is being tested, leading to the hunch that perhaps another piece of hardware, the Mac Studio, is bound to debut at WWDC. Like with the MacBook Pros, adding an M2 is a simple yet significant upgrade for an established product like the Mac Studio, while the Mac Pro can be couched for another day.
☁️ BONUS: Apple Increases base iCloud Storage from 5GB:** If Apple announces an increase to its base 5GB iCloud storage (even if that change comes in the form of 5GB per device), then an instant BINGO is declared.
Those are just some of the picks for WWDC! I wish I had room to add more, including the Health app coming to the iPad, competitive workouts for Apple Watch, a redesigned Wallet app, VR game demos, a Weather Screensaver for macOS, multiuser support for iPad, an Ambient landscape mode for iPhone, Stage Manager improvements and more. I'm looking forward to an exciting keynote and WWDC week! Enjoy the keynote, enjoy the BINGO board, and I’m looking forward to geeking out with you about all things WWDC online!
Other Bingo Boards
In addition to this board, other users have created their own BINGO boards ahead of WWDC. Here are just a few of the ones I found available ahead of the keynote:
I want to give a special shoutout to Dylan, as it was his BINGO boards that initially energized me into creating my boards for Apple Events over the years.
