Apple set to disappoint fans with hardware-free WWDC

Apple fans looking forward to new Macs or iPads at WWDC 2024 should prepare themselves for disappointment. Despite the small number of releases out of Cupertino so far this year and the long list of products waiting for an update, a respected analyst has predicted that the event will not see any hardware announcements at all.

The prediction comes from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter. Gurman told subscribers (via MacRumors) that “there’s no hardware slated to be announced at WWDC, unless Apple unexpectedly previews a new device launching later (to be clear: I don’t expect that).”

To be clear, the idea that Apple would hold a WWDC with no hardware is not in itself a massive surprise; of the past 10 WWDCs, precisely half have focused on software only. It’s more that Apple’s 2024 has been light on product announcements so far: just the two new iPads (Air and Pro) in May, and the M3 MacBook Air back in March. We’re still expecting updates this year to the Mac mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro, iMac or iMac Pro, iPad and iPad mini, AirPods, HomePod (possibly with a screen), and Apple TV–and that’s leaving aside the iPhone and Apple Watch updates that are nailed on for the fall.

There had been hopes, not least among followers of Gurman’s bulletins, that a new Apple TV would be announced this month: he previously said Apple hoped to refresh the Apple TV in the first half of 2024. But the same writer now says that a launch “isn’t imminent.” Neither would it appear that Apple has immediate plans to release new models of the standard iPad or iPad mini, both of which are sorely in need of an update.

The most likely hardware launch for WWDC 2024, however, is a new Mac. The event is nominally focused on software updates, but Apple will frequently take the opportunity to announce a new desktop or laptop, with high-end pro models particularly of interest. At WWDC 2023 the company announced the M2 Max/Ultra Mac Studio and the M2 Ultra Mac Pro, along with the 15-inch MacBook Air. (Not to mention Vision Pro.) The summer before we got the two Macs based on the then-new M2 chip, as well as a redesigned MacBook Air and a new 13-inch MacBook Pro. Of those 10 WWDCs, the other half all featured Mac announcements of one kind or another.

Still, even without hardware news, this month’s WWDC is set to be a big one. Indeed it’s possible that Apple is holding back on product launches so that viewers can really concentrate on its first steps into the world of AI, with Project Greymatter bringing new functions to iOS and macOS, and AI making its big entrance into Apple’s ecosystem. For all the latest news and rumors, check out our regularly updated WWDC superguide.

Apple Inc, Mac