Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off its 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference by promising it is "going to be a historic day."

"We're going to make some of our biggest announcements ever at WWDC," Cook said.

Apple unveiled a suite of new computers, all powered by the latest Apple Silicon chips, the M2 Max and M2 Ultra processors.

The first laptop introduced was a brand new 15-inch MacBook Air, which weighs just 3.3 pounds and is the world's thinnest laptop, measuring just 11.5 mm. It boasts 18 hours of battery life while providing faster performance than older MacBook Airs powered by Intel chips.

The new MacBook Air starts at $1,299.The 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 processor is now $1,099.

Apple also showed off new updates to the iPhone. The latest version of Apple's iOS 17 will allow you to create full-screen posters for your contacts. It will also provide live transcriptions of voicemails and let you to leave video voicemails using FaceTime.

The Messages app is also getting a serious update. It will have new and improved search features and allows you to automatically scroll back to the last unread message. You can also reply to a specific message by swiping over it.

Apple is also updating its keyboard to use a transformer language model to improve the autocorrect feature, giving it the capability of learning words you use commonly and possibly swear words, Craig Federighi joked.

Apple also revealed new updates to its Health app, Apple iPods, and iPad before unveiling a brand new mixed reality headset. , the Apple Vision Pro.

“Today marks the beginning of a new era for computing,” Cook said. “Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing. Built upon decades of Apple innovation, Vision Pro is years ahead and unlike anything created before — with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of groundbreaking innovations. It unlocks incredible experiences for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers.”

The $3,500 headset will blend virtual and augmented reality, creating "the first product you look through, not at."

"VisionOS features a brand-new three-dimensional interface that makes digital content look and feel present in a user’s physical world. By responding dynamically to natural light and casting shadows, it helps the user understand scale and distance. To enable user navigation and interaction with spatial content, Apple Vision Pro introduces an entirely new input system controlled by a person’s eyes, hands, and voice. Users can browse through apps by simply looking at them, tapping their fingers to select, flicking their wrist to scroll, or using voice to dictate," Apple explained.

The Apple Vision Pro will be available early next year.

Northwest News