WWDC unlikely to see debuts of any new hardware at all

By Charles Martin

A new report doubles-down on the improbability of new hardware debuts at WWDC -- and pushes back the rumored arrival of an Apple TV set-top box update.

Apple's next Mac Studio and Mac Pro models won't be announced at WWDC

Walking back one of its own predictions, Bloomberg now says that no new hardware will be announced at 2024's Worldwide Developer's Conference, which kicks off on June 10th. It also revised its forecast for the next version of the Apple TV hardware box.

The newsletter had previously said that it expected a new version to arrive in the first half of 2024. This would include an upgraded processor from the current model's A15 Bionic.

"There's no hardware slated to be announced at WWDC, unless Apple unexpectedly previews a new device launching later," the newsletter reported. The predicted new model of Apple TV is also no longer imminent.

Another analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, had suggested that Apple might add a camera built directly into the next Apple TV box. The possible new feature would facilitate FaceTime calls, as well as third-party video-conferencing apps.

Currently, the Apple TV relies on a wireless connection to the back cameras of the iPhone to take advantage of videoconferencing.

An update to the Mac Pro and Mac Studio lines until sometime in 2025 has been previously reported. Both of those pro-level Macs are expected to use an M4 Max or M4 Ultra chip, neither of which have emerged yet.

When were the last Apple hardware updates?

It's been some time since an Apple TV update, and all of Apple's Mac laptops have been updated relatively recently.

Apple has already said that it intends for all of its Mac products to be upgraded to some version of the M4 chip across 2024 and 2025. Following the reveal of the M4 chip in the iPad Pro, the low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro and 24-inch iMac are the next devices likely to upgrade to M4 chips.

This is expected to happen near the end of 2024. The higher-end MacBook Pro models and the Mac mini are expected to be updated either in late 2024 or early 2025.

The next update to the MacBook Air line is predicted for the spring or later in 2025. The Mac Studio and Mac Pro are rumored to be the last models to get M4 upgrades in mid-2025, or later that year.