history repeats itself 17 years later

Today, there are exactly two months left for the WWDC23 keynote. On June 5, 2023, Apple will open the Enterprise Developer Conference with one of the most anticipated events in memory. The already is added traditional wait for the annual event – WWDC23 is where new operating systems are showcased (at least) – but above all, the presentation of a new mixed reality device by Apple.

And it is that even Tim Cook is no longer cut. This week the GQ North American Edition publishes an absolutely revealing interview with the CEO of Apple. “The idea is that there is an environment that can be even better than the real world and that is through the superposition of the virtual world” – Cook barely contained enthusiasm for a technology he the iPhone has given us clues in recent yearsAlthough it looks like we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

It’s necessary be very sure what you have to talk about with this certainty of a subject on the lips of all the press. Cook is not used to bluffing and went further: he mentioned as disruptive technology it has the ability to both attract attention and be rejected. “When we launched the iPhone, people said it wouldn’t work”. It’s funny how the stories intertwine – the one on the iPhone, and the one that seems to be about to begin.

17 years before it already happened

this month of april we celebrate the 17th anniversary in Applesfera of our creation. Since then, not a single day has passed without us publishing an article on Apple. It allows us to have a library of logs and a vast context: looking through our records – or connecting the dots backwards, as Jobs said – I found a repeating pattern right now. Everything that happened before the release of the iPhone is repeated with the Reality Pro, just two months before.

In November 2006 there was already talk of two possible versions of the iPhone, and be careful because the rumors were completely wrong: at home, it was commented an iPhone as a mobile phone (not so much a smartphone) and another iChat-based version for video conferencing. With the Reality Pro two versions are also expected: some in mixed reality and other more advanced which could arrive in the years to come. Will they also be the same device, as was the case with the iPhone?

In the same month, we commented on the start of production of the iPhone (curiously also that of a MacBook 15″, which looks a lot like the current MacBook Air rumor with bigger screen). With the apple puffs It also looks like production has started.

With the iPhone, something happened that we didn’t expect: no one, absolutely no rumors or montages touched – not even closely – its final appearance. He the final design was even more futuristic than they imagined. This left us with some interesting pages with mockups of what Apple’s future phone might look like. With the Reality Pro, the design seems much more limited – but beware – that in two months we will find some surprise.

The certainty that something important will happen

Two months from the Presentation of the original iPhone in January 2007, many media already had unequivocal clues that the device was ready to be presented and that the moment was approaching. They were right about the presentation date when various media no longer doubted it. At the time, Leo Laporte – one of America’s leading tech podcasters – had no doubts. “Without a doubt, the iPhone will be unveiled at MacWorld in January”. Comment reminiscent of the current Gurman, categorical: nothing will prevent the Reality Pro glasses from being presented this WWDC23.

The name of the iPhone was also very fought. Fans around the Apple world were clear that it should be called that as part of the company mythology, but the name belonged to another company and that led to a secret negotiation. The name of the glasses is not so explicit, but again a “secret” company with a tangential relationship with Apple registered the name “Reality” for the future mixed reality ecosystem.

Less than a month after the presentation of the iPhone, the analyst Rebecca F. Runkle (consultant at the time of Morgan Stanley) provided specific details about the model that Apple eventually introduced, including pricing and mentioning the 3.5-inch screen. Kevin Rose (the creator of Digg.com) also agreed with her on many counts.

Back to 2023 is Gurman who gave details on this occasion not just how Reality Pro glasses look – but also how we’re going to be able to use them. Even with clues found in the source code of future Apple operating systems – which directly references devices that don’t yet exist.

Apple Reality Pros have been working for over 14 years

The similarities between the two devices’ timing prepares us for a WWDC23 that Apple itself describes as an event “like you’ve never seen before”. However, digging through our old archives over these 17 years of Applesfera, I discovered that already in 2008 we were talking about the patent that we can see in two months. The image in the original item is virtually identical to what the reality glasses are rumored to be.

This means that while the patent was filed in 2008, the company worked on it long, long before. Also implies that Steve Jobs himself was involved in the concept of this device and that Tim Cook’s Apple was waiting for the right time with mature technology to launch something like this. Maybe that’s why Cook is no longer holding back and goes with everything: they are about to present something with more than 14 years of work behind them.

It’s likely that in the coming months we’ll see even more rumours, leaks and information about the device – all set to create a completely different WWDC23 to what has been other years – designed to surprise and learn about the future. And as it happened in 2007, surely full of surprises that we do not know yet.

Picture | Rendered by designer AntonioDeRosa on Behance

In Applesphere | “We will talk about it for years”: I attended the previous ones and I am convinced that this WWDC23 will be much more than iOS 17 or Apple Reality Pro