The MacRumors Show: Apple's 2023 Year in Review

In the final episode of The MacRumors Show for 2023, we take a look back and evaluate Apple's year as a whole.


The year kicked off in January with an unusual array of hardware releases consisting of the relaunch of the HomePod alongside the release of the M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pros, as well as the M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini. In May, Apple announced Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad, extending its own professional-grade creative tools to its tablet users for the first time.

June was particularly eventful with the announcement of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, tvOS 17, and macOS Sonoma at WWDC. Apple simultaneously unveiled the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, a new 15-inch MacBook Air model, and updates to the Mac Studio and Mac Pro lines with the M2 Ultra chip.

September marked the official release of the new operating systems and the debut of the iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2, alongside the introduction of FineWoven as a new material for accessories, and the launch of AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C. In October, Apple continued by introducing the Apple Pencil with USB-C, and somewhat unexpectedly announced the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max MacBook Pros, as well as the M3 iMac, at the end of the month.

November saw Apple announce support for Rich Communication Services (RCS). The year concluded with the release of iOS 17.2, Aston Martin and Porsche previewing the next-generation CarPlay, and a notable legal development where sales of the ‌Apple Watch Series 9‌ and ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ were briefly banned in the United States.

How do you think 2023 was for Apple? Let us know in the comments. The MacRumors Show is now on its own YouTube channel, so head over and subscribe to keep up with new episodes and clips going forward:

You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.


If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up for our discussion where we take your questions about Apple rumors and more.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests like Kevin Nether, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Luke Miani, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Jon Prosser, Sam Kohl, Quinn Nelson, John Gruber, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

roland.g Avatar
7 months ago

I thought that this years WWDC 2023 announcements were more important then most years. Didn't expect the M3 SoC's to be available so early. Then there was the long awaited mixed reality Vision Pro unveiling before its 2024 releases. It was still a bit uninspiring for product announcements for the rest of the year as was the previous 2022 seemed more active.
Apple under Tim has been an unfortunate timeline. Some good things, but so many missed opportunities. He doesn't understand the brand.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
7 months ago
I'd like to give Dan and Hartley a huge tip-of-my-cap for putting together and hosting all of the MacRumors Shows this year. Thank you!

Each one takes a huge chunk of work and time brainstorming, researching, organizing, and creating a polished video that people enjoy and look forward to.

Wishing you both a great 2024!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
picpicmac Avatar
7 months ago

He doesn't understand the brand.
Well, I disagree on that. He understands "the brand" very well.

Apple was headed to the dustbin of history before they introduced the Mac. It was a radical play, an attempt to boldly not go where IBM was attempting to directly the microcomputer marketing.

I remember when our department go that first Mac - it was a curiosity, a draw to the office that had it from those masses with their IBM PCs.

But Apple is not defined only by such moves. Even under Jobs' original tenure there was flailing. Then after he left there was a lot of flailing. Jobs comes back and the company had three hit product lines: iPod, iMac, and iPhone. But there were also failings during Jobs second tenure too.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
7 months ago

Apple under Tim has been an unfortunate timeline. Some good things, but so many missed opportunities. He doesn't understand the brand.
I think you are forgetting China's finally ceasing city shutdowns that severely affected manufacturing in many cities on Dec 7th, 2022. It took the first half of 2023 to recover how much that countries manufacturing/transportation of produced goods effected the rest of the world's economy including product announcements from Apple. Up to then Apple was deliberately cherry picking announcements/updates to their manufacturing releases that could best shore up not the greatest earning projections. Yes remember the financial warnings earlier this year. So is it the fault of a CEO in those conditions, hardly. If you want to poke fun at him, IMHO the Indian Factory that Apple/FoxConn talked up as a big thing mostly fizzled in the end. ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
McTaste Avatar
7 months ago
Podcast thumbnails always give me uncanny valley vibes.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sjsharksfan12 Avatar
7 months ago

What are the names of the presenters?
Dan Barbera and Hartley Charlton


Their names are listed amongst the staff of McRumors on the bottom of the page.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)