This could make total sense, I always thought they spend to much energy on what was a gimmick at this point. But maybe they were just preparing a live memoji feature until it was flawless.
You might notice that unlike Meta, Apple current approach focus solely on head avatar. But they make a point for them to be very expressive.
This also perfectly fit the privacy narrative. Expressing yourself thought an expressive live animated avatar help preserve privacy as a remote worker. My life companion colleagues never agreed to turn on their webcam, maybe they would feel more at ease with an avatar.
PS: Maybe a better video (example) of the footage used in last year daily WWDC recap. The setup for the daily recap was a memoji of Serenity Caldwell reporting thought online meeting with other developers using memoji.
WWDC22 Day 5 Final statement : https://youtu.be/PMCDIIxBiZA?t=46
WWDC21 Day 5 Final statement : https://youtu.be/fwQF-HQG-pU?t=64
WWDC20 Day 5 Final statement : https://youtu.be/GHHw_hOnML0?t=1
Fun to see the evolution also...