Key takeaways from the Apple WWDC 2022
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6 brought a slew of exciting reveals for Apple fans. This time, we are seeing the traditional revamps of a new Macbook Air and practically all operating systems (developer beta versions are available now, public betas will be released in July and the general public is expected to get access in fall 2022)!
A refreshed 13-inch M2-based MacBook Pro was revealed at the WWDC 2022, with a 20-hr battery life and no design alterations except the processor upgrade. The price for the device is $1,299.
Presumably 20% faster than the M1-based MacBook Air, it will come in four color options (Midnight, Starlight, Space Grey and Silver), and sport exciting features like two Thunderbolt ports, novel beamforming microphones, Dolby Atmos speakers, a webcam with 1080p, high-impedance headphone jacks and an adapter for fast charging. Prices start at $1,199.
Another much-anticipated unveil was the new Apple M2 SoC for PCs, and the MacBook Air 2022. It’s only 11mm thin and weighs about 1.2kg.
The new iPadOS 16 emphasizes multitasking (using Stage Manager from macOS) and cooperation. Share and collaborate on various types of files easily and quickly using apps like Messages and Free Form (watch for its release later in 2022). New features include the Weather app, virtual memory swapping and the ability to change file extensions.
macOS 13 Ventura includes new multitasking instruments, i.e. Stage Manager. It allows to group windows and go back and forth between apps. An upgrade to Mail will let you unsend a message, use scheduled send, and set reminders. Safari and Spotlight are also getting new perks, such as FIDO Alliance-supported Passkeys for the browser Shared Tab Groups. Continuity is upgraded with the option of using your iPhone as a webcam and moving FaceTime calls from iPhone to the Mac.
The new features of watchOS 9 include new watch facesnotifications, and the ability to pin apps. New features of the Workout app will allow you to get running metrics and heart rate zones in an improved fashion (iOS Fitness app is also getting new features for iPhone users who don’t own an Apple Watch).
The Sleep app in the watchOS 9 is now letting users track their Core, Deep, and REM sleep stages. An important medical upgrade is the finetuned atrial fibrillation detection feature: you can track the duration of the state and how many times per week it occurs. Keep a track of prescription medications will also become easier with new notifications, drug interaction alerts and a prescription label scanner.
The long-awaited car infotainment system interface, CarPlay, has been announced, but don’t expect to actually see these changes implemented in the near future. It’s slated to be rolled out in late 2023.
iOS 16 now includes Safety Check, an app that assists people in abusive relationships secure app access and passwords. The Home app is now easier to use, and the new Matter - the smart home standard - is supported.
Other upgrades include a finetuning of parental controls, a MySports section in Apple News, and the new iCloud Shared Photo Library, with up to 6 people now able to join.
Apple Maps is getting a big update in the iOS 16: watch for 3D View that will be available in more North American cities, improved route planning and MapDisplay feature coming to more countries
Video support by Live Text will let users interact with text in videos, and developers will be able to access new Live Text API to obtain text from various media.
An interesting Apple Pay Later feature was announced – Apple’s new buy now, pay later service is supposed to function everywhere that Apple Pay works.
Dictation is now easier than ever, since the improvements to voice recognition. The keyboard now remains active during dictation, and users are free to switch between input modes.
Messages will now allow to edit messages, to mark a thread as unread and undo sending a message.