Apple has one annual event that is mostly focused on their upcoming software where they reveal what the next iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and other software will bring in the future. This year at Apple WWDC22, we have a new iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9, a new M2 chip, MacBook Air M2, and macOS Ventura.
Apple WWDC 2022 Major Updates
iOS 16
The first major announcement from the Apple WWDC is the new iOS 16. And here are some of its top features:
New Lock Screen
The new iOS has a new Lock Screen which has been a long time coming anyway. Now, this is the biggest update ever in terms of Lock Screen as per Apple as users will get a level of personalization like never before.
Users can simply customize the lock screen and try different styles and change text, font style, etc, simply by holding the lock screen.
The new lock screen also supports widgets which allows you to get more info right on the lock screen. It also has a Photo Shuffle feature and photo suggestions for the lock screen.
Overall, the lock screen just looks stunning.
Better Notifications
The notifications also have a refresh as they now roll in from the bottom of the screen which is significantly better.
There are Live Activities notifications that keep the active notifications like sports notifications or any live notifications on top.
Apple is also bringing new features to the Focus Mode which allows various Focus customizations on the lock screen and home screen.
There are also Focus filters that allow you to filter important pages on Safari, Messages, etc.
Messages Get New Features
The Messages app also has new features which were much anticipated. First of all, there is the option to edit a message. There is also undo send option and finally, there is an option to mark a message read.
SharePlay has a new feature to allow you to share anything from supported apps and it also comes now built-in to the Messages app.
Dictation on iPhone
Apple also demonstrated new Dictation which seamlessly allows you to dictate and type while also using the keyboard on the phone. It also adds automatic punctuation to the text. Siri also supports apps better.
Live Text is also a useful feature and now it is even available with videos. Earlier, it was just available with Photos and pages. There are also new features built-in right to Live Text.
Apple Wallet
Apple is working to reduce the workload on your physical wallet and that is why they are adding more features to the Apple Wallet. This time, they are making it easy for you to share keys via Apple Wallet.
Apple Pay also has new features and one interesting one is ApplePay Later. It seamlessly divides the cost of a product into four easy and interest-free installments.
Apple Maps
The new Apple map will be available in 11 new regions. They are adding stunning details to some of the cities including Las Vegas, Miami, etc.
Multistop Routing is a new feature that allows you to save multiple recent locations. Then there is the Transit feature which allows you to seamlessly use public transport.
More for Sports
Apple is also pushing its efforts toward enhancing the sports experience for its users. So there is a new sports widget on the Lock Screen. Apple News also has a new section called My Sports which curates everything related to your favorite sports.
Family Sharing is Seamless
Family Sharing has some new features including new parental controls for kids. Setting up a new device like an iPad is also seamless with Quick Start now.
Sharing photos with your family is also seamless now with the iCloud Shared Photo Library. It also has a switch right in the camera app and this allows you to share family photos across devices easily.
More Privacy and Safety
Apple is constantly working on privacy and the new feature is Personal Privacy one key feature is Safety Check and it allows you to quickly edit the permissions that you have shared with others.
It helps you manage who you have given permission to and this is important for people who are trying to get out of a toxic relationship.
New Home and CarPlay Apps
The Home app and the CarPlay app also have some new features. Apple has worked with other industry leaders to develop a platform called matter that brings the next level of smart home automation. The Home app has a new design and makes it easy to control your smart home.
CarPlay is a fun app and many people prefer having it on their cars. Apple is working to make CarPlay even better.
It has deeper integration with the hardware of the cars and you now get widgets from the iPhone that can give you information at a glance.
The instrument clusters are also available in a lot of styles on different cars via CarPlay.
The True Depth camera on iPhone uses to enhance the Spatial Audio mode on AirPods.
So now that is all about the new iOS 16.
WatchOS 9
Apple is bringing tons of new features to watchOS 9 including 4 new watch faces. There is the new Astronomy face, a Lunar face. Then there is the Playtime watch face which looks cute and finally, there is the Metropolitan watch face with new color combinations. The Siri interface is also new on the new watchOS 9. Apart from that, there are new features to the Workout app.
There are new and better metrics for running as they are adding three new metrics for optimum running measurement. Then there is also a custom workout that you can add to improve your running.
Apple is also adding a new triathlon mode for better fitness tracking while doing triathlons. The fitness app is now available for all iPhone users.
WatchOS 9 also has better sleep tracking with Sleep Stages that tells you how much time you spent in each sleep stage.
WatchOS now shows the time you showed AFib and shows your AFib history and they are expecting to receive FDA approval soon.
There is a new Medications app with watchOS 9 that allows you to track your medications. The app sends you regular reminders to take your prescription medications. Then you can also share your health data safely with people you want.
iPadOS 16
There are a lot of new features coming to iPadOS 16 from both macOS Ventura and iOS 16. The Weather app is coming to iPad with the new iPadOS.
The new iPadOS has better collaboration options that allow you to collaborate with people you are already working with.
Freeform is a new app that is coming later this year. It is simply a whiteboard great for brainstorming on your iPad. You can bring photos, videos, weblinks, PDFs, etc. on this board. It will be available for all iPhones, Macs, and iPads.
The Game Center also has new updates that make gaming with friends even more exciting.
Desktop-class apps are something Apple is working on to make apps specially optimized for the bigger display of the iPads.
So now, you will get Mac features on iPad apps so that you can truly unlock the potential of your iPad. The toolbars are also customizable on iPads for the first time.
The new iPad Pros and iPad Air have M1 chips and that is why they are going to have new features like scaling the display to use it more efficiently. There is also a Virtual Memory Swap feature on the iPad. Stage Manager is also going to be available for iPads with an M1 chip.
So that was all of the major announcements from Apple WWDC 2022 this year. The developer beta for all the OS is now available and the public beta will be available next month. The stable updates for the OS will be coming up this fall.
The M2 Chip
One of the biggest announcements from Apple WWDC 2022 is the announcement of the new M2 chip. It is the second generation of the M series chip. With the M series of chips, Apple is working towards its commitment to power-efficient performance.
It is based on a new enhanced 5nm process and it has 20 billion transistors. The new M2 chips have a crazy 100GB/s memory bandwidth. This allows the chip to have 24GB of unified memory.
Speaking about the CPU, this one has an 8 Core CPU with 4 high-performance cores and 4 high-efficiency cores. As per Apple, it delivers 18% more performance than M1.
It also has a 10 Core GPU and as per Apple, it has 25% higher performance than M1 at the same power consumption level.
There is a new Secure Enclave and a new Neural Engine that can do 15.8 trillion operations per second. It also has a new Media Engine that supports ProRes.
MacBook Air M2
First Mac to get an M2 chip is the new MacBook Air. We now have a new and redesigned MacBook Air which looks totally stunning with the squared-off edges and 4 stunning color options: Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Sliver.
It has a unibody aluminum enclosure and has the same design as the new MacBook Pros.
MagSafe is back on the new MacBook Air and then there are two Thunderbolt Ports and a headphone jack that supports high impedance headphones.
It has a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display with a brightness of 500Nits and is just 11.3mm thick. The new MacBook Air also has a new 1080p camera in that new notch.
There is a 3-mic array with beamforming technology and four speakers between the keyboard. There is the Magic Keyboard and Force Touch Trackpad on this new MacBook Air.
It has up to 18 hours of video playback. It supports fast charging with a 67 Watt adapter.
M2 will also be coming to the 13-inch MacBook Pro which is a popular laptop from Apple. Although, it does not have any other big upgrades. But it now has 20 hours of video playback.
The new MacBook Air M2 is priced at 1199 and the new MacBook Pro 13-inch with M2 starts at 1299 and they will be available starting next month.
macOS Ventura
The new version of macOS is the macOS Ventura and one of its new features is Stage Manager and which helps in managing multiple opened windows. With the Stage Manager, you can focus on the app you are using without any distractions.
The feature moves other apps to the left side while allowing you to work on the main app. It is just really convenient.
Spotlight also has a big new update as it can now find images from your system and even from the web and do other stuff like starting a timer, creating a shortcut, etc.
Mail app great productivity updates like undo send, scheduled send, follow up suggestions, and remind me. The search in Mail also has new features like it has suggestions, recently used images, etc.
Safari becomes the world’s fastest browser with macOS Ventura as per Apple. There is a new feature called Shared Tab Groups that allows you to share tabs with your friends in real-time.
Apple is introducing Passkeys which is truly going to revolutionize the way you use passwords. Passkeys can be created using your FaceID or TouchID to create Passkeys and since these can’t be phished or hacked as they are not stored on servers, they are the safest.
Now gaming on Mac is not very popular but Apple is now working to push gaming even on Macs. For that, they have introduced MetalFX Upscaling so that developers can create high-quality games for Macs.
The new macOS also brings Universal Control to Facetime so that you can use it on all Mac devices seamlessly.
There is a new feature called Continuity Camera that allows you to use your iPhone camera as a webcam. This truly unlocks next-level video calling capabilities on your Mac. It supports all Center Stage, Portrait Mode, and Studio Light. The iPhone cameras can be used to create a desk view effect without any overhead camera.
The developer beta for all the macOS Ventura is now available and the public beta will be available next month. The stable updates for the macOS Ventura will be coming up this fall.