Last night, Apple kicked off its annual developers conference Worldwide Developers Conference which was loaded with software and hardware updates. The conference mostly focuses on developers, but has something to offer for everyone. This year too was no different as there was a plethora of announcements from the Cupertino based giant. Here’s a laydown of what transpired last night.
iOS 16
The major highlight of the night was iOS 16 which will power iPhones around the world. There are quite a few changes that Apple is bringing to the new OS, some of them inspired by Android.
- The lock Screen has been modified for personalization. One can change the lock screen’s design using swipes and taps, including filters, fonts, color accents, and more. Color can be added to widgets.
- Apple has introduced Live Activities which will give a more elegant way to deliver lots of notifications. Notifications will be better organized on the lock screen, just like they are in Android.
- Dictation will work on the device and the users can bounce back and forth between normal typing and voice dictation.
- Various App updates for ios 16 have also been announced.
- iMessage will now allow editing sent messages and support undoing sends and marking threads as unread.
- Apple wallet now comes with Apple Pay Later. You can split a charge into 4 installments with no fees or interest.
- Apple Maps is coming to more countries and coming with new features like multistep directions, integrations with public transport systems, and more.
- Apple’s Family Sharing center allows you to monitor your kids’ phone usage.
- Apple Photos now comes with an iCloud Shared Photo Library System. It will allow you to share a private library of photos with up to 5 other people who can in turn edit and upload their photos.
- Safety Check will allow you to check and alter access you have given to other people.
- Home App has been redesigned to make it look similar to Google Home App.
- Fitness App is available to all iPhone users now, even those who don’t have an apple watch.
Car Play
Apple’s car-based iPhone connection tool is getting more powerful. Apple will make sure Car Play goes live on all the screens in one’s car and works with all one’s vehicle systems. You can control the climate of your car from car play instead of physically doing it in your vehicle. Car Play’s integration is expected by late 2023.
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WatchOS 9
WatchOS 9 comes with 4 new watch faces. The astronomy one is getting revamped and there will be a new lunar face, playtime face, and metropolitan watch face. Users will be able to pin active apps and podcasts search will be available on watchOS 9. Siri’s layout has also been refreshed.
WatchOS 9 comes with updates for fitness and health tracking as well. There are 3 new running metrics that will tell you more about your pace, speed, stride length, ground contact time, heart rate zones, etc. Apple has added a new feature for triathletes that will automatically detect workouts by triathletes when they finish one leg and move on to the next.
Apple is improving A-fib tracking which will track how long you are in this using Apple Watch.
One can now log their medications on the Apple Watch with watchOS 9. This can be managed in the Health app on your iPhone as well. It is useful for those who forget to take their medicines.
Sleek tracking has also got some new tweaks with sleep stages. Borrowing from Fitbit, the sleep app will give you a more well-rounded look at how you go from one type of sleep to another.
M2 Chipsets
Apple’s M2 Processor is now official. It is the next-gen chipset by Apple with a 5nm design and 25 billion transistors. It comes with a 10-core GPU and an 8-core CPU. M2 can handle 24GB of unified memory and will be more power efficient as compared to M2 and other chips. The M2 Chipset comes with a dedicated Neural Engine and it will support 8k video as well. M2 claims an 18% performance boost as compared to M1 while consuming less power than M1.
MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro
Apple has confirmed that a new MacBook Air with an M2 chipset is coming soon. The new Macbook Air comes with MagSafe charging and its display has a notch. It has a 13.6-inch display with a liquid retina display that supports 1 billion colors which means it is a 10-bit display.
Apple is adding a 1080p camera to the MacBook Air along with speakers and mics integrated between the display and keyboard. Touch ID is still present and MacBook Air has a fanless design, all-day battery life, and 18-hour video playback. Users will be able to charge 2 devices at once. Apple is also bringing 67W fast charging to the MacBook Air.
Apple is also launching a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 processor. Apple has confirmed that these two will be available in select Apple Authorized Resellers, next month. The MacBook Air with M2 starts at Rs. 1,19,900 and Rs. 1.09,900 for education. The 512GB storage option will cost Rs. 1,49,900.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 starts at Rs. 1,29,900 and Rs. 1,19,900nfor education. The 512GB model will cost Rs. 1,49,900.
The 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter will be available for Rs. 5800.
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MacOS Ventura
The new version of the MacOS is called Ventura. It comes with a new stage manager which lets users focus on the app they are using without distractions. When activated Stage Manager brings the app you are working on front and center and moves the rest of your apps to the side. Spotlight has gotten more powerful while the Mail has got a bunch of new features. Safari now has shared tabs whereas FaceTime supports Hands-Off. It allows users to use their iPhone camera as a webcam.
IPadOS 16
The weather app is coming to iPadOS 16. Weather Kit will allow developers to build weather into their apps. Collaborate is expected to be an interesting feature and users will be able to share a document, spreadsheet, etc with a select group. There will be customizable toolbars, the ability to change extensions in a file folders, navigation buttons in files apps, find and merge contacts, create lists in contacts, undo/redo options, and more.
IPadOS 16 will help users to rely on virtual memory swaps. This will allow them to rely on iPad storage as extra RAM for apps that need it. Stage Manager is also coming to iPadOS 16.
So, this is all about what transpired last night during the WWDC 2022. Which new update excited you the most? Let us know in the comments section below.
