6 Biggest Announcements From the Apple WWDC 2022 Event

On June 6, Apple held the WWDC 2022 event, its annual conference for developers set to take place from June 6 to June 10. Traditionally, the first day of the presentation was held online. Apple unveiled a bunch of products, including upgraded MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, as well as new software – iOS 16, watchOS 9, macOS Ventura, and more. In this article, we have collected the key announcements made by Apple.

1. iOS 16

One of the most anticipated novelties from this year's event was the new operating system for the iPhone. iOS 16 features a major upgrade to the lock screen – you can now customize it by creating and saving several lock screen designs and switching between them in a couple of swipes. You can also add new widgets for weather, calendar events, custom wallpapers, and more. Hideable notifications on the lock screen will now appear at the bottom of the screen.

The company has also updated iMessage. You can now edit a sent message and even cancel its sending. Users will also be able to mark messages as unread.

There is also an update for photos that are stored in iCloud – they can now be shared by creating special folders with shared access. Everyone who has access to them will be able to edit and view photos stored in these folders.

2. M2 chip

According to the company, the M2 CPU is 18% faster than that of the M1, while the GPU is 35% faster, so expect better, faster, and more efficient computing.

The first laptops to run the M2 will be the upgraded MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

3. Upgraded MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M2

Both are powered by the new M2 processor. The MacBook Air gets a 13.6-inch display with rounded corners and a MagSafe charger with two USB-C ports. It is available in four colors: silver, starlight, space grey, and midnight.

The new MacBook Pro retains the design of the previous model with the M1 chip. It comes with up to 24GB of RAM, up to 2TB of storage, and Apple guarantees 20 hours of battery life with video playback.

The new MacBook Air will be available in July at prices starting at $1,199, and the MacBook Pro will be available in July as well at prices starting at $1,299.

4. macOS Ventura

The new version of macOS has received a minimum of changes. The most interesting one is the improved Stage Manager multitasking tool that moves small versions of your open apps off to one side, leaving only the active app on the desktop.

The updated Spotlight feature also allows you to search photos in your library as well as text within messages. Apple has improved email search as well, including a fuller preview as well as instant suggestions.

Another interesting feature of macOS is that now you can use your iPhone as a webcam for video calls using a special clip.

5. iPadOS 16

The new operating system got the Weather app, and Apple also improved multitasking features with Stage Manager. In addition, Apple has improved the collaboration feature, allowing you to work with colleagues within office apps.

6. watchOS 9

The company has added a bunch of new health-tracking features to its watchOS. Now it tracks the user's heart rate even more carefully, recording the signs of atrial fibrillation. Other features include new running metrics and medication reminders. watchOS 9 also adds four new watch faces.

New versions of Apple's operating systems will be available to users this fall. Public beta testing will begin in July.