WWDC 2022: 10 takeaways from Apple event

Apple chief executive Tim Cook briefly appeared onstage at Apple Park in Cupertino to start the Worldwide Developers Conference event. It was followed by pre-recorded presentations with the company’s executives announcing the latest versions of Apple’s operating systems for iPhones , iPads, Mac and Apple Watch. Apple also unveiled two new laptops powered by its latest M2 chips , and announced a line-up of new technology to help its community of more than 30 million developers design and build new apps. This is the third consecutive year the company organised the annual event online (partly in-person this year) since the Covid-19 pandemic upended businesses globally. The National takes a look at 10 new technologies and features unveiled at WWDC on Monday. Apple’s iOS 16 is one of the biggest upgrades in the history of iPhones. Its new sharing, communication and intelligence features "together change the way users experience iPhone". iOS 16 introduces iCloud shared photo library to seamlessly share a collection of photos with family, updates to messages and mail that help users stay in touch with ease and powerful enhancements to various apps. “iOS 16 is a big release with updates that will change the way you experience iPhone,” said Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering. Apple Watch, the world’s largest selling smartwatch, received a new operating system with watchOS 9. It will offer an updated Workout app with advanced metrics, views and training experiences that will help users to improve their workouts. They can use the new "custom workouts" feature to create a structured workout that can include work and rest intervals. New alerts, including pace, power, heart rate and cadence can be added to guide users throughout the workout. The new "medications" app will make it easy for users to manage, understand and track medications. Sleep tracking in watchOS 9 will provide more insights with the introduction of sleep stages. Using signals from the accelerometer and heart rate sensor, Apple Watch can detect when users are in deep sleep. Users can track data in the app and can view more detailed information, such as total time asleep, alongside additional metrics, such as heart rate and respiratory rate, in sleep comparison charts. Apple previewed its latest software for tablets — iPadOS 16 — that comes with various major upgrades. Its new stage manager feature lets users multitask with overlapping windows and full external display support. For the first time on iPad, users can create overlapping windows of different sizes in a single view, drag and drop windows from the side, or open apps to create groups of apps for “faster, more flexible multitasking”, the company said. Users can now edit or recall recently sent messages, recover recently deleted messages and mark conversations as unread so they can come back to them later. They can now begin a SharePlay session through messages, so they can choose a shared activity — such as a movie, TV show, workout or game — and enjoy it together in sync while chatting through messages. “iPad is our most versatile device, and we are excited to take what it can do even further with iPadOS 16,” Mr Federighi said. With the new iOS 16, iPhone’s lock screen will become more personal and user-friendly. The subjects of photos are set in front of the time on the lock screen, creating a sense of depth. Users can also change the look of the date and time with expressive type styles and colour choices. The lock screen will also feature widgets, making it easy to get information immediately, such as coming calendar events, the weather, battery levels, alarms and time zones. Users can also create lock screens using their favourite emoji or colour combinations. They can also track things happening in real time, such as a sports game, workout, ride-share or food delivery order, right from the lock screen. Apple wallets adds a new feature Apple Pay Later. It will let the US users to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees. Users can apply for Apple Pay Later when they are checking out with Apple Pay, or in the wallet. It is available everywhere Apple Pay is accepted online or in-app, using the Mastercard network. Users can also receive detailed receipts and order tracking information in the wallet for Apple Pay purchases with participating merchants. Keys and IDs have an extended support in wallet. Users can use their ID in wallet for apps requiring identity and age verification. To ensure a private and secure experience, only the necessary information required for the transaction will be provided to the app, and the user can review and consent to share it using face ID or touch ID. Users can also securely share their home, hotel, office and car keys in the wallet through messaging apps. Browsing in Safari, Apple’s web browser, has become more secure with passkeys, the “next-generation credentials that are more secure, easy to use, and designed to replace passwords”. Passkeys are unique digital keys that stay on device and are never stored on a web server, so hackers can’t leak them or trick users into sharing them. They make it simple to sign in securely, using the touch ID or the face ID for biometric verification, and iCloud Keychain (password management system developed by Apple) to sync across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV with end-to-end encryption. They will also work across apps and the web, and users can even sign into websites or apps on non-Apple devices using their iPhone. Apple unveiled macOS Ventura, the latest version of the desktop operating system. It comes with various new features, such as "stage manager", which will allow Mac users to stay focused on the task in front of them while seamlessly switching between apps and windows. The "continuity" camera will use iPhone as the webcam on Mac and with "handoff" feature coming to FaceTime, users can start a video call on their iPhone or iPad and frictionlessly pass it over to their Mac. “macOS Ventura includes powerful features and new innovations that help make the Mac experience even better,” Mr Federighi said. “New tools like stage manager make focusing on tasks and moving between apps and windows easier and faster than ever.” Apple’s CarPlay will be able to provide content for several screens within the vehicle, creating an experience that is “unified and consistent”, Apple said. Deeper integration with the vehicle will allow users to do things like tracking the vehicle data, controlling the radio or changing the climate directly from CarPlay. Users will be able to personalise their driving experience by choosing different designs and they will have an instant information about weather and music right on their car’s dashboard. Apple Watch becomes more accessible for people with physical and motor disabilities with mirroring, which helps users control the smartwatch remotely from their paired iPhone. Through this feature, users can drive Apple Watch using iPhone’s assistive features like voice control and switch control. It will allow them to navigate Apple Watch by using their voice, sound actions and head tracking.

WWDC 2022: 10 takeaways from Apple event

The five-day event is being held online this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic