Apple today at WWDC 2022 announced the next-generation MacBook Air with the all-new M2 chip, a redesigned unibody enclosure, a brighter display with a notch, new color options like Starlight and Midnight, MagSafe charging, a 1080p camera, and more.
The new MacBook Air looks similar to the latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. The notebook features a slightly larger 13.6-inch display with up to 500 nits of brightness, a fanless design, a MagSafe connector and two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the left side, a headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones, four speakers, three microphones, and more. The notebook is 11.3mm thick and weighs 2.7 pounds.
With an M2 chip, the new MacBook Air is available with an 8-core GPU and up to a 10-core GPU. The notebook can be configured with up to 2TB of SSD storage, along with up to 24GB of unified memory. Apple says the new MacBook Air achieves up to 18 hours of battery life.
The new MacBook Air is equipped with a Magic Keyboard that includes full-size function keys and a Touch ID button for fingerprint authentication.
The new MacBook Air will be available next month, but no specific date was provided during Apple's keynote. Pricing will start at $1,199 in the United States, with all color options including Silver, Space Gray, Midnight, and Starlight. The previous-generation MacBook Air with the M1 chip will remain available for $999, according to Apple.
watchOS 9 has officially dropped support for the Apple Watch Series 3, as it will only be compatible with the Apple Watch Series 4 and later.
watchOS 9 includes several refinements to the Workout app, sleep tracking, and new and updated watch faces. watchOS 9 developer beta will be available later today and for public beta testers in July.
Apple today announced the M2 chip, the second-generation Apple silicon chip for the Mac, offering improved efficiency and performance, as well as support for up to 24GB of memory.
M2 is built using second-generation 5nm technology with 20 billion transistors, 25 percent more than the M1 chip. M2 features a 18 percent faster CPU, a 35 percent more powerful GPU, and a 40 percent faster Neural Engine compared to the M1 chip.
The M2 supports up to 24GB of LPDDR5 unified memory and features four performance and four efficiency cores. The chip supports 100GB/s of unified memory bandwidth, up 50 percent from the M1.
Apple says the M2 is significantly faster at lower power usage levels than the competition. The M2 offers 18 percent greater performance at the same wattage and has up to a 10-core GPU, with two more cores available over the M1 chip. The M2 delivers 87 percent of the peak performance of a 12-core PC laptop chip with just one-quarter of the power usage.
M2 also includes an improved media engine with a higher-bandwidth video decoder, supporting 8K H.264 and HEVC video, a ProRes video engine to playback multiple streams of 4K and 8K video, Apple's latest Secure Enclave for enhanced security, and a new image signal processor (ISP) that delivers better image noise reduction.
Apple's newly announced iOS 16 operating system is compatible with many of the iPhones that are able to run iOS 15, but it does drop support for some older devices, including the iPhone SE, the iPhone 6s, the iPhone 6s Plus, the iPod touch, and the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
According to Apple, iOS 16 will be available only on the iPhone 8 and later, with a full compatibility list below:
Apple today announced watchOS 9 for the Apple Watch, which will include more watch face options with more in-depth customization options, updates to notifications, new features in the Workout app, and more.
Similar to iOS 16's new lock screen, the new watch faces in watchOS 9 let users personally style each face. There are four new faces: Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy; classic watch faces have been updated as well to showcase enhanced depth effects of watchOS 9.
In regards to specific apps, the Workout app has been updated with more detailed metrics for measuring performance and a new training experience to help you reach your fitness goals. You can see different Workout Views by rotating the Digital Crown, changing between different training styles during a workout.
Heart Rate Zones help monitor the intensity of a workout, and Custom Workouts allow for work and rest intervals throughout a workout. Additionally, new alerts include pace, power, heart rate, cadence, and more, can be added to guide you through the workout.
Runners will be able to track metrics like stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation. These appear in the Fitness app summary and in the Health app, allowing runners to track trends over time and learn from their patterns.
Frequently used routes allow runners to race against their own ghost times, including their best or last results, and receive alerts during the run for being ahead or behind their ghost. Lastly, there are a few updates to swimming workouts, like kickboard detection as a new stroke type.
Apple Watch will now be able to track more sleep insights with the new sleep stages feature. Using signals from the accelerometer and heart rate sensor, watchOS 9 can detect when users are in REM, Core, or Deep sleep. All of these stats will be available in the Sleep app upon waking up.
Anyone diagnosed with AFib can use the new AFib History feature in watchOS 9 to access important information. This includes an estimate of how frequently a user's heart rhythm shows signs of AFib, and more, and this feature has been cleared by the FDA.
Next, there's a new Medications experience on watchOS 9 and iOS 16 that can track a user's medications, vitamins, and supplements. They can create a medications list, set up schedules and reminders, and view information on their meds in the Health app.
The Health app tracks all of the medications, and can even alert users if it sees potential critical interactions between two meds that were added (for people in the United States). Otherwise, it'll let users create schedules to remind themselves to take their meds.
Other watchOS 9 updates:
Notifications have been redesigned to be less interruptive, similar to iOS 16.
Family Setup now supports the Home app, letting kids be invited to control Home accessories.
Quick Actions let users do even more with a double-pinch gesture, like ending a phone call or taking a photo.
Apple Watch Mirroring helps users with physical and motor disabilities control Apple Watch via iPhone.
QWERTY keyboard adds support for French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Mexico, Spain, Latin America).
Redesigned Dock features apps that are actively in use ahead of others.
Reminders app lets users add or edit key details like dates and time.
Calendar app lets users create new events directly on Apple Watch.
Cardio Recovery tracks cardiovascular health after walks and runs.
watchOS 9 is now available as a developer beta to Apple Developer Program members, and a public beta will arrive next month. It'll launch to the public this fall as a free software update for Apple Watch Series 4 or later, paired with iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (second-gen) or later, running iOS 16.
As part of its iOS 16 presentation at WWDC today, Apple unveiled an all-new Lock Screen for iPhones that provides users with a wealth of customization options, including the ability to add widgets.
In iOS 16, you can now edit and switch between different styles for your Lock Screen, with the option of applying filters to photos. With a new multilayered effect, the subjects of photos are set in front of the time on the Lock Screen, creating a sense of depth. You can also change the look of the date and time with expressive type styles and color choices.
You can also add custom widgets to the Lock Screen, similar to complications on Apple Watch. Available system widgets include battery levels, alarms, time zones, Activity ring progress, and more.
A new Lock Screen gallery features a range of options for inspiration, such as Apple collections, which include Pride and Unity to celebrate special cultural moments, a Weather wallpaper to see live weather conditions as they change throughout the day, and an Astronomy wallpaper for views of the Earth, moon, and solar system.
Apple is also bringing Focus modes to the Lock Screen, allowing your iPhone to display a different Lock Screen depending on what you're doing.
Meanwhile, Live Activities is a new feature that helps users stay on top of things that are happening in real time, such as a sports game, workout, ride-share, or food delivery order, right from the Lock Screen
Developers will also be able to tap into the new Lock Screen features using a new WidgetKit system. The developer preview of iOS 16 is available to Apple Developer Program members starting today, and a public beta will be available to iOS users next month.
Apple today at WWDC 2022 announced the "next generation" of CarPlay, which will support multiple displays within a vehicle, offer built-in climate controls for adjusting the temperature of the A/C or heat within the CarPlay interface, and more.
The next-generation CarPlay experience will be able to provide content across multiple screens within a vehicle, and deeper integration with a vehicle's hardware will allow users to control the radio, adjust climate controls, and more directly within CarPlay. Apple said the new version of CarPlay will also seamlessly display a vehicle's speedometer, fuel level, temperature, and more on the instrument cluster.
Apple added that CarPlay users will be able to personalize their driving experience by choosing different gauge cluster designs, and widgets will provide at-a-glance information from the Weather and Music apps right on a vehicle's dashboard.
Apple said the first vehicles to support the new CarPlay experience will be announced in late 2023, with committed automakers including Ford, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti, Honda, Acura, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi, Nissan, Volvo, Porsche, and more. Apple said it will share more information about the new CarPlay experience in the future.
Introduced in 2014, CarPlay is Apple's in-vehicle software platform that can be accessed through a vehicle's infotainment system when an iPhone is connected to the vehicle with a Lightning cable or wirelessly in vehicles that support wireless CarPlay.
During WWDC 2022, Apple today announced new features and improvements to Family Sharing, including a long-awaited feature that lets families easily share photos and videos in the Shared Library.
As part of iOS 16, Apple is making it easier for parents to manage their kids' accounts, including adjusting age-appropriate restrictions and quick setup. With Quick Setup, simply put a new device near your iPhone to quickly and easily set up a new device for kids.
The biggest addition to Family Sharing in iOS 16 is iCloud Shared Photo Library, which gives families a new way to easily share photos and videos. In the Share Library, all edits, additions, and deletes are synced across all devices.
A user can also choose to send photos to the Shared Library automatically using a new toggle in the Camera app. Additionally, users will receive intelligent suggestions to share a photo that includes participants in the Shared Photo Library. Every user in the Shared Photo Library has access to add, delete, edit, or favorite the shared photos or videos, which will appear in each user's Memories and Featured Photos so that everyone can relive more complete family moments.
Apple today announced that the Messages app on iOS 16 has been significantly enhanced with several new features.
Most notably, iOS 16 introduces the ability to edit or unsend recently sent iMessages, as well as mark iMessage conversations as unread after opening them. These features will bring iMessage more in line with third-party messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram.
To edit or unsend a message, users simply need to tap and hold on a bubble and select the option. Apple says users can edit or unsend a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it, or recover recently deleted messages for up to 30 days after deletion.
Apple also announced that SharePlay is coming directly to the Messages app. This functionality will allow SharePlay to be initiated in the Messages app, allowing you to watch a TV show or movie while you are messaging a friend, for example.
Apple today previewed iOS 16, the company's next major update for the iPhone, featuring a redesigned, customizable Lock Screen, improvements to Messages, Maps, and Home, new sharing and personalization capabilities, and more.
Lock Screen, Notifications, and Focus
An all-new, fully customizable Lock Screen allows users to edit a large number of design elements, including type styles and colors, for a more personalized look. The new Lock Screen includes a row of widgets and Apple says that there are millions of possible design combinations. Users can create multiple Lock Screens and switch between them easily by swiping.
Notifications now roll up from the bottom of the screen and can easily be hidden, ensuring users have a clear view of their personalized Lock Screen. Live Activities make it easier to keep track of events in real-time directly from the Lock Screen, such as when playing music or working out.
Focus modes have been refined in iOS 16, now allowing users to tie Focus modes to a specific customized Lock Screen. Focuses can also be activated by swiping between different dedicated Lock Screens. Focus filters allow users to filter out distracting content inside apps, such as tab groups in Safari, events in Calendar, or conversations in Messages.
Messages
Messages now includes the ability to edit and delete sent messages, and mark messages as unread. SharePlay sessions can be activated directly from the Messages app, while a new Shared With You API enables developers to integrate shared experiences directly into their apps.
Dictation, Siri, and Live Text
A new dictation experience keeps the keyboard open when speaking, allowing users to use a combination of speech and typing in real-time. Dictation also now automatically adds punctuation and emojis to messages, including via Siri. A new App Intents API allows Siri Shortcuts to start working with no setup.
Live Text expands to video in iOS 16, allowing users to select text in playing video. New quick actions in selected Live Text can provide relevant activities such as currency conversion, and users can translate text directly in the camera view. There are improvements to Visual Lookup, and touching and holding on to the subject of an image allows users to pull out subjects and drag them elsewhere.
Apple Pay and Wallet App
The Wallet app now allows users to share keys via a message. Apple Pay Later is a new service that allows users to pay for purchases in four installments over six weeks with zero interest and no fees. Apple Pay Later is available with every Apple Pay purchase.
Apple Pay Order Tracking makes it easier for users to keep track of purchases from retailers like Shopify and receive receipts.
Maps
Enhanced Apple Maps are expanding to many more countries and cities around the world. Multistop routing allows users to plan up to fifteen stops ahead of time. Users can plan a trip on Mac and send it to iPhone, and also add stops to a journey using Siri. Transit allows users to see the cost of a journey, and transit cards can be integrated more closely in Wallet, with the ability to see when balance is low.
Sports
The Apple TV app can now display information about sports games via Live Activities. Apple News allows users to follow their favorite teams and leagues for a dedicated view. The new sports features are available in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia.
Family Sharing
Family Sharing includes easier ways to manage accounts for kids, including quicker ways to set age-appropriate restrictions and setup new devices. There is a simpler device setup experience with parental controls with Quick Start, Screen Time requests in Messages, and Family Checklist feature that allows users to be reminded about reviewing parental controls, and more.
iCloud Shared Photo Library allows up to six family members to contribute to an additional iCloud Photos Library. A switch directly in the Camera app can share new photos directly to the shared family library, and intelligent sharing suggestions make it easy to automatically add new photos based on specific criteria. All members have equal permissions and photos will appear in everyone's memories and widgets.
Safety Check
iOS 16 includes new privacy and safety features. Safety Check is a new section in Settings to review and edit any access granted to other users, providing a way to manage and revoke access quickly, reset privacy permissions, protect access to messages, and stop sharing location data.
Home App
The Home app is completely redesigned in iOS 16, featuring a new main tab view to see the entire home in one place. There are new dedicated categories along the top for climate, security, and more, while large, distinctive tiles ensure that accessories are more recognizable.
iOS 16 also brings underlying improvements to the Home app to make it more reliable, and supports the Matter standard. The new Home app is available across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Other Features
iOS 16 also includes improvements to Spatial Audio with AirPods, allowing users to use the TrueDepth camera on iPhone to create a more precise listening experience, QuickNote on the iPhone for the first time, new Mail features, Rapid Security Response, the Fitness app on the iPhone with no need for an Apple Watch, Spotlight in the dock, additional Memoji customizations, and more.
Availability
The first beta version of iOS 16 is available to developers today, while the public beta will be available in July. iOS 16 is supported on the iPhone 8 and newer.
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
We're expecting to see a number of announcements, including iOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16, though it's unclear what else we'll be seeing at the event.
A redesigned MacBook Air tops the list of potential new hardware, but supply chain issues have raised uncertainty about whether it's ready to go. Apple's online store is currently down in advance of the keynote for the first time since 2017, potentially hinting that we may indeed see some new hardware today.
Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV and Developer apps across its platforms. We will also be updating this article with live blog coverage and issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the keynote unfolds. Highlights from the event and separate news stories regarding today's announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.
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Ahead of WWDC 2022, Apple has received regulatory clearance from the FDA for a new atrial fibrillation history feature that is likely for the Apple Watch, according to a 510(k) filing spotted by MyHealthyApple, a website dedicated to wearable devices.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in April reported that Apple was planning to improve the Apple Watch's existing atrial fibrillation detection feature in the ECG app with a new capability to measure how long a person is in a state of atrial fibrillation across a certain period, known as a "burden." Gurman had said the feature could debut as part of watchOS 9, which is expected to be announced today during Apple's opening keynote at WWDC 2022.
The ECG app is available on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer, excluding the Apple Watch SE. The app records an electrocardiogram to see if the upper and lower chambers of your heart are in rhythm, according to Apple. An irregular rhythm could be atrial fibrillation (AFib).
Apple's keynote begins at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with other announcements expected to include iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, tvOS 16, and possibly some new hardware, with rumors suggesting that a redesigned MacBook Air could be unveiled. Stay tuned to MacRumors.com for complete coverage of WWDC and follow @MacRumorsLive on Twitter.
Apple's online storefront has gone down ahead of the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote event, which is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
It has been several years since Apple released new hardware at WWDC, but the fact that the store is down suggests that we may be seeing some new devices today. Apple routinely closes the online store in the hours leading up to special events where new products are expected.
This is the first time that Apple's online store has gone down ahead of WWDC since 2017, when several hardware refreshes were announced for the iPad Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac. WWDC 2017 also saw Apple preview the iMac Pro and the original HomePod, which did not launch until December 2017 and February 2018, respectively.
Rumors have suggested that Apple could unveil the new 2022 MacBook Air at WWDC, with the device expected to feature a redesigned chassis that's more MacBook-like with no taper, several new iMac-like color options, white bezels, a white keyboard, and possibly, a faster M2 chip.
MacRumors.com will be offering news coverage and a live accounting of the WWDC keynote. Twitter users can also follow @MacRumorsLive for live updates.
Apple's WWDC 2022 begins today, with the event kicking off at 10:00 am Pacific Time via the traditional opening keynote. We know that some MacRumors readers who can't follow the event as it's being broadcast are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until the event video is available for on-demand viewing so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.
For those individuals, we've posted this news story, which will be updated with a direct link to the presentation once it becomes available from Apple. No other news stories or announcements will be displayed alongside this story.
Apple's recent virtual events have been made available to view almost immediately following the conclusion of the broadcasts, and we expect similar timing for today's event.
Users waiting for the video to be posted are welcome to gather in the thread associated with this news story, and we ask that those who follow the events as they occur refrain from making any posts about Apple's announcements in this thread.
Just one day ahead of WWDC 2022, the all-new Apple Developer Center has opened, with developers able to receive a brief tour of the first floor.
A room in the Apple Developer Center via Paul Hudson
Located next to the Apple Park campus, Apple describes the Developer Center as a "world-class facility designed for our community to meet, collaborate with, and learn from our engineers, designers, and experts." The center includes dedicated developer lab areas, pods, briefing centers, a state-of-the-art studio/theater, and more.
Paul Hudson of Hacking with Swift visited the Apple Developer Center and shared some photos on Twitter. Notably, he revealed that all of the meeting room names in the Developer Center are named after macOS releases, such as Panther, Leopard, Tiger, and El Capitan. The studio space with a stage and seating is likewise named Big Sur.
According to Apple's schedule, the Developer Center will remain open until 6 p.m. Pacific Time today, and it will be open again starting at 7 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow. Only those who were invited to WWDC 2022 can attend the open houses.
WWDC 2022 will be held online from June 6 through June 10, with sessions and other content to be made available on Apple's website and in the Apple Developer app free of charge. During the opening keynote, Apple is expected to announce its latest software platforms, including iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16, and there is always a chance of a hardware announcement or two at the event.
Apple has been forced to delay the launch of its long-rumored AR/VR headset until next year due to thermal issues related to computing power with the processor, according to a new report from The New York Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Apple headset render created by Ian Zelbo based on The Information reporting
Apple hired an engineer from Dolby Technologies, Mike Rockwell, and tasked him with leading the [AR/VR] effort. His early efforts to create an augmented-reality product were hobbled by weak computing power, two people familiar with the project said. Continuing challenges with its battery power have forced Apple to postpone its release until next year, those people said.
Multiple reports in the last several months have indicated that the headset would not launch this year, despite speculation Apple could announce it during WWDC that starts on Monday. Bloomberg'sMark Gurmanreported in January that the headset faced a potential delay until 2023 due to development issues related to performance and thermals.
Apple's board has reportedly received a demo of the mixed-reality headset, indicating that despite reports of development issues, the headset is nearing completion. While Apple is highly unlikely to announce the headset on Monday during WWDC, it will announce iOS 16 and new tools for developers to create hands-free experiences and expanded use cases of Shortcuts and QR codes, according to the report.
It's that time of year again as the calendar flips over to June! Apple's developer conference kicks off on Monday and we've seen a flurry of last-minute rumors even as much of what to expect remains a mystery.
This week saw rumors about some of the changes coming in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, while we also heard details about the iPhone 14 lineup we're not expecting to see until the usual September timeframe, so read on below for all the details from the week leading up to WWDC!
What to Expect at WWDC 2022: iOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9 and Possibly New Macs
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple has aimed to announce a new MacBook Air with an M2 chip at WWDC this year, but the unveil could be pushed back due to lockdowns in China affecting production. On the other hand, Gurman believes that a full-scale presentation of Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset is unlikely at the event.
iOS 16 Lock Screen Enhancements, Redesigned Mac Apps, and More Expected at WWDC
One of the built-in apps that will receive a redesign on macOS 13 will reportedly be System Preferences, which is expected to receive an overhaul that will make it more similar to the Settings app on the iPhone and iPad.
Apple Aiming to Make iPad More Mac-Like With iPadOS 16 Multitasking Changes
The multitasking improvements should allow for a more Mac-like experience on the iPad, which is something that many power users have been asking for. However, the extent of the changes remains to be seen.
Apple's WWDC 2022 Event Page Features Animated AR Trading Cards
Apple this week added WWDC 2022 to its events website, and if you visit the page on an iPhone or iPad, there is a fun augmented reality easter egg.
An always-on display mode could result in iPhone 14 Pro models persistently displaying glanceable information, such as the time, with the refresh rate dropping down to as low as 1Hz to preserve battery life.
iPhone 14 Lineup Expected to Start With Increased 6GB RAM
All four iPhone 14 models launching later this year will be equipped with 6GB of RAM, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce.
TrendForce also said iPhone 14 Pro models will be upgraded to a faster and more power efficient type of RAM known as LPDDR5, while the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max models are expected to stick with LPDDR4X like the iPhone 13 lineup.
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Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
The upcoming 2022 MacBook Air is not expected to come in a range of colors similar to the 24-inch iMac, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a tweet, Gurman says that the MacBook Air is likely to come in the standard space gray, silver, and gold colors, similar to prior models.
Reports of multiple color options are likely "exaggerated," according to Gurman, who says he is not expecting much more than the typical MacBook Air colors, but the gold color could be more of a champagne. He also says that it will be available in his "favorite iMac color," a shade of blue.
The much-reported idea of the new MacBook Air coming in a range of “several colors” is probably exaggerated. Right now it comes in space gray, silver and gold. I wouldn’t expect more than those colors (though the new gold will be more champagne like) plus my favorite iMac color. pic.twitter.com/vYl56FOikg
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 3, 2022
Rumors have indicated that the MacBook Air will feature off-white bezels and an off-white keyboard, drawing similarities to the 24-inch iMac and fueling expectations of a wider range of colors. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuoin March said the next MacBook Air would feature "more color options" but he did not provide specific details, and there have been no concrete rumors on color options.
The upcoming MacBook Air is expected to feature a redesigned chassis that's similar to the MacBook Pro, doing away with the tapered design. It is not yet clear if it will have a notch, but it seems to be a possibility.
Some rumors have suggested the MacBook Air will have a next-generation M2 chip, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that it will continue to use an M1 chip, with Apple instead offering the new design as the main selling point.
The MacBook Air could be unveiled as soon as next Monday, as Gurman has said that Apple might introduce it at the Worldwide Developers Conference. For more on what to expect from the WWDC keynote, we have a dedicated guide that outlines all of the rumors we've heard so far.
