Last Monday, Apple broadcast a keynote to mark the launch of WWDC 2022. This Apple Event traditionally announces new software products from the Californian giant. But it is not uncommon to also see the manufacturer presenting new products there. And this year, we were indeed treated to a mixture of the two:software and hardware announcements. We were able to see some new features of iOS 16, but also of iPadOS 16 or even macOS Ventura and watchOS 9. But we also saw new MacBook Air and Pro during this keynotemore than 90 minutes!
After a few days of reflection and hindsight, we have all the weapons in hand to highlight the 5 most notable announcements of the presentation, in our opinion. This will simplify your task if you were unable to attend the event and ifour summary still seems too long to you, to understand what the future will look like (in the short term at least) at Apple, both in software terms and in hardware terms.
iOS 16: heading for the locked screen and the iPhone 14
The new version 16 of the iPhone OS was presented with great fanfare, as at every WWDC. It will arrive in the fall with a big batch of new products. The changes concern several aspects of the system, with a concentration all the same on a particular point of iOS,the locked screen. Apple is indeed focusing on the customization of the latter in iOS 16, with several specificities. The typography can be modified to display the time and day differently. But the wallpaper can also be changed. Notifications will be much more discreet, they will appear at the bottom.
© Apple
In addition, special widgets will appear, including a Live Activities widget, updating in real time. The latter will be able to display a timer, an audio player, monitoring of a football match, etc.
© Apple
All this leaves no doubt that the iPhone 14 will arrive with an expected feature: thepossibility of leaving the screen always on. Thus, we could see on the mobile screen this information and customizations of the home screen permitted by iOS 16.
Apple Pay is transforming: when will Apple Bank?
During the presentation, Apple quickly covered two new features regarding Apple Pay. And yet, in our opinion, these are functionalitiesrevolutionariesin terms of payment via the iPhone. The first is “Tap to Pay”. Apple had already talked about it last February. This is the possibility of transforming the iPhone into a payment terminal and thus letting anyone pay us for an item or service via Apple Pay or even via a simple bank card compatible with contactless payment. Tap to Pay will therefore be available with iOS 16.
© Adyen / Apple
The other big change is “Pay Later”. This is the ability for any buyer to split an Apple Pay payment into4 times, free. This feature will be available wherever Apple Pay is available!
With Tap to Pay and Pay Later, Apple is hitting hard in the field of contactless payment. We can clearly see the bases, with Apple Card, of a potential future Apple Bank, or in any case of a banking service provided completely independently by Apple (Apple Card still depends on the Goldman Sachs bank).
CarPlay: discreet, but with enormous potential
On the subject of CarPlay, Apple also moved quite quickly during its conference. However, the new generation of Apple's car system underliesdrastic changes described in our columns. Its arrival will certainly not happen immediately (target 2023), but it reflects the effort that Apple is making in the field of software for cars.
© Apple
Seeing the beginnings of an Apple Car there would be a crude shortcut. Still, CarPlay seemed dormant in recent years. With this greatly refreshed version coming in a few months, the firm will want to confirmits status as a major player in the so-called automotive infotainment market(offer the driver both information about the car and solutions for in-cabin entertainment, music, radio, etc.).
iPadOS 16, even closer to macOS?
As for iPadOS 16, the most notable new feature in our opinion and which was seen during the keynote was Stage Manager. This new feature makes it easier to tidy up application windows. Apple thus aims to improve multitasking on iPad, which still fails under iPadOS 15. Furthermore, the new feature will also be present under macOS Ventura…
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Otherwise, developers will be able to more easily customize the menus in iPadOS applications, to make them more comprehensive, better designed for use of the tablet with a mouse.
It's getting harder and harder not to imaginea merger one day between macOS and iPadOS. From year to year, applications and functionalities are increasingly shared between the two systems.
Apple silicon M2: a gentle evolution
Finally, as announced by various rumors in recent months, Apple presented thesecond generation of its Apple silicon chips, with the M2 as the figurehead. This new SoC is also equipping new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13″.
© Apple
We must wait for the first benchmarks and feedback from testers to realize the improvements in performance and autonomy of this M2 compared to the M1. But from what we can already say, it is a priori arather minor improvement. The M1 Pro, Max and Ultra will likely dominate the M2. This suggests adiagram of the smooth evolution of generations of Apple silicon components, like the Ax chips on iPhone. We should therefore not expect a slap from one generation to the next.
In any case, we can't wait to discover in practice what the M2 has in its belly. Because, and this is not a detail, while a new MacBook Air M2 appeared in the range, the MacBook Air M1 remained present. Potential buyers will obviously want to know which of the two machines has the best quality-price ratio.
And you, what was the most notable announcement from this last keynote?
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