New Apple product launches at June WWDC event: iOS 16, M2 MacBook Air, and more

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference will take place on June 6th at 10:30 PM IST. The event will also be virtual and free for all developers, and it will be held from Apple Park in Cupertino. Traditionally, the event was focused on developers, but in recent years, Apple has announced its new software and hardware at the WWDC events. The WWDC 2022 starts on June 6th and ends on June 10th.

This year is no exception, as the company is said to announce its latest iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and WatchOS updates alongside a possible redesigned Macbook Air with an M2 chip. Here’s how you can watch the event and what you can expect from Apple WWDC 2022.

How to watch the Apple WWDC 2022 event 

Apple WWDC 2022 will be broadcasted from Apple Park, streamed live on Apple’s website, Apple Developer app, Apple TV app, and Apple’s official YouTube channel.

iOS 16

Apple will unveil its iOS 16 update for the iPhone at the WWDC 2022 event. The Cupertino giant has announced iOS 16 features, which include: Watch Mirroring, Quick Actions, Live captions, door detection and more.

Apple Watch Mirroring: The feature makes Apple Watch more accessible for people with physical and motor disabilities, allowing the user to control the Watch with Voice Control and Switch Control features on the iPhone. It uses a hardware and software combination, including advances built on AirPlay.

Apple Watch Quick Actions: The feature uses the AssistiveTouch mechanism on Apple Watch, allowing the user to control the Apple Watch with a gesture like a pinch or a clench. Users can answer or end a call, dismiss a notification, take a photo, play or pause the media, start, pause or resume a workout with a double-pinch gesture. 

Live Caption: The feature is tailored for hearing-impaired people. With the Live Caption feature, the audio content is captioned in real-time available while having FaceTime calls or social media video apps and even while conversing with someone next to the user. 

Door Detection: The door Detection feature is meant for people suffering from vision disabilities. It helps a user locate a door by showing how far they are from a door and also indicates whether the door is open or close. It’ll tell you whether you’ve to push the door, knob or pull the handle. The feature also read the signs and symbols around the door. 

Other features include Apple Books, Sound Recognition, Voice Control Spelling Mode, Siri Pause Time, Voice Over, and Buddy Controller.

iPadOS 16

With the new iPadOS 16, an upgrade to the iPad’s multitasking interface is expected to make multitasking on the iPad even easier. Floating apps and windows, similar to macOS, are expected to be included in the update. iPadOS 16 could bring Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Xcode to the iPad. Like iOS 16, iPadOS 16 will include updated Apple app icons, Apple Maps, Weather, and support for interactive widgets.

macOS 13

The internal codename for the forthcoming macOS 13 release is Rome, but Apple will call it macOS Mammoth. The new macOS 13 is expected to include redesigned notifications in terms of enhancements. According to reports, Apple will allow users to place widgets wherever on the home screen. Improvements are also expected in Universal Control, which was just introduced for the Mac and iPad.

WatchOS 9

The watchOS 9 could come with major upgrades to activity and health tracking. Apple is said to bring a new power reserve mode to the Apple Watch, which will cut down the battery consumption of the apps and features. The watch OS 9 will also bring new types of workout modes.

M2-powered MacBook Air 

According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple could reveal a redesigned MacBook Air at the WWDC 2022 event. Further, he suggests that a new MacBook Air model with an M2 chip could debut this year at the WWDC 2022 event. However, supply chain issues in China might have complicated the launch timeline. 

Gurman says that developers have hinted that Apple staff are increasingly employing next-generation MacBook Airs, which signifies that the new Mac is close. Previously, the company was testing nine new Macs with four different M2 chip variants. 

Apple AR/VR headset

Earlier this year, the App source code revealed references to’realityOS’ as ‘rOS,’ an acronym for realityOS. A trademark file for realityOS, allegedly the name of the operating system for the impending AR/VR headset, has been spotted a week ahead of the WWDC. One of the trademarks for ‘realityOS’ appeared with a foreign filing deadline of June 8th 2022, two days after the WWDC 2022 keynote event.