At its Worldwide Developers Conference , Apple released an update to the iPhone operating system, revealed the buy now, pay later service, and introduced the MacBook Air with the latest M2 chip.
The company displayed the dashboard of the new car, which comes within a range of new car models, including Ford and Jaguar models. The iPhone maker also rolled out a slew of features for collaboration and data safety.
The company announced iOS 16, and the update provides a completely revamped and customizable lock screen interface. This allows you to add custom backgrounds, change the font and color of the date and time, as well as add new weather widgets, activity loops, calendar events, and more. The company is also working on sending updates to notifications and the Focus feature.
iOS 16 offers Live Activities that let you pin and manage notifications, such as live sports scores, from the lock screen. The company also offers hidden notifications that appear at the bottom of the lock screen.
And with iOS 16, you have the ability to edit any messages you send in the Messages app, as well as undo any messages you sent by mistake.
Apple also offers the ability to mark a message as unread so you can easily find it later.
Apple enters the field of “buy now, pay later”
Apple is now entering into a buy now, pay later trend that lets you make a purchase and pay it through a range of instalments. The new Pay Later feature is available in Apple Pay with iOS 16. It allows you to pay the price in four installments over six weeks, without any additional fees.
Apple announced a major update to its CarPlay platform that allows for deeper integration with your car, as it can replace instrument clusters such as displaying speed, trip information, fuel and battery levels, and more.
The company’s new WatchOS 9 brings new watch faces, new gauges for workouts, and new workout heart rate zones. Updating the operating system also helps users create a medication list and remind them to take medication.
It is also expected to receive FDA clearance for the atrial fibrillation health benefit soon.
The company is bringing the fitness app to all iPhone users, after it was previously available to those who only had an Apple Watch.
The most important announcements at the developer conference
Apple overhauled its Home app, allowing for more efficiency while managing devices within your smart home. The update introduces new categories specifically for Climate, Lights, and Security. It also allows you to view four security cameras simultaneously.
IPadOS 16 includes a Free Form productivity app, which allows users to share ideas in video meetings via FaceTime.
The iPad Pro is now able to display groups of apps on a secondary screen, allowing for increased productivity in an effort to make iPad apps more like desktop apps.
Apple has also beefed up security features with the new iOS platform. It launched a Safety Check in the Settings app that lets users revoke access to personal data such as the location they shared with other users.
Users can also sign out of iCloud accounts across other devices for added security from the Security Checkup page.
And the new macOS, called Ventura, gets Mail app updates, camera software updates, and improved productivity features. Apple is bringing to macOS 13 Ventura an improved multitasking tool called Stage Manager.
And macOS 13 Ventura adds support for something called Apple Passkeys in Safari. This new feature replaces your password, allowing you to log into different websites using just your iPhone or Mac.
You will soon no longer have to rely on a webcam. Apple announced that macOS will give you the ability to use your iPhone as a webcam by attaching it using a custom clip later this year.
Apple also unveiled the M2 chip, the successor to the company’s first internal chip, the M1. The M2 chip, which comes with 24GB of unified memory, is 18% better than its predecessor and can play 4K and 8K video multicasts.
Announcing MacBook air
Apple also launched the MacBook air with a new design and the MacBook Pro with the new chip.
And the new MacBook Air comes with an M2 chip. The company provided it with a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display. It has a Magsafe charging system. There is also a headphone port.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro also gets an M2 chip. It comes with up to 24GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage, as well as up to 20 hours of battery life. And it still has a touch bar.
The MacBook Air starts at $1,199 and is available in space gray, gold, silver and blue. While the MacBook Pro starts at $1,300. Both mobile devices are also available next month.
