WWDC 2022: Apple gives first look at iOS 16, macOS 13 and Co.
6.6.2022
Translation: machine translated
At the start of its developer conference WWDC, Apple gave a preview of the innovations that will come in the fall with the updates to iOS 16, macOS 13, iPadOS 16 and watchOS 9.
The iPhone gets a new lock screen and the Messages app gets an Edit button. There are also new ways to work together on documents or collect photos. Multitasking gets a new look on the iPad and Mac with Stage Manager, and CarPlay will look very different in new cars in 2023.
Beta versions of the new operating systems for developers are available now. A public beta is due next month and the final versions are coming in the fall.
iOS 16: New lock screen
The iPhone gets a redesigned lock screen with iOS 16, where you can customize colors and fonts, as well as put filters over the images. Widgets provide you with information about important apps and give you quick access to them. Notifications now scroll in from the bottom and can also be hidden. The new Live Activities are also designed to reduce the number of notifications, for example, by letting you track your sports team in the ticker or see how far away your ride is in a kind of widget.
You can also connect the new lockscreen with Focus. So create different lock screens for work and play and switch back and forth between them. The new Focus filters hide content in Safari, Mail, or Calendar that belongs to the other. Work emails then have no chance of bothering you after hours when you're looking at your personal mail.
The Messages app - aka Messages - gets three new features: An Edit button for making corrections after sending, an Undo button to recall and delete messages, and options to mark any thread as unread. Additionally, Apple is extending SharePlay from Facetime to Messages.
Being able to identify yourself with Apple Wallet and Apple Pay Later remain features for the US for now. In contrast, the possibility of sharing digital keys with others - even beyond iPhones - could come to us. It is unclear where the iPhone with iOS 16 can be used for Tap to Pay. Payments with Apple Pay will then no longer require a card reader - an iPhone will suffice. Stores will also be able to send order tracking to Wallet, keeping you up to date on your packages.
Last year's new Apple Maps design is only available in eleven countries so far. More are being added this year. Switzerland and Luxembourg are among them. Multi-stop navigation will soon be available with up to 15 stops.
If you control your kids' devices via Family Sharing, iOS 16 gives you new sharing settings and lets you set up new devices for them faster. Then, on your iPhone, all it takes is a few clicks to share an iPad with them. The youngsters can look forward to having their requests for more usage time shared directly in the Messages app.
The Photos app gets photo collections for up to six people with the iCloud Shared Photo Library. There, you can share photos with others based on various criteria automatically, but you can also add them manually. So in the end, it doesn't matter who takes the pictures on vacation.
Safety Check, on the other hand, is a new feature for unpleasant moments. It is intended to help people leave violent relationships. This virtually resets the device and cancels all granted shares on other devices and for other people. No location will be shared anymore and messages or mails will only land on this device.
The Home app gets a new design that you'll also see on the iPad and Mac. With categories like climate, security or lighting, smarthome control should become easier and you can see your whole house at a glance. There's also a widget for the new lockscreen, and Home should then support Matter, the new smarthome standard, starting in the fall.
CarPlay gets a new design that integrates all screens in the car and adapts to different models. You can choose between different designs and layouts. However, the matching cars are not expected to be unveiled until late 2023.
iOS 16 runs on all iPhones starting with the iPhone 8, but older models in particular may not have all the new features available.
macOS 13 Ventura
Ventura is the name of macOS 13, which means Apple is sticking with Californian places or landscapes for now. The most important new feature is probably the Stage Manager. It is supposed to help you keep track of many open windows. The idea: one or up to four grouped apps are in focus, the others are only visible to the left and small. A click on the icons always brings another app into focus. The Stage Manager also comes to Apple's tablets with iPadOS 16.
The Spotlight search gets a new design that should present the results better. That's also true on the iPhone and iPad. On iOS, the search field appears at the bottom of the homescreen.
Mail, like Messages, gets a button to retrieve sent mails. In addition, you can now schedule the sending of a mail. And Mail also offers a new, improved search - also on iOS and iPadOS.
Safari, the "fastest browser in the world" (Apple), gets Shared Tab Groups. Using Messages and Facetime, you can quickly and easily share tabs with others and then see who is looking at them. With Passkeys, Apple joins Google, Microsoft and others in the Fido alliance to make passwords obsolete. Logging in to services is then done via FaceID or TouchID. The advantage: You no longer have to remember passwords, no data that others could use to log in leaves your device, and no passwords can be stolen in the services.
For gaming, Apple is improving graphics rendering with Metal 3, and one of the first games to see the improvements is No Man's Sky, which should be released for the Mac later this year.
Apple is also adding Facetime to Handoff. That means you'll soon be able to pass your video call from your iPhone to your Mac - or vice versa, or to your iPad.
Continuity Camera turns your iPhone into the world's most expensive webcam. Its cameras deliver better images than most webcams. Plus, Center Days, Portrait Mode, and Studio Light give you several iPhone camera features for video calls. Deskview gives you a view of your desk in front of the screen using the wide-angle camera.
iPadOS 16: Moves closer to macOS
The Weather app is coming to the iPad, and its data can be integrated by developers into their apps. Collaboration lets you invite others to work together on documents. For now, this works with Pages, Notes, Keynote, Safari and also on the iPhone and Mac. Matching video calls can be started for this purpose.
Apple also wants to bring more features from Mac apps to the iPad versions and has given a sneak peek at Freeform. A collaborative brainstorm app. Reference Mode is meant to make iPad Pro color-match other Apple monitors.
watchOS 9: Health and medication
With watchOS 9, the Apple Watch focuses more on health. However, there are also four new watchfaces - including one with the lunar calendar. Apple has revised the Siri UI and the display of notifications. The podcast app now also finds podcasts via voice search.
The Workout app should soon be able to detect and correct torso movements while running. Triathletes can look forward to multi-sport workouts for switching from swimming to cycling to jogging. You can also create your own workouts based on your goals and preferences. When doing so, you can also incorporate the new heart rate zones if you want to train in a specific range. Of course, the Apple Watch indicates when you leave the selected zone.
The fitness app comes with iOS 16 on all iPhones - even if you don't have an Apple Watch. Its range of functions is smaller then.
The Sleep app on the Apple Watch will also detect sleep stages starting in the fall and tell you how long you were awake or in REM, core or deep sleep.
The Health app should soon be able to provide a longer analysis of Atrial Fibrilation, giving your doctor important data. FDA approval in the U.S. is still pending.
A separate app is coming for medications. With it, you can be reminded when it's time for a pill. The app also gives advice on how to handle medicines, such as not to drink alcohol with them, and alerts you if two medicines may interact.
When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.