WWDC 2022 Review

Announcements at WWDC 2022

WWDC 2022 was a jammed-packed day for Apple's next iteration of their operating systems. As always, the rumor mills mainly pegged Apple on their next move, but there were some exciting announcements Apple was able to keep behind the silicon curtain.

iPadOS is Finally Growing Up

For most that use an iPad and Mac, the iPad can certainly keep you wanting when it comes to productivity. There are clear advantages to having only 1 app open at a time or splitting your screen. But when it comes to getting a lot done quickly, the macOS is just hard to beat. The flexibility of the windows simply allows more to happen across apps.

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The M1 ipads offer  the new Stage Manager feature, the iPad can now help you multitask with 4 different apps. This breakthrough is shifting the iPad closer and closer to laptop. Further, Apple is now touting that the iPad is bringing "desktop-class apps" the iPad – where does the iPad end and the Mac begin? The line is more difficult than ever to distignuish.

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iPadOS is Exciting, With Some Caveats

Unfortunately, to really multitask it seems like an external monitor is the best experience. So when sitting at a desk, the iPad is a powerhouse. However, the beauty of the iPad is portability, so this doesn't exactly help at a coffee shop.

Also, there are still limits to how much can actually be seen at once based on the new Stage Manager system. Further you can only open 4 apps at a time on the iPad (8 if you have the external display). If you are a person with 10-20 apps open at once on a Mac, it doesn't seem like it will offer the same traditional experience as the Mac. Further, you are limited to 8 aps at once. The iPad is still clearly not a Macbook Air without a keyboard and trackpad.

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The New Macbook Air

Speaking of the Macbook Air. The new one is gorgeous. The tech inside is upgraded, which is nice, though I still find the M1 sufficient for most of my tasks. But the Air was in desperate need of a visual upgrade. The old design is 14 years old and is ready for the next iteration.

The colors are fantastic, though it would have been nice if Apple had given it the full iMac color treatment. I would bet more are coming next March. Moreso, the design is reminiscent of the Macbook Retina 12" released in 2015. I had purchased the 12" and loved the form factor – there was simply nothing lighter that offered the MacOS experience. However, the computer was simply underpowered. Having 5 native apps open could bring the little machine to its knees.

The 2022 Macbook Air seems to be the much more powerful child of that dream 7 years later. Powered by the M2, this is a no-brainer for most non-professional Mac users. Checking email, streaming, editing photos, writing papers, online shopping, and listening to music won't even cause this thing computer to sweat. However, according to Apple's internal tests, this new high end version of this thin machine can handle 20 4K streams and 4 8K streams in FCP. That's crazy.

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M2, The Next Generation

The M1 shift blew me away. Apple took the bold bet on their own chips and disrupted the PC world once again. Their chips, which are still less than 2 years old, are desktop-class speeds with the power consumption of laptops. Compared to Intel chips, M1s were more power and more battery life.

The M2 continues the legacy. The specs sound great, but it is clear this is a step after a giant leap. I wouldn't expect huge leaps forward every year but rather Apple to stay ahead of the competition with the gains they already have.

Mac Pro (Or lack thereof)

This was surprisingly absent from the event. It could be that they will announce a new Mac Pro in November, or maybe a special event is coming as they finish it up. Or perhaps, as pure speculation, Apple is trying not to cannibalize their Mac Studio sales? Whatever the case may be, when they finally do show up, the M2 Max Pro Plus or whatever name they come up with for the new device will scream.

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WatchOS 9

This was the least exciting section of the event. There are some nice additions and features. Mostly the most exciting aspect was the refresh of watch faces. Otherwise, the other features were:

• Updated running and workout information
• A couple of new beautiful watch faces
• Integration with Apple TV apps
• A few other tidbits here and there

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Other macOS Ventura, iPadOS 16 + IOS 16 Noteworthy Features

The developer's conference is really about the software, and there are always incremental changes that turn into game-changers. Here's what excites me:

• New lock Screen personalization for the iPhone
• Edit, unsend, and mark as unread on Messages (MUCH NEEDED!)
• Cleaner Notifications to help focus on what matters
• You can pause a video and pull live text from it
• You can live cut objects from photos – seamlessly
• ApplePay Later
• ApplePay order tracking
• Shared Safari tabs
• A new windows management system for Mac and iPad
• Multistep routes on Apple Maps – finally a road trip companion
• CarPlay's huge updates
• A bunch more!

Overall a Huge Day

WWDC 2022 actually was a surprising event. In the past Apple some events have felt like the WatchOS 9 part of this year's event – a few updates that they are overly excited about but don't actually fundamentally change the experience.

This year was different. It seemed that Apple actually took the user feedback to heart and added all the little aspects that their software was missing to make the experience truly great. I have not been this excited to try a beta since iOS 7.

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