High Hopes For WWDC 2022

What is WWDC?

Doesn’t matter if you have heard of WWDC or not, you might at some point in your life come across an Apple Product. Perhaps you loathed it or fell in love with it maybe because of software or hardware or some other reason(Price?) but you engaged with the software because we interact with our devices only because of software.

So that’s what WWDC deals with ‘Software’ for all Apple Products ranging from macOS, iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, and tvOS.

It is also not a regular Apple Event as WWDC invites developers from around the world and announce their software features and new products. Yes, WWDC is not just about software as Apple also announces some products during the conference but that doesn’t happen every time as in 2021 WWDC was all about software and not a single product.

Why is it important?

Apple has over 1.8 Billion active Apple products in the world which is very rare for a company to achieve and it isn’t going to cease anytime soon. This is what makes Apple Events so important because their impact is huge.

Also as the record shows WWDC has attracted several developers and creators from around the world to join the event and get early access to Beta Versions of the latest software long before the Global Version releases to the public.

But What makes WWDC 2022 so important? Well because of certain leaks and rumors from very reliable sources claiming that there is some huge improvement coming to software also some products or sneak peeks which will shape the future of not just Apple but also of the tech industry.

How’s the Software Looking?

WWDC didn’t bring a whole lot of improvements and features to any Apple Device which made WWDC21 Keynote less than 2 hours compared to an average of more than 2 hours from previous years.

Perhaps it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the uncertainty it created but now that everyone’s back in the office we expect some major improvements to the software side of Apple Products. Here are some expected features according to reliable leakers:

iPadOS 16

Apple introduced a dedicated software for the iPad at WWDC 2019 which in essence is just iOS, especially for the iPad but it sure made iPad much more useful and a great buy as it paved the road for ‘Pro Apps’ to come to the iPad which got more rumored once M1 iPad Pro was released in 2021. Well as we know that never happened as WWDC21 just brought widgets to iPad and a better multitasking system.

WWDC22 might change that as we have better proof that Apple is bringing ‘Pro Apps’ to the iPad in the iPadOS 16 updates as we see in the new leaked patents of Apple:

Backed by information in these patents we are very close to a truly Pro iPad. It is worth noting that this upgrade might only come to M1 iPad Pro and M1 iPad Air as they are the only iPads with an M1 chip that is designed for such a task. There is also no information on whether others will get anything similar to this or not.

M1 iPads will get the so-rumored ‘Apple Mixer’ that will introduce floating app windows similar to desktop operating systems like macOS and Windows.

External monitor support is also to come in iPadOS 16 with a dedicated interface like the Samsung DeX.

iOS 16

Apple’s most successful and profitable product iPhone has seen some major updates in the past that have made the user experience fabulous but they also come with features for safety. WWDC21 brought only widgets and an App Library to the iOS 16 with some other minor features but WWDC22 might have some features in this spectrum to make the user safer.

According to leaks, we will see some significant improvements in iOS 16:

• Interactive widgets- Current widgets on iPhone are not interactive and are just there to look at but iOS 16 might change that
• A Crash Detection feature- Which will allow the iPhone to contact 911 if you don’t respond after a car crash.
• Preliminary support for Apple’s mixed-reality headset- The rumored headset for AR/VR which is expected to be released in 2023 might get early support on iPhone.
• Always On Display for iPhone 14 and 14 Pro.

Along with these some new apps are expected to be released and old apps getting fresh updates. Apple Music Classical which is Apple Music for orchestral music and performances is the confirmed app as it is coded inside the Macs latest updates.

We would see new notifications for better interaction and various heath features as we’ll see in watchOS 9.

macOS 13

A new macOS comes with a new name and this year it is rumored to be macOS Mammoth but this year new name isn’t coming with a whole lot of new features.

We are expecting to see:

• Redesigned apps and maybe some new apps
• System Preferences overhauled to make them more in line with Settings on iOS
• Plenty of new features that work with the iPhone and Apple Watch

Therefore, there isn’t a lot to expect from macOS this year unless, of course, Apple decides to surprise us.

WatchOS 9

WatchOS 9 is also expected to come with some pretty significant updates and features for better health of the user and better connectivity with the iPhone.

Some rumors surface around:

• new low power mode- Currently Apple’s power reserve mode doesn’t help with batter saving much but Low Power Mode enables the devices to run some apps and features without consuming as much power.
• Car crash detection- The same feature as iPhone which will allow your device to contact 911 automatically if you don’t respond after the car crash.
• More health features, including medicine reminders- Apple may add new tools to the iPhone’s Health app this year, including medicine reminders and new features for sleep tracking and women’s health.
• Improvements to atrial fibrillation detection- Apple may also improve the way its smartwatches can detect atrial fibrillation, which is a common type of heart arrhythmia that can increase your risk of stroke.
• New watch faces and workout types

realityOS

As mentioned earlier Apple is set to release its AR/VR Headset in 2023 but we are expected to get a new ‘realityOS’ as backed by trademarks registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

It is expected to be released in Beta for developers at WWDC22. This will allow developers to create apps and play around with the software which will make their way to the Headset and maybe some other Apple devices too.

We might also see some Apple Native apps come to life with the realityOS like Apple TV+ etc.

How’s the hardware side looking?

As a reminder, WWDC is primarily a software event but of course, we’ve seen Apple their products released at WWDC before the only exception being 2021 where we only saw Software updates. There is still no confirmation if Apple will continue its older trend or start with a new one in 2021.

WWDC is the only Apple event where we see major software updates and all other events are mostly about hardware but we have seen some significant hardware releases at WWDC like the iMac Pro, Mac Pro, etc.

On March 8th event Apple announced that Mac Pro is the only Mac that still needs to be transitioned to Apple Silicon and we are still waiting for the all-new rumored M2 Chip supposedly coming to MacBook Air.

Macs

Mac Pro- Mac Pro hasn’t gotten anything since WWDC 2019 and at the march Apple event it was hinted that a new Mac Pro is around the corner but what can we expect from it? Well, according to rumors we can see some significant upgrades:

• A New Chip- Just like Mac Studio we are expected to see a dedicated chip specifically Mac Pro rumored to be named X1 just like Intel’s Xeon chip which is for higher-end PCs. It will essentially be two M1 Ultra chips connected with a Die-to-Die network.
• New Design- It’s not sure if Apple will keep the old Mac Pro design or go with a new smaller-sized Mac Pro but Apple is expected to continue its 2019 Mac Pro for a while even after the new Mac Pro release.
• RAM, GPU, and CPU- Since M1 Ultra had up to 20 CPU cores total, 64-Core GPU, and 128GB of Unified memory, we could see up to 40 CPU cores, 128-GPU cores, and 256GB of unified memory in the new Mac Pro

M2 MacBook Air- MacBook Air is Apple’s most sold Mac and is within the affordable price for every user it’s been a year and a half since it got any upgrades but it is sure to change at this year’s WWDC22 and is very well confirmed not just by leakers but also by Apple.

This year Apple is going the same route it went with M1 iMac that is giving the new MacBook Air many new colors and a well-rounded design:

• All-New Design- MacBook Air is reportedly getting the same design as the 14-inch MacBook Pro with a notch but with white bezels in comparison to the black one which will also be prominent in the keyboard too.
• New Chip- M2 chip is highly expected to be in the new lower-end Macs replacing the long-used M1 which is also used in the iPads.
• I/O- As we saw in M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro new I/O ports are expected to be added to MacBook Air.

Mac Mini and iMac- As lower-end Macs, they are getting the same upgrades as MacBook Air with a new chip, multiple colors, and more I/O ports. They might or might not release at this WWDC 2022 but are sure to come soon with the introduction of a new M2 chip.

Apple AirPods Pro

The AirPods Pro is over 2 years old and is bound to get an update soon and WWDC seems a great place to do it as we are also getting a new Apple Music Classical App. The new AirPods are supposedly getting some noteworthy upgrades:

• Lossless support- Apple AirPods 2 are rumored to be including a new form factor design, support for Apple Lossless (ALAC) format, and a charging case that can emit a sound for users to track.
• Health sensors- A study led by Apple shows how AirPods could be used to monitor respiratory rate. The study found that this audio can be a “viable signal for passively estimating” respiratory rates.
• Lightning connector- AirPods 2 are still sticking with a Lightning connector but that is to change for future modes including iPhone (after 14 and 14 pros) seeing that Apple is lost its case against the UK.

New Apple Display

With New Mac, Pro Apple is expected to release a new Display as rumors suggest an 8K Display being the successor to Pro Display XDR and also a new Studio display Pro being better than Studio Display but not as good as Pro Display XDR.

Apple AR/VR Headset

As realityOS is coming soon Apple AR/VR Headset is set to release in 2023 for the public and it will revolutionize the AR/VR headset market. There aren’t a lot of details on what it would look like but the Apple Board Of Directors has been shown a working model which implies we are too far from the Headset.

Apple Game Controller

With these new patents, Apple is supposedly set to officially enter the gaming industry after many years. With this Apple is reportedly talking to buy Electronic Arts gaming company and Apple Arcade is going to see some major changes in the future.

The controller which looks a lot like Nintendo Switch seems to be compatible with iPhone and iPad and will connect using MagSafe or Port.

There’s a Whole Lot Coming For Apple!

The coming years for Apple looks to be bright and we are going to see some major changes to both software and hardware.

Apple is also set to enter different industries to expand its scope and gain more market cap. We still have at least 2 more events after WWDC22 and the craze and rumors are not expected to stop anytime soon.