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Highlights of Apple’s WWDC 2022 Keynote – iOS 16 and Apple Watch

Apple WWDC22

Apple has kicked off its annual Worldwide Developer Conference with new announcements and launches. It covers everything from iOS 16, Apple Watch, M2 Chipset, and New Mac Books.

This article wraps up the biggest news around iOS 16 and Apple Watch.

iOS 16

Apple has announced tons of new features and other updates. The announcement getting an overhaul includes the lock screen.

More customization will be possible and support for widgets, including widgets for third-party applications. Notifications will now “roll in” from the screen’s bottom, and developers will be able to update notifications in real-time using a “Live Activities” API (think sports score tracking.)

Moreover, Apple has also rolled out other features like editing or unsending recent messages in iMessage or marking a thread as unread. Users can also use SharePlay, which allows you to watch a movie or video in sync with your friend and will now also work in iMessage besides FaceTime. SharePlay also gets more support for games, allowing users to start matches and battles easily and directly with friends.

Live Text will enable you to translate and replace text in photos that it recognizes, making it easier to comprehend something like a menu in a language you don’t understand. And if you utilize Family Sharing to limit your children’s iPad screen time, they can now use iMessage to request more time.

This year, “France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Belgium, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, and the Netherlands” will get a major revamp for Apple Maps. It’s also receiving better support for multistop routes.

Apple News will now allow you to follow news about your favorite sports teams or athletes.

Apple is getting into the buy now, pay later game; Apple Pay Later will allow you to split an Apple Pay purchase into four equal installments with no interest. It will operate anywhere Apple Pay is accepted. (Suggested Reading: Big Tech Companies are Now Becoming Big Banks)

You may now create a shared library with your family, and you can choose whether a photo is saved to the shared library or your library when you take it.

The Home app has been “reimagined from the ground up,” says Apple. All of your devices from different rooms, including a side-scrolling display of your HomeKit-enabled cameras, are brought together on one screen.

Apple is also overhauling CarPlay, intending to take over your vehicle’s complete instrument cluster. It’ll support things like speedometers, gasoline gauges, and air conditioning controls, among other things; what works where will, of course, depend on what the car manufacturer allows. Apple said it would offer more updates here “late next year.”

iPadOS is also getting a new desktop-style window management feature named “Stage Manager,” which allows you to run multiple apps/windows simultaneously.

Apple Watch

Astronomy, Lunar, “Playtime,” and “Metropolitan” are four new watch faces.

The new “banner” notifications keep you informed without taking up the entire screen.

Vertical oscillation (“how much you move up and down when running”), stride length, and ground contact time are among the new running parameters that Apple Watch will be able to detect.

Even people without an Apple Watch will be able to use the Fitness app on iOS, allowing them to close those rings.

The heart-rate monitor and accelerometer will be used to assess how much time you spend in four different stages of sleep: Awake, REM, Core, Deep, while attempting to catch some sleep.

Apple Watch will also track your “A-fib history” to assist doctors in monitoring heart arrhythmia and determining whether treatment is effective.

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