The Apple WWDC 2022 Keynote Live Blog (Starts at 10am PT/17:00 UTC)

As we round the corner after Computex and transition into June, it's time once more for Apple's annual World Wide Developers Conference. As always, Apple kicks off WWDC with their big keynote event, which though aimed first and foremost at developers, is also used as a venue to announce new products and ecosystem strategies. The keynote starts at 10am Pacific (17:00 UTC) today, and AnandTech will be offering live blog coverage of Apple's event.

With WWDC going virtual once again this year, we're expecting another rapid-fire, two-hour run through of Apple's ecosystem. WWDC keynotes have historically covered everything from macOS and iOS to individual Apple applications and more. On the hardware side of matters, in previous years we've seen things like the official announcement of Apple's shift from x86 to Apple Silicon; and while 2021 was light on hardware, one never quite knows what Apple has in store. Apple has yet to launch an Arm-based Mac Pro, so there's still some big surprises left in their bag, and of course there's always the chance of the periodic product refresh.

So join us at 10am Pacific to see just what Apple is working on for this year and beyond.

01:00PM EDT - Thank you, as always, for joining us for this year's WWDC presentation

01:00PM EDT - And Apple is kicking things off right on time

01:01PM EDT - (I never realized this before, but Apple's HQ building looks like a stargate)

01:01PM EDT - And here's Tim to kick things off

01:02PM EDT - As a general reminder, this is first and foremost a developer-focused show. But still, the morning keynote is a chance for all audiences to get a look at Apple's plans for the future of its platforms

01:02PM EDT - And with any luck, we get some new hardware as well

01:03PM EDT - Apple of course never stops courting developers. Both because they're the minority platform in the PC space, but because the company wants to be on the cutting edge of software as well as hardware

01:04PM EDT - Apple expects millions of developers to engage with WWDC this year

01:04PM EDT - The total developer community is now 34 million devs

01:04PM EDT - And all of WWDC is free for them

01:05PM EDT - Now handing things off to Craig Federighi

01:05PM EDT - Starting things with iOS

01:05PM EDT - iOS 16

01:05PM EDT - iOS is getting a new set of personalization features

01:06PM EDT - The lock screen is getting updated with it's "biggest update ever"

01:06PM EDT - Now rolling a promo video

01:07PM EDT - Now showing off the new lock screen

01:07PM EDT - A new filter mode for the lock screen wallpaper, as well as an editor for all of this

01:08PM EDT - Change the filter, as well as changing fonts and colors for the clock

01:08PM EDT - And placing widgets on the lock screen

01:09PM EDT - Apple also provides suggested photos for the wallpaper, as well as the ability to have it rotate photos throughout the day

01:09PM EDT - And specialty wallpapers/lock screens that show things like the current weather conditions

01:09PM EDT - And that's the new lock screen

01:09PM EDT - Now on to notifications

01:10PM EDT - Notifications now roll in from the bottom of the lock screen instead of the top

01:10PM EDT - And a new feature called Live Activities

01:10PM EDT - Live Activities will come iwht its own API for developers

01:11PM EDT - This allows a notification item to update itself, rather than updates having to be delivered as additional notifications (think: sports scores)

01:11PM EDT - Now on to Focus

01:11PM EDT - Focus is being extended to the lock screen, changing lock screens based on the current focus mode

01:12PM EDT - And Focus Filters

01:12PM EDT - Filters allow for Focus in apps, hiding elements/pages to keep the user focused

01:12PM EDT - Now on to Messages

01:12PM EDT - Adding three "highly requested" features

01:13PM EDT - 1) Edit just-sent messages

01:13PM EDT - 2) Undo send - immediately recall a message

01:13PM EDT - 3) Mark any thread as unread

01:13PM EDT - I'm curious how long the undo/edit window will be

01:14PM EDT - And a new feature/API: Shared With You, for sharing inside Messages

01:14PM EDT - Now on to talking about Apple's SharePlay feature

01:14PM EDT - Apple is looking to make it easier to discover SharePlay

01:15PM EDT - SharePlay is being extended beyond FaceTime. It will be available in Messages in iOS 16

01:15PM EDT - And on the subject of Messages, Apple is updating Dictation as well

01:16PM EDT - Dictation is used 18 billion times a month

01:16PM EDT - Dictation is already happening on device

01:16PM EDT - And Apple is introducing a new Dictation paradigm that allows for using both voice and touch together seemlessly

01:17PM EDT - Automatic punctuation!

01:17PM EDT - (Take it from a writer: punctuation is under-loved)

01:17PM EDT - Now on to Live Text

01:18PM EDT - Live Text will now be available alongside videos

01:18PM EDT - Can also be used within the Translate app

01:18PM EDT - And there will be a Live Text API

01:19PM EDT - Apple is also updating Visual Lookup. Among other things, using their ML hardware to allow it to automatically cut-out items being analyzed

01:19PM EDT - Now on to Wallet

01:20PM EDT - Starting with drivers licenses

01:20PM EDT - 2 states so far, 11 more in progress

01:20PM EDT - And Apple is limiting the amount of information Wallet presents to what's necessary

01:21PM EDT - And (virtual card) keys can be shared with other users via Messages

01:21PM EDT - Apple Pay

01:21PM EDT - Tap To Pay is coming this month (as previously announced)

01:21PM EDT - So iPhones can be used to accept payments from other iPhones and other sources like RFID-enabled credit cards

01:22PM EDT - And Apple is getting even deeper into the financial services market

01:22PM EDT - Apple Pay Later

01:22PM EDT - Split up a purchase into 4 payments, with no interest or fees

01:22PM EDT - All of this is tracked in Wallet

01:22PM EDT - Apple is also making it possible for merchants to send tracking/shipment notifications directly to Wallet

01:23PM EDT - Now on to Maps

01:23PM EDT - Apple has launched its redesigned maps to 10 countries/regions thus far

01:23PM EDT - Another 11 are coming this y ear

01:24PM EDT - Apple is adding Las Vegas and 6 more cities for highly detailed cities

01:24PM EDT - New feature: multi-stop routing

01:24PM EDT - Siri can add stops to a route

01:25PM EDT - Transit mode is making it easier to see the cost

01:25PM EDT - And transit cards for Wallet

01:25PM EDT - Look Around is being added to MapKit, so that devs can add the view to their apps

01:26PM EDT - And that's Maps

01:26PM EDT - Now to sports

01:26PM EDT - (Craig, of course, is on Team Swift)

01:27PM EDT - Quickly recapping sports-related developments, such as Friday baseball on Apple TV+

01:27PM EDT - Apple News is getting an update to make it even better for sports news

01:27PM EDT - A new section: My Sports

01:27PM EDT - League standings, highlight clips

01:27PM EDT - Available in US, UK, Canada, and Australia

01:28PM EDT - Now on to Family Sharing

01:28PM EDT - Recapping Family Sharing: shared content with up to 5 users

01:28PM EDT - This year Apple is making it easier to create accounts for kids

01:29PM EDT - New UI/interface for setting up kids accounts and their restrictions

01:29PM EDT - Screen Time requests can be responded to within Messages

01:29PM EDT - On to Photos

01:30PM EDT - Photos is getting some new sharing functionality

01:30PM EDT - iCloud Shared Photo Library

01:30PM EDT - Share photos seamlessly and automatically

01:30PM EDT - A separate shared library that up to 5 other people can add photos to

01:31PM EDT - Can select photos based on date, who's in them, etc

01:31PM EDT - Camera can also send photos to the shared library when they're taken

01:31PM EDT - And even using proximity of other users to determine if new photos should be uploaded to the shared library

01:32PM EDT - And last: privacy

01:32PM EDT - For personal safety, Apple is adding a tool to quickly turn off shared access

01:32PM EDT - New feature: Safety Check

01:33PM EDT - Safety Check allows the user to review and reset the access granted to others

01:33PM EDT - To cut ties and get to safety

01:33PM EDT - Stops sharing location via FindMy and resets privacy permissions

01:34PM EDT - Recapping iOS 16

01:35PM EDT - And now on to HomeKit

01:36PM EDT - Apple is focusing on smarthome functionality and how to grow the ecosystem

01:36PM EDT - Recapping Apple's Matter interconnect standard

01:36PM EDT - And updating on how it's being adopted

01:37PM EDT - "All new" home app

01:37PM EDT - Redesigned how accessories are viewed and organized

01:38PM EDT - Tiles redesigned as well to make them easier to see/notice

01:38PM EDT - New Home app coming to i-devices and the Mac

01:38PM EDT - Now on to CarPlay

01:38PM EDT - Available on 98% of new cars in the US

01:39PM EDT - Apple has been working with automakers to further enhance the use of CarPlay

01:40PM EDT - Next-generation CarPlay offers content for all of a driver's screens

01:40PM EDT - So even as much as the instrument panel

01:40PM EDT - Widgets powered by the iPhone

01:40PM EDT - CarPlay powers the entire instrument cluster

01:41PM EDT - Different curated themes for gauges

01:42PM EDT - Vehicles with the tech will start to be announced late next year

01:42PM EDT - And that's iOS 16

01:42PM EDT - Now on to Spatial Audio

01:42PM EDT - Personalized spatial audio profiles

01:42PM EDT - And Quick Note is coming to iOS

01:43PM EDT - And, of course, more Memoji customizations

01:43PM EDT - And now on to Apple Watch

01:43PM EDT - With Kevin Lynch

01:44PM EDT - New themed watch faces

01:44PM EDT - Lunar calendars and more

01:45PM EDT - WatchOS 9's Podcast app will feature search and listen now

01:45PM EDT - WatchOS 9 is also getting new features for fitness

01:46PM EDT - Adding three new running form metrics for tracking running performance

01:46PM EDT - Using ML and accelerometers to determine how the user is moving

01:48PM EDT - Power metric. How much power you're consuming (in Watts, no less!)

01:48PM EDT - (Do you consume more power than an RTX 3080?)

01:49PM EDT - The fitness app is coming to iOS 16

01:49PM EDT - So basic fitness tracking running off of an iPhone

01:50PM EDT - It only offers a subset of what the Watch can do

01:50PM EDT - Now on to WatchOS's Sleep app

01:50PM EDT - Sleep Stages

01:50PM EDT - Using heart rate and accelerometer input to determine what sleep stage a wearer is in

01:51PM EDT - Apple Heart and Movement Study participants will also be able to submit data

01:51PM EDT - Atrial Fibrillation

01:52PM EDT - WatchOS can now keep a history of AFib events

01:52PM EDT - Expecting FDA clearance for AFib History soon

01:52PM EDT - Medications

01:53PM EDT - WatchOS 9's Medications app can be used to track what mediciations have been taken. And supply notifications for when a medication needs to be taken

01:53PM EDT - This also works in the iOS Health app

01:53PM EDT - The iPhone camera can be used to scan medications

01:54PM EDT - And Medications can flag drug-drug interaction checking when new drugs are added

01:54PM EDT - And health information can be shared

01:55PM EDT - And when it's being shared, there will be periodic reminders of what's being shared and with whom

01:55PM EDT - And that's WatchOS 9

01:55PM EDT - And now to the Mac

01:55PM EDT - With John Ternus

01:55PM EDT - Starting with chips

01:56PM EDT - Nearly the entire Mac product line has been transitioned to Apple Silicon/M1

01:56PM EDT - The next generation of Apple Silicon

01:56PM EDT - M2

01:56PM EDT - Takes the breakthrough perf and capabilities of M1 even further

01:56PM EDT - Recapping current M1 family

01:57PM EDT - Apple is staying focused on power-efficiency. Keep power consumption low when increasing performance; don't raise power to keep performance growing

01:57PM EDT - 20B transitors, built on "second-gen" 5nm process

01:57PM EDT - 100GB/sec of unified memory bandwidth

01:57PM EDT - 50% more than M1

01:58PM EDT - M2 supports up to 24GB of memory

01:58PM EDT - 128-bit LPDDR5 interface

01:58PM EDT - 8 core CPU. Next generation

01:58PM EDT - 4+4 configuration

01:58PM EDT - Efficiency cores have been significantly enhanced

01:58PM EDT - 18% greater MT performance over M1

01:59PM EDT - Touting 87% of the perf of a 12 core laptop chip at 25% of the power

01:59PM EDT - 10 core GPU on M2

01:59PM EDT - Up to 25% higher graphics performance at the same power level

01:59PM EDT - Up to 35% higher perf at highest power state

02:00PM EDT - And, of course, Apple is well ahead of Intel's integrated GPUs

02:00PM EDT - M2 gets the next-gen Secure Enclave and Neural Engine

02:00PM EDT - 40% more neural ops than M1

02:00PM EDT - Media engine adds ProRes support. 4K and 8K video

02:00PM EDT - (15.8T neural ops)

02:01PM EDT - Taking the performance and efficiency of M1 even further

02:01PM EDT - The first Mac to get the M2 chip

02:01PM EDT - MacBook Air

02:01PM EDT - "World's best-selling laptop"

02:01PM EDT - All new, completely redesigned MacBook Air

02:01PM EDT - Rolling promo video

02:02PM EDT - The new MacBook Air, powered by M2

02:02PM EDT - The wedge shape is gone

02:03PM EDT - Aluminum unibody enclosure

02:03PM EDT - 11.3mm thick

02:03PM EDT - 2.7 pounds

02:03PM EDT - Available in 4 finishes

02:03PM EDT - 2 USB/TB ports. Magsafe charging. Audio jack with support for high impedence headphones

02:04PM EDT - Liquid Retina display

02:04PM EDT - It has a notch

02:04PM EDT - 13.6-inch display

02:04PM EDT - 500 nits max brightness. 25% brighter than before

02:04PM EDT - 1 billion color support. So 10bpc color

02:04PM EDT - New 1080p FaceTime camera (2x the res of the previous)

02:05PM EDT - The speakers and mics and located between the keyboard and display

02:05PM EDT - Three mic array

02:05PM EDT - 4 speaks altogether for audio

02:05PM EDT - Full-height function row for the function keys

02:05PM EDT - Up to 20% faster than M1 MBA in Photoshop filters

02:06PM EDT - And still a fanless design

02:06PM EDT - Up to 18 hours of video playback

02:06PM EDT - MBA supports Fast Charging with a 67W adapter. 50% in 30 minutes

02:06PM EDT - Apple is also introing a new compact charger with 2 USB ports

02:07PM EDT - Now rolling another promo video

02:07PM EDT - Body changes aside, this looks like a pretty straightforward and sensible update to the MBA. Nothing ground-breaking, but the MBA typically isn't where Apple rolls out big new features

02:08PM EDT - I'm curious to see how the actual battery capacity compares to the M1 MBA. That'll give us a better idea of Apple's power efficiency expectations

02:08PM EDT - M2 is also coming to a new 13-inch MacBook Pro