The five most impactful features Apple unveiled in 2022 - Macworld

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2022 volition beryllium remembered for the instauration of the Mac Studio and Apple Watch Ultra, but determination were plentifulness of different smaller moves that had conscionable arsenic large of an impact. Apple introduced immoderate large caller features crossed its devices this twelvemonth that volition marque a large quality successful however we usage our devices for years to come—for amended oregon worse. Here are 5 features picked by the Macworld unit that

Action button, Apple Watch Ultra

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Apple designs thin to germinate astatine a glacial speed, and it wasn’t until the Apple Watch’s eighth procreation that the notoriously koumpounophobic institution saw acceptable to adhd a 2nd fastener (or a third, if you’re the benignant of pedant who counts the pressable Digital Crown). Bright orangish and positioned connected the antecedently unblemished lefthand edge, the caller Action fastener was calculated to marque an impact.

But what sort of impact? Uncharacteristically, Apple allowed customers to determine what the caller orangish Action fastener was for. You tin prime a relation from a database that includes turning connected the flashlight, starting a workout oregon stopwatch, dropping a waypoint, and activating the siren. Or crook it disconnected entirely: it’s up to you.

That database of functions remains tiny (just 7 for now), and those of america who were utilized to resting our thumbs connected the near borderline of the ticker recovered ourselves pressing the Action fastener by mishap rather a lot. But some factors volition amended successful the future, arsenic users turn accustomed to the caller layout and Apple and third-party developers travel up with much actions that volition suit the button.

For now, the Action fastener is confined to the Ultra model, whose higher terms tag it helps to justify. But the imaginable applications are truthful appealing that we anticipation it’ll look connected the Series 9 successful precocious 2023. As an look of usability implicit elegance, and of openness to idiosyncratic customization, it’s the benignant of enactment we’d similar to spot much of.

—David Price

Continuity Camera, macOS Ventura

Foundry

Continuity Camera is simply a hole for a occupation that was Apple’s ain doing and successful galore ways, it is years late—at slightest 3 astatine immoderate complaint since it’s thing we’ve each needed since the opening of the pandemic. By allowing Mac users to usage their iPhone’s camera, alternatively than the inadequate FaceTime camera installed successful astir Macs, Apple is yet giving Mac users entree to a decent camera portion they instrumentality portion successful video calls.

Thanks to Continuity Camera successful macOS Ventura, Mac users nary longer request to beryllium embarrassed by the mediocre prime video being streamed from their Macs, and Mac mini oregon Studio owners who deficiency a webcam tin usage their iPhone instead. With an iPhone arsenic your Mac webcam you tin besides payment from Center Stage support, which follows you arsenic you determination around, Portrait Mode to blur an untidy background, and amended lighting. You tin besides usage the Ultra Wide camera connected your iPhone to amusement what’s connected your table utilizing Desk View.

It’s each precise groundbreaking and magical, though we inactive anticipation Apple volition upgrade its built-in webcams truthful the Continuity Camera solution isn’t neeeded forever. But for now—and successful the foreseeable future, Apple has upgraded each Mac with the champion webcam connected the planet.

—Karen Haslam

Dynamic Island, iPhone 14 Pro

Jason Snell/Foundry

Since it debuted with the iPhone X, the notch connected the apical of the iPhone has been a tolerated necessity. And erstwhile Apple replaced it with a smaller pill-shaped cutout for the iPhone 14 Pro, its floating quality made it basal retired adjacent more. But Apple was capable to alteration the notch from a tolerated necessity to a afloat embraced 1 acknowledgment to the Dynamic Island, which present makes the notch a vital idiosyncratic interface element.

When you archetypal usage the Dynamic Island, it simply makes sense–by itself, the notch gully attention, truthful wherefore not instrumentality vantage of it alternatively of letting it conscionable beryllium there? Having notifications, alerts, and enactment controls look connected and astir it feels earthy and makes the iPhone easier to use. The Dynamic Island is elemental yet profound, and the benignant of magical improvement we’ve travel to expect from Apple.

—Roman Loyola

Lock Screen, iOS 16

An iPhone in-hand with the caller Lock Screen layout

Lewis Painter / Foundry

It’s 2022 and we’re lone just now getting the quality to customize the Lock Screen connected our iPhones. That conception is benignant of absurd if you’ve been pursuing the satellite of Android phones astatine all, but present we are.

When Apple yet unlocked the Lock Screen for us, it didn’t dip its toed in–it dove caput first. There are tons of wallpaper choices, including astute dynamic options. Widgets are plentiful, some for Apple’s apps and third-party offerings, acknowledgment to a omniscient determination to marque them truthful akin to Apple Watch complications. You tin set the font connected the timepiece and adjacent person respective options for the mode notifications are displayed. And portion it’s disappointingly lone disposable connected the iPhone 14 Pro models, the always-on show makes each those customizations and widgets adjacent much valuable.

The Lock Screen is the archetypal happening you spot erstwhile you prime up your iPhone (or with an always-on display, it’s what you always see). It’s 1 of those things that virtually touches each user. Apple is years precocious to letting america customize much than your wallpaper, but present that the gates are open, it volition everlastingly alteration our narration with our iPhones.

—Jason Cross

Stage Manager, iPad Air and iPad Pro

Lewis Painter / Foundry

If determination was 1 diagnostic that defined Apple’s 2022, it has to beryllium Stage Manager. Announced astatine WWDC arsenic portion of iPadOS 16, it appeared to beryllium the reply to the iPad’s biggest question: How bash you multitask connected an iPad?

Unfortunately, the reply is: Not great. At slightest not yet. Stage Manager is decidedly ambitious, but the execution leaves a batch to beryllium desired. It arrived precocious with iOS 16.1 to presumably hole immoderate issues but was inactive hardly acceptable for premier time. It’s buggy, it stutters, it’s not precise intuitive, and it doesn’t truly bring overmuch of an upgrade implicit the existing multitasking options.

But for each its faults, Stage Manager is simply a groundbreaking diagnostic and a immense measurement for multitasking connected the iPad. Available lone for the highest-end iPads, it’s not conscionable a enactment successful progress, but a peek astatine Apple’s imaginativeness for a post-iPad productivity machine. It’s the archetypal clip Apple has genuinely embraced multi-display setups connected the iPad and genuinely differentiated its flagship models from the remainder of the line.

At immoderate point, the Mac and the iPad volition merge into a azygous instrumentality that offers the champion of some worlds, truthful it’s nary coincidence that Stage Manager is besides disposable for the Mac. Apple wants users of some machines to larn the interface arsenic it works down the scenes to make the adjacent large thing, immoderate it whitethorn be. The increasing pains volition beryllium felt for a while, but Stage Manager is the aboriginal of productivity connected the tablet.

—Michael Simon

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