In the early morning of June 7, apple held the wwdc22 global developer conference. According to the Convention, the whole apple ecosystem we are familiar with will be updated as usual. However, at this developer event, the software content seems to have been grabbed a lot of the limelight by the M2 chip and the MacBook Air with a new mold.
M2 chip
From Apple It has been two years since the chip transfer plan was announced, but the pace of self-developed chips has obviously not slowed down. From the public praise of M1 to the successive releases of M1 pro, M1 Max and M1 ultra, it can be seen that Apple's chip upgrade rhythm is very stable. As an iteration of M1, M2 is a logical step at this time point.
M2 is built by the second generation 5nm process, with more than 20billion transistors, 25% more than M1 in number; The unified memory is also increased from 16GB, the highest in M1, to 24GB. At the same time, the memory bandwidth is up to 100gb/s, which is 50% higher than that in M1; In terms of multi task processing capability and performance release, comparison with M1 is another progress.
This time, M2 adopts 8-core CPU + up to 10 core graphics processor and 16 core neural network engine. It is officially announced that the processor performance is 18% higher than M1, and the graphics performance is 35% higher than M1.
The highlight is that the high-performance media processing engine and prores video codec are added this time. You should know that the M1 chip is fully compatible with the h265 format and has excellent processing speed. However, for the more common H264 video, it lacks the media processing engine of the follow-up Pro series chips, resulting in a weak ability. This time, M2 has also made a supplement.
You should know that M1 and M2, two self-developed chips without suffix, are the basis of the whole chip sequence. Now M2 complements the memory specification and media processing capacity, which further improves the entry-level ability of Apple's self-developed chips. Correspondingly, in the face of the 10000 yuan MacBook models in the broader market, the ability will also be improved accordingly.
True new MacBook Air
This time, the new MacBook Air is really new. It uses a mold closer to the 14 inch and 16 inch Pro models to replace the previous generation of Apple's classic wedge design. The screen is designed with bangs, which further increases the display area to 13.6 inches, supports P3 wide color gamut and 1billion color and original color display, with a maximum brightness of 500 nits. Due to product positioning and thin design, mini LED technology can only belong to pro, but for color performance and screen appearance, the MacBook screen has always been the first echelon.
The MacBook Air is still designed without a fan, with a new M2 processor built in. It is officially declared that the battery life can reach 18 hours. It comes with a 30W charger. It uses MagSafe 3 magnetic suction charging. If you use a 67W charger, it supports 50% fast charging in 30 minutes.
The whole machine weighs 1.24 kg and is 1.13 cm thick. It still lives up to the name of air and is the lightest and thinnest in the MacBook camp. In addition to the MagSafe 3 interface, the side of the fuselage also provides two Leili 4 interfaces and a 3.5mm interface, which is basically the same as the previous generation in terms of expansibility and is sufficient for mobile office.
Under the new design, the MacBook Air provides a four speaker system to support Dolby panoramic sound and spatial audio playback. The keyboard area still adopts the classic design, supports touch ID and pressure touch pad, and provides a 1080p FaceTime camera in the front to bring a clearer video call experience.
The new MacBook Air is available in silver, starlight, dark space grey and midnight. The 8-core CPU +8-core graphics processor model is priced at 9499 yuan, and the 8-core CPU +10-core graphics processor model is priced at 11899 yuan. A 35W dual port usb-c power adapter is also included.
At the same time, this year WWDC also updated the M2 chip for the classic 13 inch MacBook Pro. The rest of the configurations remain the same as before. It can bring up to 20 hours of battery life and has a built-in fan to provide more performance release. The 13 inch MacBook Pro is uniformly equipped with 8-core CPU +10-core graphics processor chip. The price of 256gb hard disk version is 9999 yuan, and the price of 512gb hard disk version is 11499 yuan.
The brand-new MacBook Air and the 13 inch MacBook Pro maintain the consistent high level of MAC in terms of appearance design, screen experience, input experience and endurance. At the same time, the addition of M2 chip provides more performance possibilities, making these two products stable in the golden line of Apple MacBook notebook. In the face of the broadest audience, these two products are enough to meet the vast majority of users.
IOS 16 - elaboration for efficiency improvement
After all, it's WWDC. If the hardware catches the spotlight again, the software still retains the program. IOS, which has attracted much attention, started with the lock screen, bringing a new style similar to the apple watch portrait dial. It has a depth of field level, as well as a variety of custom color styles and clock styles. It also supports the fixed display of common components on the lock screen for quick preview.
On IOS 16, multiple lock screens can be customized, and each lock screen can specify a focus mode to better distinguish work and life. In addition to the traditional push notification, the real-time activity function is also introduced. The progress of the ongoing movement and the delivery of takeout can be displayed in real time and kept on the lock screen, so as to maximize the efficiency of the lock screen.
For the information app, IOS 16 also adds the secondary editing of sent information and the recall function. At the same time, it focuses on improving the dictation function of the IOS keyboard. This time, in the dictation state, the keyboard can be retained, and the voice and typing input state can be switched at any time. The efficiency is also improved. At the same time, it also supports voice direct input of emoticons.
In this generation of IOS, the heaviest update is the addition of the new Carplay car. Carplay will not be a simple UI displayed on the car's interactive screen, but Apple will jointly customize it with some car companies. Carplay will take over your dashboard and central control system, and you can view all the information of the whole car without exiting Carplay. For the car cockpit with larger and more intelligent screens, Carplay also provides an update suitable for the times.
It is worth noting that the earliest version of the IOS update is compatible with iphone 8 series, the former nail household iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 Series failed to get the new system, while the iPad touch was completely written into history. In general, the IOS upgrade has not changed much, but it is a meticulous effort to improve efficiency.
Ipados 16 - M series chip models take off
Let's look at the iPad OS. In addition to the lock screen changes, the IOS features mentioned above have been added, as well as the enrichment of family sharing functions. Finally, the weather app has been introduced into the iPad natively. The iPad pro and iPad air for the M1 chip have more additional small stove functions to meet our further imagination of iPad productivity.
On M1 series models, the front desk scheduling function of the same MacOS model is introduced, which can freely adjust the size of the multi task window, and quickly switch multi tasks in the sidebar to meet the high load multi task work experience. At the same time, the iPad can be connected to an external display. This time, it is not only mirroring the screen content, but also adding a piece of desktop space, which can process the work content at the same time with the iPad and contribute to the productivity.
For the 12.9-inch iPad pro, it also supports a new color reference mode to provide more accurate color performance for creators. At the same time, it now supports adjusting the screen display size so that more content can be displayed on one page of your iPad to improve application efficiency. At the same time, it is officially announced that a new collaborative app will be launched later this year to further enhance the performance of iPad in office and productivity.
In general, the update of the ipados 16 on the M1 model has met 90% of people's imagination of iPad productivity. Although the degree of freedom is still not as good as that of the Mac, the efficiency of today's ipados 16 has been greatly improved compared with that of the previous generation system for users who use the iPad to work and create. Instead of the M1 model, it is also more clearly positioned in entertainment, learning and large screen experience, giving users more clear reasons to choose.
MacOS Ventura -- introducing cross device calls
On the new MacOS, the front desk scheduling function has also been introduced. It is a good way to improve the work efficiency for the disordered window management, and the interaction is unified with the iPad, which is also loved by users. At the same time, MacOS supports all the new features of information, email and home sharing mentioned earlier.
The highlight of this MacOS is the cross device call. For example, the Mac can now directly call the iPhone camera for video calls through the continuous interworking camera function. With the iPhone camera, any Mac can realize the character play function. At the same time, due to the powerful computing power of the iPhone, the background virtualization and portrait lighting effect can be directly called. With the iPhone's ultra wide-angle lens, the table view can also be realized, Simulate the overhead shooting effect to increase the possibility of video from more angles.
As for the optimization of game performance, it is also the first time for apple to mention that the addition of apple chips has made the Mac have a higher standard of game performance. The new MacOS has a built-in metal 3 engine, which can make the rendering of complex scenes with higher frame rate faster. At the same time, metal 3 has also added a resource quick loading API, which greatly shortens the game loading time. At the press conference, it was also the first time that a big game manufacturer like Capcom came to the platform with 3A masterpieces. It seems that Apple intends to reverse the stereotype that the Mac can't play games.
Watchos 9 - health monitoring is still comprehensive
Finally, the watchos 9 on your wrist. The update of each generation of watchos will bring routine new dials to the stage. This time, there are metropolitan dials, happy hour dials, brand-new astronomical dials and lunar phase dials. At the same time, the human face dials support the use of your cat and dog to bring depth of view.
In addition to looking at the time, the apple watch is of course most concerned about your health. Now, in the process of physical training, it supports the reality of heart rate range. In addition, the watch will remind you of the changes in the range in real time with sound and vibration. At the same time, it can customize physical training to make your watch training more targeted to you.
Now swimming, cycling and running, the three triathlons, also support automatic switching through sensors. In the process of sports, you don't have to stop to switch sports. Instead, the apple watch will automatically change. Presumably, this function will also support more sports. At the same time, a new medication app is added, which can be combined with iPhone to manage your medication, remind you to take medication, and the sleep app can also monitor more data. It can be said that Apple watch still has comprehensive health monitoring.
End
This year's WWDC, it can be said that Apple has given a full surprise beyond the usual practice. The emergence of M2 chip proves that the chip transfer plan is moving forward steadily step by step. The newly designed MacBook Air is a perfect escort for M2 chip. It is a big upgrade from appearance to internal. It can be said that apple is still moving forward in the hardware layer.
At the system level, Apple has already passed the stage of functional complementation. What it is doing now is to elaborate. All the experiences about efficiency and details, the introduction of a function and a new presentation will not make users feel the qualitative change, but it will imperceptibly improve the comfort of use and make the system itself more user-friendly.
The WWDC, which is interwoven with software and hardware, is also a reflection of Apple's constant cooperation between software and hardware to further build its own ecological barriers, and firmly control users in their own ecology, constantly changing and cycling.