Apple announces new iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods Pro and publishes RC for iOS 16, watchOS 9 and tvOS 16

Apple hosted 'Far Out.' special event. During the presentation three product lines got major updates – Apple Watches, AirPods and iPhones.

Event is available for playback at Apple website.

Apple Watch

New Apple Watch Series 8 has addition of wrist temperature sensor which could monitor ovulation cycles. At the moment, this sensor does not provide absolute temperature readings and could not be used to measure exact body temperature.

Also, Apple Watch now has crash detection which will trigger call to emergency services when it detects a crash.

watchOS 9 will introduce Low Power mode which will provide more battery life by sacrificing some of the features.

Apple also updated Apple Watch SE with new specs.

But main announcement is introduction of Apple Watch Ultra which adds new design and extra programmable action button.

Apple Watch Series 3 are now discontinued.

AirPods Pro

AirPods Pro 2 will feature better noise cancellation, improved transparency mode (marketed as "Adaptive Transparency") which will silence some of the noises while keeping user within the environment.

Touch control on new AirPods Pro will allow volume control by sliding.

iPhone 14

iPhone 14 will come in two models – regular and Plus matching screen sizes of Pro models. iPhone 14 models will use A15 Bionic chip introduced with iPhone 13, screen will also be similar to last year's models.

iPhone 14 Pro models will have A16 Bionic chip and new pill shaped sensor area which will be used as Dynamic Island – this area will be used together with notifications and will be available for the third-party integrations.

All new iPhone 14 will feature satellite emergency SOS connectivity allowing users to send message through satellite connection. Service will be free for two years with all new iPhone 14 purchases.

Pro models will also feature significant upgrades to main camera – sensor is now 48MP. Typically camera will use 4 pixels together, however ProRAW format will allow to get full 48 megapixels for processing.

iPhone 14 US models will not have SIM tray and will rely on eSIM only.

Apple Fitness+ will no longer require purchase of Apple Watch.

Release Candidates

Release candidates are published for iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Xcode 14 Release Candidate is also available.

Apple plans releases for September 12, 2022.

Note that iPadOS 16 will not be released together with iOS. It is assumed that iPadOS 16.1 will be released later in October.

Apple also published iOS/iPadOS 15.7 RC and macOS 12.6 Monterey RC.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

Apple special event ‘Far out.’ to be hosted in-person on September 7

It was a long time since Apple hosted in-person special events for announcements. This time Apple will announce next generation iPhones, Apple Watches and probably other devices at Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.

Presentation will take place September 7, 2022 at 10:00am PDT.

Apple Event: Far Out.

Reference: Apple Announces 'Far Out' September 7 Event Set to Feature iPhone 14, Apple Watch Series 8 and More

New OS releases drop support for older devices

New OS releases mean that some of older devices are left behind. This is true for iOS 16, watchOS 9, macOS 13 Ventura.

iOS 16 will not be available for iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 and original iPhone SE.

iPadOS 16 will be provided for:

  • iPad Pro
  • iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
  • iPad (5th generation and later)
  • iPad mini (5th generation and later)

watchOS 9 leaves Apple Watch Series 3 behind. Which is a bit strange since Series 3 are still sold by Apple as entry-level model.

macOS 13 Ventura also drops support for several older Macs. Currently supported are:

  • iMac (2017 and later)
  • ‌iMac‌ Pro
  • MacBook Air (2018 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (2017 and later)
  • Mac Pro (2019 and later)
  • Mac mini (2018 and later)
  • MacBook (2017 and later)

References:

watchOS 8.3 might have issues causing problems with third party chargers

Some Apple Watch 7 users report problems with charging using third party chargers after upgrading to watchOS 8.3.

Updated my watch last night to 8.3, set it on my 3rd party charger this morning, came back after an hour and it had gained maybe 2%?
Tried the same thing with my spouse’s watch and her 3rd party charger with the same result.
Put them on the official charger, zoom, done charging in no time. Argh!

Reddit

Reddit: WatchOS 8.3 Killed 3rd Party Charger?

Reference: Some Apple Watch Users Experiencing Charging Issues After Updating to watchOS 8.3

New round of beta versions is here

Apple publishes iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, tvOS 15.1 and watchOS 8.1 beta 2. macOS 12 Monterey beta 8 is also released.

Interestingly, no corresponding Xcode beta is published.

Notable changes include:

  • SharePlay is now re-enabled;
  • Unlock with Apple Watch is now working again for FaceID iPhones;
  • Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos with Spatial Audio support to the ‌HomePod‌ and HomePod mini;
  • macOS 12 Monterey shows signs of "High Power Mode", which should provide more performance in exchange for smaller battery life.

New study puts Apple Watch Series 6 oxygen sensor on the same level as hospital equipment

Study conducted by University of São Paulo compared Apple Watch Series 6 with commercial oximeter devices. Results show that oxygen saturation and heart rate reported by Apple Watch are on par with typical industry devices.

Comparison of SpO2 and heart rate values on Apple Watch and conventional commercial oximeters devices in patients with lung disease

Our results indicate that Apple Watch 6 is a reliable way to obtain heart rate and SpO2 in patients with lung diseases under controlled conditions. The advance of smartwatch technology continues to improve and studies to assess accuracy and reliability in various types of disease should be carried out.

"Conclusion" section of the study

Weekend good reads for Apple developers, issue #3

Third edition of good reads is here. Here is what we've got for this weekend.

Have a nice weekend!