Wonderlust event recap – new iPhones, Apple Watches

Apple hosted its Wonderlust special event. As expected, Apple unveiled new iPhones and Apple Watch models.

Apple Watch Series 9

New Apple Watch Series 9 gets new S9 system-on-chip with updated CPU and GPU. New screen now has brightness up to 1,000 nits. And lowest brightness is now 1 nit. S9 allows on-device Siri recognition for many use cases.

New "double tap" hand gesture (similar to previously implemented accessibility features) allows one hand responses and actions to be performed on Apple Watch.

New UWB chip will improve Apple Watch spatial awareness, allowing, for example, precise iPhone lookup with directions and distance display.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Ultra 2 gets same S9 system-on-chip, screen is improved to have 3,000 nits maximum brightness.

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are powered by A16 chip introduced in iPhone 14 Pro models.

iPhone 15 models now gain Dynamic Island. Charging port is now changed to USB-C with USB 2.0 data transfer speeds.

Also, iPhone 15 main camera is now similar to iPhone 14 Pro with 48MP resolution.

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

iPhone 15 Pro is running on A17 PRO chip. iPhone 15 Pro has titanium frame to reduce weight. Mute switch is replaced by Action button. iPhone 15 Pro Max has 5x camera with pentaprism design. USCB-C connector in iPhone 15 Pro supports USB 3.0.

Also iPhone 15 Pro could record spatial videos that will provide depth when viewing in Apple Vision Pro.

iPhone 15 Pro Max now has base model with 256GB of storage.

iCloud Storage Tiers

Apple introduces new iCloud storage tiers – 6TB and 12TB available for purchase later priced $30 and $60 respectively.

FineWoven

Apple now replaces leather accessories with new FineWoven material. This includes Apple Watch bands as well as iPhone cases.

OS Updates

Release Candidates are now available for iOS/iPadOS 17, macOS 14 Sonoma, watchOS 10 and tvOS 17. As well as iOS and iPadOS 16.7. Xcode 15 is also available as Release Candidate.

iOS/iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 and tvOS 17 are to be released on September 18. macOS 14 Sonoma will be released on September 26.

You could watch event replay on YouTube.

Apple Newsroom:

Release notes:

References:

Xcode 14.3.1 RC is published

This Release Candidate seems to be bug fixing related. No significant new features are reported for this version.

Xcode 14.3.1 RC includes Swift 5.8.1 and SDKs for iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, tvOS 16.4, watchOS 9.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3. The Xcode 14.3.1 RC release supports on-device debugging in iOS 11 and later, tvOS 11 and later, and watchOS 4 and later. Xcode 14.3.1 RC requires a Mac running macOS Ventura 13.0 or later.

Release notes

Beta download: Applications

Release notes: Xcode 14.3.1 RC Release Notes

Apple publishes iOS 16.5 RC (other platforms too), also iOS 15.7.6 is released

Apple prepares to release new iOS and other platforms next week. This time RC for iOS/iPadOS 16.5, macOS 13.4 Ventura, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5 is published.

Notable, Apple also publishes iOS/iPadOS 15.7.6 to address security issues in previous iOS major version.

macOS 13.4 Ventura RC addresses issues with content filter apps not working in previous beta.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

References:

Apple releases iOS 16.4 and other platforms, older releases receive security updates

Apple releases iOS/iPadOS 16.4, macOS Ventura 13.3, watchOS 9.4 and tvOS 16.4. HomePod software is also updated to 16.4. Apple also released Studio Display firmware update.

Xcode 14.3 receives RC 2.

Apple also releases iOS/iPadOS 15.7.4, macOS Monterey 12.6.4 and macOS Big Sur 11.7.5 with security fixes.

iOS

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

  • 21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard
  • Notifications for web apps added to the Home Screen
  • Voice Isolation for cellular calls prioritizes your voice and blocks out ambient noise around you
  • Duplicates album in Photos expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library
  • VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app
  • Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected
  • Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent's device
  • Addresses issues where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home
  • Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models

iPadOS

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

  • 21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard
  • Apple Pencil hover adds tilt and azimuth support so you can preview your mark at any angle before you make it in Notes and supported apps on iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation) and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation)
  • Notifications for web apps added to the Home Screen
  • Duplicates album in Photos expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library
  • VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app
  • Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected
  • Fixes an issue with Apple Pencil responsiveness that may occur while drawing or writing in the Notes app
  • Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent's device
  • Addresses issues where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home

macOS

This update includes new emoji along with other enhancements, bug fixes, and security updates for your Mac.

  • 21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard
  • Remove background option in Freeform automatically isolates the subject in your image
  • Photos duplicates album expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library
  • Transliteration support for Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu keyboards
  • New keyboard layouts for Choctaw, Chickasaw, Akan, Hausa, and Yoruba
  • Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected
  • VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app
  • Resolves an issue where Trackpad gestures may occasionally stop responding
  • Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent's device
  • Addresses an issue where VoiceOver may be unresponsive after using Finder

watchOS

watchOS 9.4 includes improvements to Apple Watch and brings features to new regions. 

  • Wake-up alarms are no longer silenced with cover to mute gesture to avoid accidental cancellations during sleep
  • Cycle Tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates and cycle deviation alerts now supported in Moldova and Ukraine
  • AFib History now available in Colombia, Malaysia, Moldova, Thailand, and Ukraine

Beta download: Applications

References:

Apple publishes RC for iOS 16.4, other platforms and iOS 15.7.4 too

Apple soon to release iOS 16.4 and other platforms. Today Release Candidate is published. Xcode 14.3 RC is also available.

In addition to new platforms, Apple also publishes RC for iOS 15.7.4 including security fixes (no releases notes are available).

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes: 

- 21 new emoji including animals, hand gestures, and objects are now available in emoji keyboard 
- Notifications for web apps added to the Home Screen 
- Voice Isolation for cellular calls prioritizes your voice and blocks out ambient noise around you 
- Duplicates album in Photos expands support to detect duplicate photos and videos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library 
- VoiceOver support for maps in the Weather app 
- Accessibility setting to automatically dim video when flashes of light or strobe effects are detected 
- Fixes an issue where Ask to Buy requests from children may fail to appear on the parent’s device 
- Addresses issues where Matter-compatible thermostats could become unresponsive when paired to Apple Home 
- Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models

Apple

Also, corresponding RC firmware for Apple Studio Display is available.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

References: