What They Say
The main hardware news from the Apple WWDC at the time of writing was that there is, as expected, a new MacBook Air, which moves away from a ‘wedge’ design to a consistent 11mm thickness which reduces volume, Apple said, by 20%. Weight is slightly down from 2.8lbs to 2.7lbs (1.27kg to 1.22kg), and with the display increasing in size from 13.3″ to 13.6″ and up from 2560 x 1600 to 2560 x 1664 in resolution to match the larger size. Luminance of the IPS LCD is now 500 cd/m² from 400 and colour is still DCI-P3.
The reduction in bezel size means that there is now a camera notch at the top of the display for the upgraded camera (now 1080P, up from 720P). Maximum memory size with the new M2 processor version is 24GB and the M2 has 25% more transistors and is said to be 20% faster processing filters and 38% faster in video editing. There’s a new compact charger that can charge two USB-C devices at the same time. Battery life is claimed at 18 hours.
The new MacBook Air will cost $200 more than the existing one, which will still be available.
A new MacBook Pro 13″ will be available with the M2 processor, but other aspects of the design remain the same. The 14″ and 16″ models remain the same, with the M1 Max and Pro chips. Prices start from $1,399.
Other topics covered so far include changes to iOS 16, macOS and iPadOS 16. A significant change to iPadOS is external display support up to 6K on the iPad Air and iPad Pro and a reference colour mode for the 12.9″ miniLED iPad Pro. There is also a new display scaling mode. (see more details in this preview here)
There is a new ‘Freeform’ productivity app, aimed at allowing real time screen sharing and with pen support.
What We Think
I’m pleased to see the iPad Pro scaling modes and external display support. It looks as though Apple may support better full screen mode with the iPad and an external display – it does say “Now you can work with different apps on your iPad and external display” and there are new windowing features. With earlier OS versions, the screen mirrors the shape and content of the iPad Pro only, except for limited applications. The new version appears to offer full screen support. (BR)
