Welcome to our monthly Apple News Roundup. This column recaps the top 10 biggest Apple news announcements from each month, giving you an at-a-glance look at all the headlines you need to know. This edition features the highlights from June of 2022.
1. Apple unveils an all-new Lock Screen experience
Apple users can now personalize their Lock Screen—a feature delivered with the recent iOS 16 update. New ways to share and communicate include keeping family photos in an iCloud Shared Photo Library, recalling sent messages, and scheduling mail. Additionally, powerful new enhancements were made to Live Text and Visual Look Up. “iOS 16 is a big release with updates that will change the way you experience the iPhone,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering.
For full coverage of everything new in iOS 16, click here. To learn how to install the iOS 16 beta, click here.
2. Apple TV app offers streaming video of Major League Soccer
Apple and Major League Soccer (MLS) announced that the Apple TV app will offer streaming video of every MLS match for the next 10 years. This will be a part of a “new MLS streaming service” that will become available in early 2023. The service will be exclusive to the Apple TV app and billed separately from Apple’s catch-all Apple TV+ streaming service. A limited number of MLS and League Cup matches will be available for free to Apple TV+ subscribers.
3. Apple announces the winners of the Apple Design Awards
On June 6, Apple recognized twelve developers from around the world for their design excellence in inclusivity, delight and fun, interaction, social impact, visuals and graphics, and innovation at WWDC22. The winners were chosen from 36 finalists, who all demonstrated outstanding technical achievement in best-in-class apps and games.
4. Apple faces lawsuit over iPhone software update
Apple is facing a $918 million lawsuit in Britain after a consumer rights champion filed a claim accusing the company of secretly slowing down older iPhone models. The complaint revolves around a power management tool included in a 2017 software update, which slowed down older iPhone models and prevented abrupt shutdowns. Apple said in a statement that “we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.
5. Apple releases the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2
Customers were able to order the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 starting on June 17. The new MacBook Pro is supercharged by the new M2 chip, which begins the next generation of Apple silicon. It features incredible performance, up to 24GB of unified memory, ProRes acceleration, and up to 20 hours of battery life—all in a compact design. The MacBook Pro starts at $1,299 and is available for purchase at apple.com/store, in the Apple Store app, and through Apple Authorized Resellers.
6. Apple invites families to create and learn at Apple Camp
On June 20, Apple Camp, a popular free program celebrating planet Earth, returned to Apple Store locations worldwide. The program, now in its 20th year, gives participants the chance to create their own digital comic book about protecting and celebrating the planet. The sessions will be held weekly through August 31, and parents and guardians can register at https://apple.co/apple-camp.
7. Apple plans to expand its fintech offerings
When Apple launches the new iPhone software, iOS 16, this fall, the company plans to expand its fintech offerings. New features will include a buy now, pay later service for the wallet app called Apple Pay Later. This offering directly competes with products from other fintech companies such as Affirm and PayPal. Apple will also be launching a new payments system that lets you pay someone by simply tapping your iPhone against theirs.
8. Apple provides developers with more powerful technologies
Apple developers now have powerful new tools, technologies, and APIs designed to help create richer experiences for their users. New APIs offer deeper platform integration and greater capabilities for third-party apps. “We love collaborating with our developer community and providing them with new innovative technologies that enable them to build the next great generation of apps,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Enterprise and Education Marketing.
9. iPadOS 16 introduces a new multitasking experience
iPadOS 16 features powerful new productivity and collaboration tools—making the iPad even more versatile. The update introduced new ways to collaborate via Messages, big updates to Mail and Safari, iCloud Shared Photo Library, and other pro features. This new iPad experience also takes advantage of the power of the M1 chip, and Stage Manager brings a new way to multitask with multiple overlapping windows and full external display support.
To read full coverage of everything new in iPadOS 16, click here. To learn how to install the iPadOS 16 beta, click here.
10. Apple invites macOS Monterey users to test drive Safari 16
Following the release of a major update to the Safari Technology Preview, Apple invited macOS Monterey users to try out the new Safari 16 beta ahead of the macOS Ventura release—slated for later this year. Users are being invited through the AppleSeed program, which allows them to try out beta software. Safari 16 brings several new features and improvements including a Shared Tab Group, strong password editing, and Passkeys—a new way to authenticate to websites with Touch ID.
