Mac, macOS, iPadOS: WWDC 2023 news roundup

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During its annual WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference), Apple made numerous product announcements. While the main focus was on the Vision Pro (which you can find out more about by clicking here) and the new features of iOS 17 (which you can find out more about by clicking here), there were a number of other news items worth a look.

All Macs move to Apple Silicon

Apple began its conference by unveiling a new laptop: the MacBook Air 15″. It takes the same fundamentals that made the MacBook Air a success – thinness and autonomy – and adds a large screen. With a thickness of just 11.5 mm and a weight of 1.51 kg, it features an Apple M2 chip that offers excellent performance without the need for a fan, as well as an 18-hour battery life. Connectivity features include 2 Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, a MagSafe port and a headphone jack.

MacBook Air 15 pouces // Source : Apple

It is available from €1,599 in 4 colors: Liquid Silver, Starlight, Sidereal Gray and Midnight.

Fiche technique du MacBook Air 15 pouces // Source : Apple

Apple has also taken the opportunity to update some of its existing Macs. The Mac Studio can now benefit from the M2 Max chip (25% more powerful than the M1 Max chip) and the new M2 Ultra chip (20% faster than the M2 Max chip). It is available from €2,399.

Puce M2 Ultra // Source : Apple

Mac Studio // Source : Apple

At last, the Mac Pro switches to Apple Silicon chips. The new Mac Pro is now equipped with the new M2 Ultra chip. With this new Mac Pro, Apple completes its transition to its own chips. Available from €8299.

Mac Pro // Source : Apple

Widgets take center stage on macOS Sonoma

Apple has unveiled the new version of macOS, dubbed Sonoma. Many of the new features of iOS 17, which you can discover by clicking here, are integrated into Sonoma, such as stickers, new features in Messages and interactive widgets. However, Sonoma goes even further with widgets, as they are now available on the desktop.

Widgets sur macOS Sonoma /Source : Apple

Safari finally catches up with the competition, offering browsing profiles and the ability to create web apps, accessible directly from the dock. In terms of security, the private browsing mode is improved, locking your windows, blocking known trackers and removing URL trackers.

For those who are used to sharing their screen during video conferences, it’s even easier to do so directly from the window buttons. What’s more, when sharing your screen, you can overlay your camera display on top of the shared content.

macOS Sonoma //Source : Apple

iPadOS 17: widgets, health app and improved PDF management

iPadOS 17 is aligned with iOS 17. Interactive widgets and live activities come to the iPad. The iPad lock screen also receives the customization elements that appeared on iOS 16. It is now possible to display the weather and customize the clock. As on iOS, widgets are also available.

iPadOS 17 // Source : Apple

Finally, you’ll be able to annotate your PDFs even better on iPad. When you open a scanned PDF document, for example, the iPad is able to detect fields to be filled in and create them digitally. PDFs are also better integrated with the Notes application. It is now possible to add several PDFs to a note and annotate them with the Apple Pencil. It is also possible to work collaboratively on PDFs with real-time annotation.

Gestion des PDFs sur iPadOS 17 // Source : Apple