Apple Tipped to Announce 2 New Mac Models at WWDC22, iOS 16 Said to Feature Updated Notifications: Report

Apple is reportedly working on launching two new Mac models that could arrive by the second half of 2022. At company’s upcoming WWDC event, Apple is also expected to announce upcoming versions of its software — iOS 16 (codenamed Sydney), watchOS 9 (Kincaid), macOS 13 (Rome), and tvOS 16 (Paris). With the arrival of iOS 16, Apple is tipped to bring improvements to the interface and notifications, without a new redesign. Meanwhile, watchOS is expected to bring upgrades to activity and health tracking later this year.

The Cupertino company is yet to officially announce any details of what customers can expect from its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event scheduled for June 6. However, the company is tipped to be working on two new Mac models that could launch “around the middle of the year or early in the second half”, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his weekly Power On newsletter. The company is said to be working on a new MacBook Air model, along with an updated Mac mini, 24-inch Mac, and a new low-end MacBook Pro model, according to Gurman.

Apple previously announced the Mac Studio which is equipped with the high-end M1 Ultra chip, which suggests that the upcoming Mac models could be equipped with a next-generation chip or the M2 chip. The company is yet to reveal any plans to launch any upcoming Mac models, including the rumoured new MacBook Air model. Last month, Gurman stated that Apple had delayed the launch of the MacBook Air until later this year.

On the software front, Gurman notes that Apple could bring “fairly significant” improvements with iOS 16, including notifications and health tracking. Apple previously introduced new notification management features with iOS 15, including Focus Modes and Notification Summary. Meanwhile, iPad users may see a new multitasking interface on iPadOS, while Apple Watch owners could gain important upgrades to activity and health tracking with watchOS 9. Apple has not yet revealed any planned features or improvements making their way to the company’s operating systems for various devices ahead of WWDC 2022.

Apple is said to be working on an augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headset that was previously expected to launch at the company’s WWDC conference in June. According to a previous report, Apple considered delaying the launch of its mixed reality headset until the end of 2022 or 2023. According to Gurman, while the headset may not debut at WWDC 2022, iOS 16 is reportedly “chock-full” of references to the mixed reality headset and interactions with the iPhone, suggesting that it could debut before next year’s WWDC — while Apple could simply preview the AR and VR features and the rumoured rOS operating system before the headset is launched.