Apple To Make Many Changes To iPhone, iPad Operating Systems – Report

Apple will reportedly make many changes to the operating systems running its iPhone and iPad devices.

Mark Gurman’s ‘Power On’ newsletter at Bloomberg reported that the changes to iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 should be announced at Apple’s annual developer’s conference, WWDC 2022, slated to take place on 6 June.

The current operating system, iOS 15 was released last September and it included a number of noteworthy changes, including cross platform FaceTime for Android or Windows users. Another development was the arrival of Focus, which was a new way to help users reduce distraction by filtering notifications based on what a user wants to focus on in that moment.

Apple iOS 16

The forthcoming iOS 16, codenamed Sydney, is expected to be a a fairly significant upgrade of the iPhone, and there should be updates to notifications, messages and the Health app.

As mentioned above, Apple already made new notification changes last year, but now Apple’s messages app is expected to get new audio features.

The Health app will also reportedly get new features that will work with the iPhone and Apple Watch, although it is not clear at this stage what exactly these features will be.

But reportedly there is a major change to an often overlooked item, namely the lock screen.

Bloomberg also reported that Apple is going to add new widgets to the lock screen with support for “always-on” displays, but only on the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

That would allow the user to see widgets on the iPhone even when it’s just sitting on a desk.

This is a fairly major change for Apple users, as currently the iPhone lock screen simply goes dark when it isn’t in use.

But this “always-on” display with a reduced frame rate has become a commonplace feature on Android phones, so it makes sense for Apple to finally include the option.

Mark Gurman also reported that other iPhone 14 Pro features include a new front-facing camera and Face ID cutout, an A16 chip and a 48-megapixel back camera.

The FaceID cutout is not a new prediction.

In January Mark Gurman reported that the iPhone 14 would lose its notch cutout, and would instead come “with a hole-punch-sized notch in the fall (Autumn).”

It should be remembered that the demise of the unsightly and screen-eating notch on the top of the iPhone screen has been predicted for a while now.

Another prediction is the new iPhone 14 handsets may be capable of sending emergency texts over satellite networks, which would potentially be another life saving feature in remote locations, especially if paired with the Apple Watch, which will call the emergency services if it detects the person has fallen.

Apple iPadOS 16

One of final remaining changes concerns iPadOS 16 – where Apple will reportedly add some much needed new iPad multitasking options.

Last year, Apple made it easier to run two apps side by side on the iPad, but for years power users have complained that iPads have lacked the genuine multitasking capabilities that are commonly found on Mac or Windows computers.

This lack of full multitasking has been especially frustrating for iPad Pro users, who typically tend to be power users that need to utilise full multitasking options.

The new operating systems for the iPhone and iPad is expected to be announced at the WWDC 2022 event, before being released in beta for developers and users to try out, before the final operating system is released in the Autumn.

Bloomberg also reported that Apple may announce new MacBook Air laptops at the annual developer conference.