Apple had a pretty big year in 2022 for product announcements, from iPhones to iPads to new operating systems.
Here’s everything the company announced and released this year, including links to our reviews.
March
Apple’s 2022 announcements kicked off in March with the announcement of the Apple Studio Display, the iPad Air 5th generation, the Mac Studio and the iPhone SE 3rd generation.
We loved the iPhone SE 5G as a stock standard iPhone, and were also pretty kind on the newly announced green iPhone 13s. Additionally, the 5th generation iPad Air made for a powerful, graphics-rich gaming device that we’re still using today.
The Studio Display also impressed us as a gorgeous 5K monitor, although it’s limited to 60hz without HDR support. The Mac Studio made for a powerful and neat little desktop Apple computer.
Apple also made a big deal about the new M1 Ultra chip. The company combined two M1 Max dies using a custom-built architecture for double the performance.
WWDC 2022
Apple’s annual WWDC event rolled around in June (a developer-centric conference), and with it a slew of new product announcements. Software took centre-stage at the WWDC event, as usual, with iOS 16, WatchOS 9, iPadOS 16 and MacOS 16 (Ventura) shown off for the first time (they were released later in the year). The M2 chip and new MacBooks also got revealed.
iOS 16 brought massive changes to the lock screen, with changes to iMessage, photos and iCloud coming with it. WatchOS 9 also brought four new faces, with improved metrics for runners, and a dedicated app for iOS. iPadOS 16 also got some love, with windowed apps arriving on iPad, collaborative document editing, and an all-new home app built around the tablet. MacOS 16 also brought changes that allowed for iPhones to be used as computer webcams, and better document management tools like search improvements and a window manager.
But of course it wasn’t all software. The 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air were also revealed at the event, with the Air shipping with a camera notch and the Pro shipping with a touch bar.
Finally, the new M2 chip also got shown off, which would be powering the new MacBooks. The M2 chip delivers a 10 per cent greater multi-core CPU performance over the M1.
September
Apple’s September event is usually the most celebrated, as it includes the latest iPhones, along with whatever Apple’s lumped in as an extra that year. The iPhone 14, Pro, Pro Max and the newly released Plus (which is just a bigger iPhone 14) were centre-stage at the September event, but the Apple Watch Series 8, the Apple Watch SE and the new Apple Watch Ultra were also revealed. The AirPods Pro 2nd generation also got shown off.
We weren’t too excited about the iPhone 14, arguing that if you’re going to shop for an iPhone that you’d be better off buying the Pro model. Meanwhile, the Pro Max model really impressed us, giving us everything we never knew we wanted.
We also really liked the Apple Watch Series 8. Though there wasn’t much new in terms of hardware over the Series 7, the Series 8 boasted a temperature sensor and car crash detection. The Apple Watch Ultra also made its debut as the perfect piece of tech for fitness nerds with its much bigger screen.
Of all the September Apple product releases, we were probably the most impressed with the AirPods Pro 2nd generation, which offered noise cancellation to rival a live metal gig.
October and November
October rolled around and Apple wasn’t done for the year. Two new iPad made it out the door, the 10th generation iPad and the 6th generation iPad Pro, and then in November, the 3rd generation Apple TV 4K was released.
We loved these devices. I turned the iPad 10th generation into a smart home hub and the 6th generation iPad Pro makes a terrific replacement for a laptop. Meanwhile, the 3rd generation Apple TV 4K made for a terrific gaming and fitness device, while also giving a TV the smarts of an Apple device.
That’s every Apple device that was announced and released in 2022. Here’s to 2023, when Apple will be releasing a lot more.