Apple is in the process of announcing new updates and features, including a wide slate of updates and changes to iOS, WatchOS, and Apple’s products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.  The conference continues.

Earlier today, during the event’s opening presentation, the company announced a new version of iOS, iOS 16.  And with that release will come changes in how people within the Apple ecosystem can use applications and devices, Apple presenters shared on Monday.

The company also announced a new silicon-based computer chip, M2.  Industry website MacRumors published a story about the M2 chip last month.  This chip will be included in a new MacBook Air, the company announced, and the computer has been redesigned such that it has a 20% reduction in size compared to the prior computer and a weight of less than three pounds.

M2 will also be included in new versions of the MacBook Pro, the company announced.  The new design includes 50% more memory bandwidth, according to the Apple presenter, and up to 20 hours of video playback on battery power alone.

Apple new features countdown – watch for news Monday afternoon

Apple updates

One such new feature is Apple’s new dictation tool that will work inside applications such as Mail, and will work with Siri, as well.  This product feature was only demonstrated in English.

Apple also announced updates to Live Text, a system-wide feature that integrates across multiple applications.  And the latest version updates the Live Text suite for use in a new translation application as well as in video.

A new machine learning model powers a drag-and-drop feature with visual lookup, whereby iOs users can use their photos application on their iPhone to pull specific images and drop them into messages, to note the example provided by Apple’s presenting team.

Apple also introduced a new feature, iCloud Family Library, which shares a photo library with up to five total people.  There’s an addition to the camera application that enables users to share photos directly to the family’s library, and it can be enabled to automatically add photos to the library when configured.

The company also announced updates to smart home features that can be controlled from devices and accessories, calling it a “connected ecosystem at home.”  The connectivity standard, now known as Matter, developed in collaboration with Amazon, Google, and other manufacturers and companies in the smart home market, had previously been announced, but delayed, according to 9to5mac.com.

There’s also a new Home application, the company announced, that includes a major design overhaul.  And, the company also announced it “reinvented” CarPlay calling it “next generation.”

Monday’s conference kickoff was livestreamed on the company’s YouTube channel.  The conference continues through Friday.

At last year’s event, the company announced product updates, but no new devices.