Three big new features Apple previewed for Spring 2022
Apple’s next round of software updates for your devices are going to pack some significant new features. Here are the three that really stood out to me.
Apple just released beta releases of its next round of software updates for the Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. While the first several minor updates after a major new release focus mostly on bug fixes, the Spring releases often bring important new features. Here’s what you can look forward to by March of 2022:
Universal Control
I have been dying to try this out ever since Apple’s Craig Federighi demoed it last Summer at WWDC. It was supposed to debut with macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15 last Fall, but it has seen delay after delay instead. Users running Apple’s developer betas can finally try this out as of the macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4 betas. What Universal Control does is allow you to seamlessly share a single keyboard and mouse across multiple Macs and iPads. Just as in the image above, where Craig is demoing the feature with a MacBook Pro, an iMac, and an iPad Pro, you simply move your mouse toward the right to transfer the cursor to the iPad or over to the left to move it to the iMac. (You can adjust the placement to match where your devices are actually placed just like you can adjust the positioning of external displays.) The keyboard automatically switches to the device which has cursor focus. You can even drag and drop files between devices! To make this work, you just have to be running the right versions of each device’s operating system and be signed into the same iCloud account on each one. Many people will never have use for this, but for those of us who have an iPad nearby our Mac at all times, this is a really welcome feature.
Use Face ID with a Mask
While it certainly would have been way more useful if Apple could have delivered this by April or May of 2020, many people will still find this new feature really useful. Starting with iOS 15.4, if you have an iPhone 12 or newer you’ll be able to unlock your iPhone via Face ID even while wearing a mask. Not a trivial task given that a mask robs the iPhone of half of your facial features, so it’s good to see that Apple is close to delivering something that meets a need for a lot of people in a still-secure manner. Apple had previously taken a half step toward this feature by using an Apple Watch to facilitate unlocking an iPhone if its user was wearing a mask. That was great, but this new feature will allow Face ID to work for mask-wearers even if the user doesn’t have an Apple Watch.
Captive WiFi Network Support for Apple TV
This last one’s admittedly a bit more niche, but if you’re like me you travel with an Apple TV. This can be a great way to keep your entertainment with you while on the road, but places like hotels often make it impossible to connect an Apple TV to their network because they require additional steps beyond just a wifi password, like filling out an online form to connect. Starting in tvOS 15.4, you’ll be able to use your iPhone to process those extra steps on behalf of your Apple TV so that you can get streaming to your hotel’s TV in no time.