© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Apple’s Mac Pro is displayed during Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S. June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Mason Trinca
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By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) -Apple Inc on Monday announced it would more deeply integrate its software into the instrument cluster on the dashboard of cars that will start shipping next year, while analysts and developers are keenly awaiting any hints about how a future mixed-reality headset might work.
Apple (NASDAQ:) also announced that its new MacBook Air laptop was “completely redesigned” around its new M2 silicon processor, which it says is 35% faster than the previous M1 chip. The new laptop will be 2.7 pounds (1.2 kg) and have a 1080p high-definition camera to provide better images on video calls. The MacBook Air will start at $1,199.
The M2 chip will also power the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which will start at $1,299 and be available next month. Prices are $100 lower for education customers as Apple targets the back-to-school market.
Apple unveiled an updated version of its CarPlay software at its annual software developer conference. The new software for the first time will time power the instrument cluster on a car’s dashboard showing speed, directions and gas mileage. Apple said that automakers such as Ford Motor (NYSE:) Co, Nissan (OTC:) Motor Co and Honda Motor Corp are planning to use the new software and that cars with it will start shipping next year.
Apple also announced that users can buy now and pay later for purchases. Apple Pay Later will be available anywhere that Apple Pay is accepted and managed through the Apple Wallet. Users can make four equal payments with no interest or fees.
Apple also added an edit button to iMessage for sent messages, beating Twitter (NYSE:) to a long-requested feature.
Apple also introduced tweaks to popular apps including better rendering of landmarks on its Maps software, live sport scores on Apple TV and making the shared video-watching app available in messaging.
The tech giant is also adding a tool called “Safety Check” to turn off access to sensitive information for people in abusive situations.
While a headset announcement is unlikely on Monday, developers expect the future headset to likely to use cameras to pass a view of the outside world into a high-resolution display that can overlay digital objects on physical surroundings and could arrive in March of next year, said Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. Such a device would be Apple’s first entry into a new category of computing device since the Apple Watch shipped in 2015 and would put it in direct competition with Meta, which has disclosed plans for a mixed-reality headset code named “Cambria” to be released this year.
But neither Sag nor other developers and analysts interviewed by Reuters expect a sneak peek at the headset on Monday.
Instead, they will be looking for buried hints about the future device such as improvements in how Apple’s devices process augmented reality scenes. They will be on the lookout for small surprises in so-called “spatial” features in which devices understand how they are being used in three-dimensional space, said Andrew McHugh, who co-founded an app called Vivid that lets users virtually step inside their videos and photos. Apple has previously rolled out features such as spatial audio for its wireless headphones, where sounds change as users turn their heads.