Apple dives deeper into cars

Apple on Monday announced it would more deeply integrate its software into the core driving systems of cars, while the iPhone maker rolled out a slew of features for payments and business collaboration and a pair of new laptops.

The announcements at Apple’s annual developer conference showed a company that was once an outsider working its way firmly into the mainstream of nearly every screen in day-to-day life. read more

The company whose late 1990s turnaround meant branding itself for rebels and troublemakers spent Monday talking up how to use iPads to collaborate on business presentations and how its software will eventually help display fuel economy on car dashboards. Notably absent were any hints of Apple’s expected next big product, a mixed-reality headset that can overlay digital objects on a view of the real world. Hopeful fans got only a few tidbits of new augmented reality technology at a technical talk.

And Apple announced Apply Pay Later, a service that lets users make interest-free installments. The business, which will work over the MasterCard Inc (MA.N) network wherever Apple Pay is accepted, puts Apple in direction competition with payment providers like Affirm Holdings and PayPal Holdings.

But mostly Apple doubled down on existing products. A MacBook Air laptop was redesigned around a 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, Apple announced at its WWDC 2022 conference.

The M2 chip will also power the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which will start at $1,299 and be available next month. Both chips will use a second generation of 5-nanometer chip manufacturing technology. Apple did not say who would make the chip, but likely manufacturers include longtime Apple partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which is struggling with delays of newer technology.

“They have to do volume” with the new laptops, said Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research. “That’s the safe choice,” he said of the 5-nanometer chips.

But Apple did break with its tradition of not tipping its hand about future technology when it showed off a new car dashboard that it said would be able to display data from major instruments such as speed, fuel levels and gas mileage. Apple said it was in talks with automakers such as Ford Motor, Nissan Motor, Mercedes-Benz and Honda Motor. Vehicles with the software will not be announced until late next year.