Apple on Monday unveiled a host of new technology, including the iPhone 16, which features some impressive updates the company hopes will convince customers – many of whom have been holding onto their older gadgets – to upgrade.
Since the 2020 launch of the iPhone 12, which was the first Apple smartphone with 5G connectivity, the company has given customers few reasons to buy the latest generation. Phone cameras have largely advanced to the point where they’re sufficient for most people’s day-to-day needs without major hardware changes, and at some point the human eye isn’t even capable of perceiving higher screen resolutions.
That’s why roughly 300 million iPhones worldwide have not been upgraded in more than four years, according to a research note from analyst Dan Ives of investment firm Wedbush last month. As a result, iPhone sales, which make up half of the company’s revenue, have been sluggish.
Similarly, the Apple Watch and AirPods have seen mostly incremental upgrades in recent years that haven’t persuaded customers to shell out hundreds of dollars for slightly better devices.
On Monday, Apple made several announcements it believes could promote a new major sales cycle.
IPhone 16
Apple announced that the iPhone 16 would be the first model purpose-built for generative artificial intelligence, which would allow users to create text and images with a natural-language prompt. Both the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Pro will be available for pre-order on Friday and in stores on September 20, Apple announced.
Camera control button: A new camera control feature, accessed with a button on the side of the phone, which will give users access to “visual intelligence,” Craig Federighi, the senior vice president of software engineering, said on Monday. For example, after clicking the camera control, a user can point the camera at a restaurant and the iPhone 16 will pull up information like reviews, the menu and how to make a reservation. It can also be used to identify things like dog breeds or landmarks and to add things to your calendar.
Siri enhancements: Siri will now be able to pull from users’ text messages, meaning it can remind you of TV and music recommendations sent by friends, said Federighi. For example, you can say, “Send Erica the photos from Saturday’s barbecue,” and Siri will understand which photos to send and automatically text them to the right person.
New colors: The new phones come in white, black, teal, “ultramarine” and pink. They’re also available in two sizes: 6.1 inches for the iPhone 16 and 6.7 inches for iPhone 16 Plus. The 16 line also comes packed with buttons, including the customizable Action Button from the previous generation. It also adds a new camera control slider, which is a small flush area on the side of the phone that works by capacitative touch, just like the phone’s screen responds to a finger. Users can slide a finger along it to access and use different camera features, like the depth of field.
Faster processor: The iPhone 16 comes with 17 percent more system memory bandwidth to better support Apple Intelligence, a glass-ceramic screen that promises to be 50 percent tougher and 40 percent faster GPU than the previous model.
Same price: The new iPhone 16 will start at $799, the company said. The iPhone 16 Plus will start at $899.
IPhone 16 Pro
The iPhone 16 Pro, Apple’s higher-end iPhone, features even more AI features than the iPhone 16.
Bigger screens: The iPhone 16 Pro line is bigger by 0.2 inches than last year’s models: the entry-level Pro is 6.3 inches and the Pro Max is 6.9 inches, allowing users to see and do more on the display. Apple said the devices include the thinnest borders yet.
Better battery, new colors: The iPhone 16 Pro also features the longest-lasting battery life on any of its iPhones, and comes in four colors: white titanium, darker titanium, natural titanium and a brown-colored desert titanium.
4K video: The new high-end iPhone 16 also lets you shoot in 4K resolution at 120 frames per second, with the ability to make the video slow-motion after recording a clip, rather than trying to grab the right setting as the action is happening. The Pro line is also getting an audio recording boost, including spatial audio with reduced background noise, enabling videos to pick conversations from the people centered in the video out from the ambient noise around them.
Price: The new Apple iPhone 16 Pro will cost $999 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be $1,199, the company announced Monday.
AirPods
Apple unveiled the latest version of its AirPods line that the company calls its “most comfortable” set yet. And its AirPods Pro gained a hearing aid feature that is awaiting regulatory approval.
New shape: Apple said the AirPods 4 were redesigned with advanced modeling tools to make the earbuds fit better into user ears.
New features: The AirPods 4 also come with more control to play and pause music, start and end calls, and now include USB-C via the charging case. They also come with a handful of features that are typically found on its higher-end Pro model, including active noise cancellation and “transparency mode,” which enables users to hear the outside ambient environment.
Two prices: The new AirPods 4 will cost $129 and AirPods 4 with the active noise cancellation feature will be slightly more expensive at $179, the company announced on Monday.
Hearing aid feature: Apple’s new AirPods Pro model will come with a clinical-grade over-the-counter hearing aid feature, the company said, as well as a clinical hearing test that users can access on their iPhones. Apple said it expects to receive clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration and other regulators soon, but the feature will be available in over 100 countries and regions, including the US, this month.
Apple Watch
The new Apple Watch 10 is the thinnest smartwatch Apple has made yet – and it has the Apple Watch’s largest-ever screen display – 30 percent larger than previous Apple Watches.
New look: The watch comes in a new polished titanium finish in jet black, along with rose gold and silver.
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