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Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 on Monday. The tech giant is hoping to breathe recent life into its flagship product and is betting that the regular introduction of latest generative artificial intelligence features will persuade consumers to throw away their old devices.
CEO Tim Cook said the most recent model was the primary of his smartphones designed “from the bottom up” for artificial intelligence “and its groundbreaking capabilities” as the group filled the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple's Cupertino campus for the annual product launch event.
The iPhone 16 will go on sale on September 20, with pre-orders available starting Friday. The tech giant is trying to ascertain itself as a player in the substitute intelligence space and boost flagging iPhone sales with recent generative AI features in its latest operating system, iOS 18. However, analysts said the launch didn’t bring any major surprises. Apple shares ended the day unchanged.
Wall Street analysts expect iPhone sales to extend next yr due to recent “Apple Intelligence” features, which include an improved Siri voice assistant, photo editing capabilities, writing aids and free access to ChatGPT through a partnership with OpenAI. Monday's event brought just a little more clarity on the timing of those launches, which is able to begin weeks after the primary iPhone 16s go on sale.
The company said some key elements of its Apple Intelligence offering will launch in US English next month and in “localized English” within the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa in December, with Chinese, Japanese, French and Spanish joining next yr.
These include improved Siri, typing assistance, and email and notification summaries. Together, they represent the primary wave of AI applications that Apple hopes will transform consumer devices. Apple Intelligence may even be available on iPads and MacBooks.
A portal to ChatGPT on the iPhone is predicted to be available to users towards the tip of the yr, barely later than the primary wave of productivity apps that can be released in October.
Apple's courting of Microsoft-backed OpenAI – including a possible direct investment alongside Nvidia that will value the AI startup above $100 billion – began earlier this yr when investors expressed concern that Apple might fall behind competitors.
“We are currently witnessing an arms race in AI,” said Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight. “We saw it with megapixel cameras, now it's about who has the perfect AI platform. Companies like Google, Microsoft and Meta are making huge investments and the ROI (return on investment) remains to be unclear.”
The iPhone 16 can be available in 4 models: Pro, Pro Max, Plus, and a base model. The Pro and Pro Max have a bigger screen and a more advanced camera. The base model costs $799, the Pro costs $999, and the larger Pro Max costs $1,199.
The iPhone 16 features the brand new A18 chip, which improves performance to fulfill the needs of running AI models locally on the device. The Financial Times reported on Saturday that the chip was developed on Arm's next-generation V9 architecture.
Sribalan Santhanam, vice chairman of the corporate's silicon engineering group, said the chip shows a “two-generation lead” for Apple. The A18 is “as much as 30 percent faster” than the processors within the iPhone 15 and may even challenge “high-end desktop PCs.”
An improved version of the A18 chip within the iPhone 16 Pro models can be “the fastest CPU in any smartphone,” he said.
Apple also announced that the Apple Watch Series 10 can be available starting September 20. The Series 10 is predicted to have a bigger display, a thinner design, faster battery charging and a brand new S10 machine learning chip. It will include a brand new sleep apnea detection feature and the corporate expects approval from the US Food and Drug Administration “very soon”. Prices start at $399.
The company's latest AirPods Pro 2 headphones – subject to FDA approval – will include a brand new hearing aid, a “clinical-grade” hearing test feature and hearing protection.
“The iPhone 16 lineup is hugely necessary for Apple as consumer demand for brand new smartphones slows,” said Leo Gebbie of CCS Insight. Apple Intelligence, he said, “can be central to the subsequent decade of the iPhone.”
Following the event, Piper Sandler analyst Matt Farrell reiterated his neutral rating on Apple stock, writing that the event went “largely as expected” and noting that “Apple Intelligence use cases will likely still require training for users.”
Nabila Popal of International Data Corporation said: “Ultimately, it is a long-term endeavor for Apple, and while we may not see the larger impact immediately, Apple Intelligence will eventually completely transform the smartphone user experience, because it did with the primary iPhone.”
