Apple's biggest event of the year has arrived, with the unveiling of the iPhone 16 lineup and a slew of AI-related updates for iOS 18. Despite there being a number of highly anticipated hardware announcements, including a new Apple Watch, AirPods, and Macs, Apple Intelligence is expected to take center stage at this year's Apple event, just like at WWDC in June. Broadcast live from Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Apple's “Glowtime” event will begin at 10am PST, and you can watch the livestream here.
It remains to be seen whether Monday's announcement will spark or delay a “supercycle” of customers adopting the new iPhone 16 lineup, but it's clear that Apple is focusing on AI as a core part of its sales strategy going forward. We'll keep updating this article as Apple's event continues, and as reports emerge from the demo room and briefings post-event.
iPhone 16
Naturally, the iPhone 16 is “engineered from the ground up for Apple intelligence,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said, and the tweaked design and new colors were revealed at Apple's event. The new iPhone 16 lineup also features side-mounted camera controls for physical access to camera features. Apple also says the new A18 chip makes the iPhone 16 30 percent faster than the iPhone 15. Get the latest on the iPhone 16 here.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence, first unveiled at WWDC, has been presented primarily as a more private, large-scale language model that works behind the scenes to improve existing apps and features. Apple echoed many of its WWDC announcements, touting Intelligence's ability to mine your inbox: email summaries are displayed, notifications have also been modified to provide summaries, and high-priority notifications have been elevated to the top of the stack. Apple claimed a “new era for Siri,” boasting that the Intelligence upgrades allow Siri to understand less-than-skillfully communicated requests, guide users through specific tasks within the iPhone, and recognize actions taking place on the phone on the screen.
Apple Intelligence will be released in beta in the US this fall, with English coming to select markets in December, with additional languages including Chinese, French, Japanese and Spanish targeted for 2025.
Apple Watch Series 10
Image credit: Apple
Apple kicked off the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch with a series of updates within the Apple Watch Series 10 range, including a tweaked design with rounder corners and updated aspect ratios, Apple's first wide-angle OLED screen. The Series 10 display is up to 40 percent brighter when viewed at an angle, and at 9.7mm thick, it's the thinnest Apple Watch ever and up to 10 percent lighter than previous models. Naturally, AI was featured in the Apple Watch Series 10 announcement, with a new photo watch face that uses AI to curate photos that appear on the display, and a translation tool that uses machine learning to improve output.
The Apple Watch also has an update pending FDA clearance that will enable sleep apnea detection on both the Series 10 and Series 9 watches. The Apple Watch Series 10 will start at $399 and will be available on September 20th.
For more information about Apple Watch Series 10, please click here.
Apple Watch Ultra
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Apple has previously promoted the Ultra as a device for fitness enthusiasts, boasting custom workouts, running track detection, biking as a live activity, etc. And ahead of the launch, Apple clarified that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is not yet available, instead unveiling a new satin black color for the Ultra 2.
Airpods 4
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Apple claims the new AirPods 4 are the “most comfortable AirPods ever,” with a new A2 chip underneath the revamped design. The AirPods 4 also feature personalized spatial audio and add machine learning to help Siri recognize a head shake as a nod in response to a prompt. The new AirPods 4 will be available on September 20th, starting at $129, with the $179 tier adding active noise cancellation. You can find a full rundown of the AirPods updates here.
Airpods Pro 2
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The AirPods Pro 2 update emphasizes three points: prevention, awareness, and assistance. For prevention, hearing protection is added for passive noise reduction managed by machine learning and will be turned on by default. For awareness, Apple is adding “clinically validated” hearing tests that owners can take at any time.
And for people whose hearing has been tested and found to be able to benefit from hearing aids, Apple is launching hearing aid features. Apple expects FDA clearance for these features to come “soon,” with iOS updates coming this fall.
Airpods Max
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During the Apple event, the AirPods Max got a series of incremental updates, including the addition of USB-C, and the updated headphones will also be available in a series of new colors on September 20 for the same $549 price point. Check out more details here.