Apple unveiled its latest generation of marquee devices Monday with a nod to the future of artificial intelligence and how it will be integrated in Apple products.
During the nearly two-hour livestreamed presentation headlined by CEO Tim Cook, Apple introduced consumers to a new line of iPhone 16 smartphones, Apple Watches, and more — all centered around the company's new AI technology.
Apple Intelligence
At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple unveiled its generative AI technology — called Apple Intelligence — that will assist iPhone users with everything from photos and emails to the Genmoji, a custom emoji that Apple AI will create based on a description.
Apple Intelligence will also be able to prioritize emails in your inbox, generate replies for you, create summaries of audio recordings or notes, and quickly organize and retrieve photos and other valuable information stored in your devices.
Meanwhile, Siri is also expected to get an upgrade in terms of personalization, and will now be able to work as a personal assistant of sorts, by doing tasks assigned to it, understanding which apps to use to complete those tasks, and offering tips on navigating other new iPhones features.
However, the new Apple Intelligence capabilities won't be available right away. The company said they will start rolling out some AI features in a free beta software update next month — with hopes to expand by the end of this year and early 2025.
iPhone 16
Offered in 6.1-inch or 6.7-inch screen sizes, Apple's new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus feature an aluminum body with a vertical dual-camera design.
Powered by a new A18 chip, Apple says the new iPhone 16 models are optimized for faster processing, machine learning, and offer more system memory bandwidth than prior iPhone models.
Unlike the iPhone 15, which only carried the Action Button on Pro models, all iPhone 16 models now have the button in place of the mute switch to allow users to perform a multitude of functions, like launching a shortcut or turning on the flashlight.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will start at $799 and $899, respectively, with 128GB to 512GB of storage. They will be offered in five colorways: black, white, teal, pink, and ultra marine. Devices are available for preorder starting Friday Sept. 13, with an expected arrival date of Sept. 20.
iPhone 16 Pro
Offered in 6.3-inch or 6.9-inch screen sizes, the Apple iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are equipped with the same action button on the side of the phones, but come with slightly larger displays and are built using high-grade titanium for peak durability.
The iPhone 16 Pros also feature an upgraded A18 Pro chip with more processing speed and power, as well as a triple-camera design with enhanced photography capabilities.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will start at $999 and $1,199, respectively, with 128GB to 1TB of storage. These models will be available in black, titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and desert titanium.
Devices are available also for preorder starting Friday Sept. 13, with an expected arrival date of Sept. 20.
Other new Apple devices
Apple also unveiled its new line of Apple Watches that offer advanced capabilities and longer battery life, starting at $249 for the Apple Watch SE or 4399 for the Apple Watch Series 10.
The company is also expanding on its line of audio devices, unveiling a new AirPods lineup that starts at $129 for the AirPods 4 and goes up to $549 for the new Airpods Max.
To learn more about Apple's latest product lineup, click here.
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