The big reveal: Apple’s iPhone 16 ‘Glowtime’ event

Not surprisingly, Apple Intelligence was everywhere during Apple’s big iPhone event on Monday. There were, of course, new phones (better, faster, AI-ready and arriving Sept. 20). But what was more interesting were the multitude of different ways the company has found where it can make a difference with various breeds of artificial intelligence (AI).

The variety of implementations — from sleep apnea detection in the Apple Watch to the use of AirPods Pro as a full-fledged hearing aid to a multitude of new camera features (including the new Cinematic Slow Motion tool) — all served to underline the message Apple has been giving: there’s more to AI than GenAI, and AI really doesn’t matter at all unless it’s making a difference in people’s lives.

Sweet 16 (and 16 Pro)

As always in early September, the business of the day was new iPhones, the 16 and 16 Pro, about which there were few major surprises. For those more concerned about form over function, this year’s new Pro color is a tawny, brassy, bronzy “Desert Titanium.” The iPhone 16 comes in five colors (if you count black and white as colors), including “Ultramarine”; the Pro and Pro Max come in four: white, black, natural titanium and that aforementioned Desert Titanium.

For those more focused on function and technology, the line-up will look familiar, though the Pro Max does get a slightly larger 6.9-in. display. Storage capacities range from 128GB to 1Tb, depending on model and size. Camera upgrades abound (as does a new Camera Control button on all models). And there are, of course, new processors — the A18 and A18 Pro. In addition to the more efficient and powerful chips, Apple also promises better battery life.

The phones will be available for pre-order on Friday, and will arrive on Sept. 20.

Unleash the upgrade deals?

With that date in mind, an estimated 300 million iPhone users might well be in the frame for a smartphone upgrade this year. And it looks as if the wireless carriers in Apple’s biggest US market are ready to help.

Apple claims some carriers will offer up to $1,000 off on an upgrade, and while we’ve run into some turbulence between carrier launch promises and the reality in the past, those kinds of deals may spur strong upgrades.

Those rebates should also put a little spark into second user sales, which could be good for any enterprise users out there hoping to add Apple Intelligence to their existing fleet. I suspect (but don’t know) one second line beneficiary from all this will be that upgraders of more modest means could see better-than-anticipated second user prices for older iPhone 13s and 14s as upgraders embrace Apple Intelligence.

Speaking of Apple Intelligence…

…AI don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing 

No one is likely to buy anything (even a new iPhone) just because it supports some form of AI. In some cases, buyers might even actively avoid such a purchase. But they will acquire AI devices that actually help them with their lives. (An Apple Watch that translates between languages, for instance, is a good example.)

Looking to show the many benefits of Apple Intelligence while also unveiling its new iPhone line-up was precisely the dance Apple made during the Glowtime product introductions. Put simply: the benefits needed to be explained.

And while Apple Intelligence was certainly a part of the discussion, the company resolutely repeated an additional message — “This is just the beginning.” Anyone who has ever bet against Apple knows what that means: a line in the sand has been drawn, and the company has no intention of staying behind it. 

The fact that the company also mentioned that Apple Intelligence features are to be provided “free” with future software updates also hints that some day not every feature will be gratis.

Core message: Watch this space.

Apple Silicon: A platform development opportunity

Apple Silicon remains strategically critical to Apple’s future. Three bits of news particularly stood out: the inclusion of a 4-core neural engine on Apple Watch, and the new 3-nanometer A18 and 18 Pro chips inside iPhones. 

Other than the expected big benefits in performance and battery life across all three products as a result of the new chips, what matters most is that all three have now been transformed into AI platforms.

The Apple Watch could turn out to be even more interesting, as the challenge for developer and enterprise users (and Apple) will be to find what kinds of useful AI experiences can now be built for it. The introduction of the neural engines means AI will be extended to the Watch — even as Apple explores the extent to which the world’s most powerful smartphone processor can support cutting-edge use cases for mobile AI. 

(For most knowledge workers, the most interesting use case for Apple Intelligence will be sending more professional emails when responding later than you should, and summarizing lengthy messages so understanding them doesn’t make your brain hurt.)

Health: The new frontier?

Health was certainly a major topic during the announcement. Apple CEO Tim Cook has always resolutely spoken up for the benefits his company can bring to health, and that stance did not change this year. The link between Apple, its deep investments in health-related research, and the application of machine intelligence and other forms of AI was made crystal clear. 

New health-related features in both the Apple Watch and across the AirPods range will make a big difference to many people, and Apple is determined to use these platforms to augment health outcomes in quite significant ways. The big challenge to office managers and human resource types might be the need to learn that just because someone is wearing AirPods at work doesn’t mean they are shirking – they might just need help hearing. 

Efficiency for all (but no new iPads or Macs, yet)

If there’s one more thing this year, it’s this: Apple made no explicit mention about iPads or Macs during its iPhone launch (no surprise there). But if it had done so, it might well have pointed to the huge performance and battery life improvements in the new A18/A18 Pro chips. No doubt, company execs will soon be able to point to similar boosts to computational efficiency and battery life/energy consumption in Apple’s other products, too.

Of course, improvements like those are nice if you upgrade your own Mac. But for offices with a few hundred machines in use, a 20% power reduction means a much lower energy bill. Plus, you don’t need to use Crowdstrike and you get to use Apple Intelligence across tablet, smartphone, and PC.

Apple’s AI platform is becoming a reality, and it’s being sold for the real-world benefits it brings, not thrown out as a random buzzword. Then again, extolling the benefits of its platforms has always been how Apple shows its Apple intelligence.

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