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Apple Inc.’s most important event of the year takes place Monday, when the company will roll out its latest iPhones and set the stage for a new artificial intelligence platform.
The event kicks off from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., on Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. local time. Apple doesn’t typically hold this event on a Monday, but the earlier timing lets the company get out ahead of an eventful Tuesday: There’s a U.S. presidential debate that day, and the European Commission is slated to announce a decision on whether Apple has to pay $14 billion in taxes stemming from a longstanding agreement with Ireland.
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The most significant product announcement will be the iPhone 16 line, but the company is also preparing major updates to both the Apple Watch and AirPods. Apple Intelligence — a new suite of AI tools that includes an updated Siri digital assistant — also will feature prominently. The theme of the event, “It’s Glowtime,” is a reference to Siri’s new interface.
The stakes are high for Apple, which looks to prove to both consumers and Wall Street that it’s now a major player in generative artificial intelligence. But the company’s AI technology is still a work in progress. Apple Intelligence has faced numerous delays, and many key features won’t arrive until next year. For now, the technology is focused on summarizing messages and notifications, rather than matching the dazzling interactivity of rival systems.
Even so, Monday’s updates will breathe new life into products that sit at the heart of the Apple device lineup and generate roughly 60 per cent of the company’s annual revenue. They also drive consumer spending on services, an increasingly vital source of sales. Apple’s finances could use the boost. The company has only just begun to emerge from its longest sales slump in decades.
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Here’s everything that’s expected to be announced at Monday’s presentation:
iPhone
- In line with the past several years, Apple will introduce four new iPhone models: the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max.
- Like in 2023, the changes to the non-Pro iPhones will be minor. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will look like last year’s versions, including 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screen sizes and aluminum cases. They’ll gain faster processors and include a total of 8 gigabytes of memory (up from 6). That memory will help support Apple Intelligence and other features.
- Those lower-end phones will get the same Action button currently featured on the Pro models, as well as vertically stacked rear cameras that support spatial video recording — the 3D clips that can be viewed with Apple’s Vision Pro headsets.
- The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, meanwhile, will retain the iPhone 15 Pro line design save for one noticeable change: the displays. The screen sizes are increasing to 6.3 inches on the smaller model (up from from 6.1 inches) and going to 6.9 inches from 6.7 inches on the Max version. While the changes represent an increase of less than five per cent on both models, the shift will come with bezels that are now about a third slimmer. That should make for a sleeker overall look.
- Like the iPhone 15 Pro line, the 16 Pro models will support Apple Intelligence with the inclusion of 8 gigabytes of memory. They’ll also get speedier chips with an enhanced neural engine that Apple will say is optimized for AI.
- Both of the iPhone 16 Pro models will get camera upgrades as well, including a move to a 48-megapixel lens from a 12-megapixel one for the ultrawide-angle camera. That will match the megapixels of the standard, wide-angle camera on last year’s model. The smaller iPhone 16 Pro will also gain 5x optical zoom on the telephoto lens, up from 3x, to match the Max version.
- The most significant camera enhancement coming to both models: a dedicated, touch-sensitive button on the right side of the phone for taking photos and video. This button will be the biggest selling point for the new iPhones, other than AI. It will work similarly to a shutter button on a DSLR camera, allowing a user to lightly press it to focus on a subject and then press harder to take a picture. It will also be capacitive, allowing a user to swipe across it to move between still and video modes and zoom in and out.
- While the phones will all look mostly the same as last year, Apple is shaking up its colour palette. The Pro models will now come in a gold titanium to replace blue titanium, while the black, white and natural options will still be available. The non-Pro versions will trade in yellow for white and get new shades of green, pink and blue.
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Other products
- Apple is working on transitioning its entire Mac line to M4 chips, starting with the MacBook Pro, Mac mini and iMac. But any Mac upgrades are likely to come at a follow-up launch — no earlier than October — rather than at the September event.
- While the company has been working on an update to the Apple TV set-top box for as early as this year, no new model has come to fruition and stable inventory of the device suggests a new version isn’t on the immediate horizon.
- A new iPhone SE with an OLED display, edge-to-edge screen and no home button is in advanced testing, but a release isn’t planned until next year. A fresh AirTag is also in development, though Apple isn’t planning a release until next year either.
- There are also new iPads in the works, including an upgraded mini version. They’re on deck for Apple’s October event alongside the M4 Macs
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