Another one? Why Apple’s new iPhone still matters
9 September 2024, 21:27 | Updated: 10 September 2024, 08:41
Launch apathy doesn’t stop LBC’s Will Guyatt getting fired up about the new iPhone.
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When there’s biscuits in the tin, who needs a biscuit? I can’t remember which 90s sitcom I’ve lifted this from – but it perfectly sums up how I felt ahead of Apple’s latest iPhone reveal.
We’ve been spoiled rotten over the years, and now, what was formerly my “Christmas Eve” no longer feels the same.
By my reckoning there’s been 42 different iPhone models revealed before the iPhone 16 and its variants.
I’ve covered every single launch event since Steve Jobs stood up back in 2007 when he revealed the show stopping first iPhone.
It’s easy to underplay just what a game changer the inaugural model was – despite launching with only 2G connectivity and get this, no apps! It feels like a billion years ago.
This is not an anti-Apple rant – the company consistently designs and creates the world’s best smartphones and continues to push the sector forward.
But let’s be honest, who else gets excited about Apple’s annual marginal gains? Every year, the new iPhone gets a slightly faster processor, a better camera, a small boost in battery life – and maybe a couple of other cool new features.
For years, the new iPhone looked like the last one.
Despite the same look, there’s a bigger story on the inside - Apple has completely reinvented the guts of the iPhone, despite it looking practically identical.
The company took the complete end-to-end development of its smartphones into its own hands – no longer buying its chips and components from the open market, or its rivals.
Today, Apple owns the entire process – from design to manufacture.
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This complete transformation can’t be seen by the human eye, and it still works like a smartphone – but this is pioneering stuff.
Apple opened its glitzy 100-minute long presentation by celebrating how the iPhone and Apple Watch have helped save lives, and how the company is making in-roads into enabling greater accessibility for those with disabilities.
The company once-again made a big play of its Apple Intelligence AI features – and made the point that its new smartphones were designed from the ground up to get the most from it – much like recent devices launched by Samsung and Google.
Apple claims it keeps privacy at the heart of its AI – not publicly sharing your info with larger server-based intelligence, like ChatGPT – only using your data to help get your requests.
The demos of Apple Intelligence were often practical and hit home – they showed how it was already integrated with most of the iPhones core apps, showing how to find a photo just by writing a description, or by auto summarising your emails or text messages – which sounds heavenly.
This new AI-enhanced SIR may finally be the digital assistant I always dreamt of.
Apple will add new AI features on a regular basis too.
Hardware wise – the iPhone 16 looks the part with bright new Ultramarine, Teal and Pink colours alongside more traditional white and black colours.
A new camera control button does exactly what it says on the tin, as the camera becomes an important AI feature – with Visual Intelligence, where the camera will identify everything from restaurant opening hours to dog breeds – just by pointing it at them!
To make all the AI features possible, Apple claimed it was jumping “two generations ahead” on its main processor to tackle generative AI, making it 30% faster than last year’s model.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus should retail at the same price as their predecessor.
You can pre-order from Friday 13th September, and they are on sale Friday, 20th September.
The iPhone Pro 16 and Pro 16 Max once again cement their position as the most premium, and potentially most expensive smartphone models on the market.
The Pro Max offers the largest ever iPhone screen at 6.9inches.
The new Pro comes in Black, White, Natural and Desert titanium cases.
Apple talked up the AI and gaming features of the Pro – demonstrating live transcription for meetings on your phone and even instant search of the data across all apps on your smartphone.
The onboard camera in the Pro model now rivals the kit used by many professional photographers.
The new Pro is apparently so advanced, it was used to create a new slo-mo music video for The Weeknd.
You can pre-order from Friday 13th, and they go on sale Friday, 20thSeptember.
Elsewhere in Apple’s presentation – the company revealed the new look Apple Watch Series 10.
It comes with Apple’s largest-ever watch display and thinner design –its chargers quicker, and is lighter, thanks to new aluminium and titanium cases, which replace stainless steel – taking almost 20% off the weight.
Adding to its list of health sensors – the watch can now measure breathing disturbances to help diagnose sleep apnoea.
All these changes are impressive – but play well into the “marginal gains” strategy previously mentioned.
The new watches start shipping September 20th and can be pre-ordered now – alongside an improved Apple Watch Ultra 2 – now available in black.
The new titanium Apple Watch model is also marketed as the company’s latest ‘carbon neutral’ product – a big change from being named the world’s “least green” tech company in 2011 by Greenpeace.
Apple’s Airpods have been named the world’s best-selling headphones, so naturally the line-up has been upgraded.
The company reckons it used 50m data points from thousands of ear models to make Airpods 4 the best possible fit.
There’s also a new premium model that sits between the budget model and the Airpods Pro – using many of its features, including active noise cancelling, which is available on September 20th.
While there’s no new Airpods Pro launch, the current Pro 2 model gets three new useful features to protect your hearing via a software update.
The headphones will reduce loud noises, and act as hearing protectors, and even offer a clinically validated hearing test, which can be monitored.
The device is also adding a professional-grade hearing aid feature later this year.
These enhancements are great – and another example of Apple adding value to its products.
The near 4-year-old Airpods Max – a £500+ best-in-class over-the-ear headphones get the scantest of updates, with new colours and USB-C charging, these are also available on September 20th.
As the launch event faded to black – it was once again clear – after all these years, Apple is still the best in the business – even if the world no longer stops in its tracks for these product announcements.
I’m well and truly back in the biscuit tin too.
