Apple’s recent September occasion has drawn to a close, during which the tech behemoth announced a range of new products. This included the latest iPhones, new AirPods, as well as several other upgrades.
The iPhone 16 was unveiled by Apple as expected, during the Cupertino event. Introduced were the standard iPhone 16, the 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. The iPhone 16 together with the 16 Plus will utilise the recently advanced A18 chip. They are jumping two generations, as claimed by Apple, to facilitate the application of Apple Intelligence capabilities upon their release. Apple has exercised the new addition of an action button to the iPhone 16, which has been designed for customisation to complete various operations like commencing a recording or igniting the flashlight.
The iPhone 16 Pro models will be powered by the superior A18 Pro chip, a second-gen 3nm chip designed for robustness, efficiency and AI operation. A newly designed 48-megapixel Fusion camera features a rapid quad-pixel sensor capable of 4K video recording at 120 fps and supports Dolby Vision. Both Pro models will also include a 5x telephoto zoom lens.
With Apple’s promise of the most prolonged battery life an iPhone has ever seen, the iPhone 16 Pro Max shines. Both normal and Pro iPhone models receive camera control – a specialised button customised for quick access to the camera and its functionalities such as zoom or image control. The pricing remains consistent with the iPhone 15 series.
The latest Series 10 of the Apple Watch has also been revealed, it’s slim but sizable, offering superior advanced display and giving users roughly 30% larger screen space. The fresh watch designs of 42mm and 46mm watch faces, are 40% brighter than their previous equivalents. These make quick readability and easy code typing on the display a breeze. A titanium variant replaces the former stainless steel watch, eliminating nearly 20% of the wearable’s weight.
Apple has innovated a new chipset referred to as the S10 Sip. Its silhouette is smaller and features a built-in quad-core Neural Engine, magnifying intelligent functionalities such as on-device Siri, double tap gestures, dictation, and automatic exercise detection. The novel Smart Stack is adjustable, incorporating tiles as required, in addition to the Translate app.
The Series 10 is capable of playing audio via its speaker, allowing users to enjoy audio books, music or podcasts directly from the Watch when necessary. It further enhances call clarity by using the quad-core neural engine to eliminate background sound during conversations, ensuring pristine voice quality.
The reduction in component sizes creates additional space for a larger charging coil, enabling the Watch 10 to power up more quickly. The tech giant has also integrated water depth and temperature monitoring features.
The Apple Watch is in line to introduce notifications for sleep apnoea, although this is subject to approval from the pertinent regulators. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is being released in a novel hue, although there are no new feature updates at this stage.
Regarding the AirPods, several new features have been launched for the AirPods Pro and a minor alteration for the AirPods Pro Max.
The AirPods 4 boasts an enhanced fit, more petite stems and a more condensed charging case that supports USB C charging. Superior sound quality has been achieved with enhanced bass and sharper highs. The H2 chip has been embedded into the open fit ear buds to orchestrate intelligent audio, offering voice isolation for example.
An upgraded version of the AirPods arrives with active sound cancellation, clarity mode, adaptable audio that balances clarity mode and active noise cancellation subject to your environmental conditions, and conversation awareness which intelligently lowers your media volume when you engage in conversations nearby.
Moreover, the AirPods Pro are aiming to serve as hearing aids. They function with the iPhone to track hearing impairment via regular auditory testing, and can function as a preventive tool to screen out loud sounds, or operate as a clinical grade auditory device to amplify voices.
The AirPods Max will be available in new shades and will incorporate a USB port, replacing the previous lightning port.