Apple just introduced its iPhone 16 line, Watch Series 10, and assorted AirPods, and also set formal release dates next week for its iOS 18 and watchOS 11 software.

In a streamed event titled "Glowtime," Apple execs did the usual tag team presentation of products and superlatives.

CEO Tim Cook opened the show with a promise to explore "the profound impact these products are having on our lives."

Cook said he gets a lot of messages from Apple customers talking about how various features like crash detection and health monitoring have saved and improved lives. Those are probably more gratifying than requests for support.

"These are the most beautiful and capable watches we've ever created," Cook said, setting himself up for the ability to say the same thing when the next iteration debuts.

Apple Watch Series 10, starting at $399, has a screen with 30 percent more screen area, while managing to be 10 percent thinner (9.7 mm) and - thanks to a new titanium frame - almost 20 percent lighter than Series 9.

Featuring Apple's S10 SiP (System in Package) silicon, Series 10 adds the ability to detect sleep apnea, a potentially serious breathing disorder that is widely undiagnosed. Approval from health authorities is expected later this month in more than 150 countries and regions, including the US, the EU, and Japan. Watch Series 9 will support this too.

Apple Watch Ultra 2, starting at $799, will also support sleep apnea detection, though it's aimed at active lifestyle applications. Available on September 20, it's up for pre-order today. As with the Series 10, Ultra 2 has gained the ability to play audio through on-device speakers (instead of a tethered iPhone).

The Cupertino-based kit biz also talked up its AirPods 4, AirPods Max, and AirPods Pro 2, the latter of which aims to "Sherlock" the hearing aid market.

Like its Watch line, Apple is turning its high-end earbuds into health devices. Pending FDA approval this fall, users of AirPods Pro 2 will be able to test their hearing and use the hardware as a certified hearing aid.

The iPhone 16 lineup includes the 16 ($799, 128GB), 16 Plus ($899, 128GB), 16 Pro ($999, 128GB), and 16 Pro Max ($1199, 256GB), ready for pre-order on Friday, September 13, with availability set for September 20.

The 16 (6.1 inches) and 16 Plus (6.7 inches) sport a 48 MP Fusion camera with 2x telephoto and a revised Ultra Wide camera with autofocus. They come in black, white, pink, teal, and ultramarine.

The 16 Pro (6.3 inches) and 16 Pro Max (6.9 inches), available in black titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and desert titanium, are aimed at media professionals with the ability to record 4K video at 120 fps. They feature four mics for on-device audio filtering and their processors are fast enough to handle 48 MP ProRAW or HEIF photos.

"The next generation of iPhone has been designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up," said Cook.

Much of that design refers to the A18 and A18 Pro chips in the new iPhone lineup.

"A18 is built using second generation 3 nanometer technology," said Sribalan Santhanam, VP of Apple Silicon engineering group, during the presentation. "This 3 nanometer technology has even smaller transistors that are faster and more energy efficient. A18 has our latest generation 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores. These are critical as they're used in nearly every experience on iPhone including Apple Intelligence."

Santhanam said these chips are 30 percent faster than the CPU in the iPhone 15 and 60 percent faster than the CPU in the iPhone 12. The A18 CPU is also 30 percent more energy efficient than the A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 15, he said.

In terms of visible hardware changes, Cook's "ground up" AI-oriented redesign refers mainly to the new Camera Control, a flat sensor button that opens and can trigger the camera app.

"The camera control provides instant easy access to the camera with just a click," said Kaiann Drance, VP of iPhone marketing. "It allows you to adjust various camera features simply by sliding your finger. Its convenient design ensures it's always within reach."

Drance said that the camera interoperates with Apple Intelligence to perform image recognition tasks.

Apple Intelligence is still on its way

Apple Intelligence, coming soon to iPhones, iPads, and Macs of sufficiently recent vintage, will provide machine learning in support of features like Writing Tools, for rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text in apps like Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.

In Photos, it will provide the ability to search images and videos based on natural language descriptions, and remove objects using the Clean Up tool. In the Notes and Phone apps, Apple AI models - mostly locally run, the company promises - will be able to record, transcribe, and summarize audio.

In the Mail app, Apple Intelligence can summarize messages and display those summaries instead of preview text when viewing inbox message lists.

"Apple is doing what it does best, simplifying the user experience to deepen engagement," said Paolo Pescatore, analyst and founder of PP Foresight, in a note to The Register. "Novel features powered by Apple Intelligence will resonate with iPhone users, as they not only build upon the way they currently use their devices, but also take experiences to a whole new level.

"Regardless of whether Apple Intelligence is supported from day one, the new iPhones are future proof with the capabilities to offer AI and more. Its tightly integrated services offering will help lock users into the Apple ecosystem for longer."

iOS 18 is scheduled to be available for download on September 16, but it won't have any of the promised AI wonders.

Apple Intelligence won't start arriving until its beta release next month as part of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1. It will run on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 and later, with the device and Siri language set to US English

watchOS 11 will be available for Apple Watch Series 6 or later on Monday, September 16, and requires iPhone Xs or later running iOS 18. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/09/09/apple_phone_16_watch_10_intelligence/