On Monday, September 9th, Apple held its most important annual product launch event, unveiling the latest iPhone 16 and a range of new products.
Traditionally, Apple does not hold product launch events on Mondays, but this year there were too many potential distractions on Tuesday, such as the U.S. presidential debate and the European Commission’s pending decision on whether Apple must pay the $14 billion tax bill resulting from a long-standing agreement with Ireland.
The theme of the 2024 event was “It’s Glowtime”. Apple’s most important products this year are the iPhone 16 series of smartphones, significant updates to the Apple Watch and AirPods. Additionally, Apple also introduced the new Apple Intelligence, based on the previous Siri interface.
The event on Monday was crucial for Apple as the company has just started to emerge from its longest sales slump in decades. Apple hopes that the new products will inject fresh vitality into their core products, which account for about 60% of the company’s annual revenue. Furthermore, Apple is emphasizing consumer spending on service products, as services are becoming an increasingly important revenue source for the company.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook took the stage at 1:00 PM Eastern Time to welcome the audience. A typical Apple product promotional video showcasing iPhone, Apple Watch, FaceTime, Apple Fitness+, and various other Apple products was played.
Subsequently, Cook said, “Today, we will discuss Apple Watch, AirPods, and iPhone, and their profound impact on our lives.”
At the event on Monday, Apple introduced four new models of the iPhone 16: Pro, Pro Max, Plus, and the base iPhone 16. The new models saw upgrades in both software and hardware, color adjustments, narrower bezels, addition of a “photo button”, 8GB of memory as standard, periscopic telephoto lens, and equipped with A18/A18 Pro chips, among other features.
Apple aims to accelerate the iPhone replacement cycle by incorporating personalized chatting, information summarization features, and other technical upgrades in the new models.
Here are the updates from Apple’s new product launch:
Apple unveiled two versions of the new AirPods 4, both resembling the AirPods Pro in appearance. However, the new models feature 3D modeling and laser topography, boasting to be the “most comfortable AirPods ever”. They are powered by the H2 chip.
The company stated that the audio quality of these earphones has been significantly improved, claiming them to be the “best-sounding AirPods ever”. They also offer personalized spatial audio, which Apple says will help reduce environmental noise.
The AirPods 4 charging case is compatible with USB-C and is the smallest charging case ever. It also supports wireless charging.
The price of AirPods 4 is $129, while the active noise-cancelling AirPods 4 are priced at $179.
Apple has been striving to make AirPods function as hearing aids. The company mentioned that hearing aid configuration profiles would be applied to all listening modes. The FDA in the U.S. is yet to complete the approval process for AirPods as hearing aids.
The Apple Watch Series 10 was the first new product to debut at the event, featuring a thinner design and a larger screen compared to its predecessors.
The Apple Watch Series 10 boasts the largest display and thinnest design in the history of Apple Watches. According to the presentation, Series 10 is 10% thinner than Series 9.
“Today, we are making Apple Watch more practical, indispensable, and smarter using advanced technology,” Cook said.
Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams later revealed that the Apple Watch Series 10 is even larger than the Watch Ultra and 30% bigger than Series 6. This allows users to see more text in applications like emails and news and type passwords or messages more easily.
He emphasized the importance of the watch’s screen readability and the significance of every millimeter and gram on the wrist.
To achieve this, Apple’s Watch Series 10 needed to minimize more components like SiP and speaker systems. Additionally, users can now play media directly through the new built-in speaker of Series 10.
Apple Watch introduces a shiny black aluminum watch alongside rose gold and silver aluminum options. Williams announced that the device is water-resistant up to 50 meters and can charge the watch to 80% within 30 minutes, making Series 10 the fastest-charging Apple Watch to date.
Apple Watch Series 10 also supports respiratory pause detection. The support for respiratory pause detection is also present in Series 9 and Ultra 2.
The starting price of Apple Watch is $399, and it will be available for purchase from September 20th.