The new generation of iPhone still includes four models, with adjusted colors, narrower borders, a new "photo button", 8GB of memory as standard, and equipped with A18/A18 Pro chips, and the "highlight" is still in Apple's AI function......

The countdown to Apple’s annual fall conference has begun. The theme of this conference is “glowtime”. What highlights of the iPhone 16 and other new products are worth looking forward to?

At 1:00 a.m. Beijing time on Tuesday, Apple will hold a new product launch event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, which will be broadcast live on Apple's website and YouTube.

iPhone 16 is undoubtedly the protagonist of this conference. According to various media and analysts, the new generation of iPhone will still include four models, which will be upgraded at the software and hardware levels, with color adjustments, narrower borders, a new "photo button", 8GB of memory as standard, a periscope telephoto lens, and an A18/A18 Pro chip...

The highlight is still Apple AI (Apple Intelligence). Siri with the introduction of the AI ​​big model may be smarter and can conduct more personalized chats, summarize information for users, etc. Some analysts believe that the introduction of AI will accelerate the iPhone replacement cycle.

As for other new products, the Apple Watch Series 10 will be thinner than its predecessor, but have a larger screen. At the same time, Apple will update the AirPods product line. The entry-level model will not have noise reduction function, but the mid-range AirPods will provide noise reduction function for the first time. In addition, Apple has also been working hard to realize the function of AirPods as hearing aids.

Four models launched simultaneously, a new camera button, and performance upgrades

It is reported that the iPhone 16 will still be released in four models, including basic, Plus, Pro and Pro Max, a total of 4 models. The Pro series is the focus of this year's upgrade.

In terms of color matching, the Pro model will use gold titanium alloy to replace blue titanium, retaining black, white and natural colors. It is reported that the new color is actually close to bronze; the non-Pro version will add blue, pink, and green, and replace yellow with white, plus the previous black, for a total of 5 colors.

Secondly, in terms of size, the screen border is further narrowed to 1.15mm, which may set the world's narrowest record. The screen size of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be upgraded from 6.1 and 6.3 inches to 6.3 and 6.9 inches respectively.

The biggest change is the physical buttons. Non-Pro models will also be equipped with an Action Button. This button can be used with custom settings and shortcuts to take screenshots, start conversation translation, etc. This will be the first time that the basic iPhone uses this button.

A new "Capture Button" has been added. This button is similar to the shutter of a camera, and you can also slide to take photos and record videos. It is not clear whether this button will be available on the Pro model or the entire series.

The imaging aspect has also been upgraded. The Pro model is equipped with a periscope telephoto lens that can achieve 5x optical zoom. In addition, it will be equipped with a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and support recording spatial videos at 4K resolution.

In order to allow non-Pro models to also support spatial video recording, the cameras are arranged vertically, making it convenient to watch 3D videos using the Apple Vision Pro headset.

In terms of other hardware configurations, both non-Pro models are equipped with A18 chips, and the Pro/Pro Max will be equipped with an A18 Pro processor. The chip may be equipped with an upgraded neural engine with more cores, which can improve AI/machine learning performance.

Will AI function become the “highlight” and trigger a wave of phone replacement?

When talking about the various functions of iPhone 16, Apple AI will be the highlight. It is reported that Siri will be strengthened, and emails, gallery, etc. will support new functions.

It has been reported that Apple AI will give Siri the ability to summarize text, providing users with a more intelligent voice interaction experience, and the Safari browser will also launch a "smart search" function; at the same time, it can also help photographers get better photos, such as realizing a series of functions such as photo removal and AI photo editing.

It is worth mentioning that in order to support Apple’s AI functions, the iPhone 16 series is expected to be equipped with 8GB of running memory as standard. This configuration is the first time in Apple products.

Although the iPhone 15 Pro also supports AI functions, some of the focus of this conference is the release time of iOS 18 and other incremental features.

With the advent of Apple AI, analysts expect that the iPhone 16 may trigger a "phone replacement wave."

Morgan Stanley analysts said that the introduction of Apple Intelligence in iPhone 16 will help release pent-up demand and accelerate the iPhone replacement cycle, which is currently at a historical high of 4.8 years. At the same time, this may support Apple's additional iPhone production orders in the next 3 to 12 months.

However, well-known Apple reporter Mark Gurman believes that this year is unlikely to see a super-wave of phone replacement, partly because many consumers around the world are tightening their spending. Secondly, the bigger problem may be attributed to the device itself. The appearance of the new iPhone is almost the same as last year's model. Although there will be some minor design upgrades and other features, it is necessary to have a completely new design to stimulate consumers to upgrade.

Another issue is the slow update of AI features. Gurman said that Apple Intelligence is not yet fully mature. The initial version will lack many features, all major new features of Siri will not be launched until next year, and the AI ​​image generation function will also be postponed until next year. Obviously, consumers will have to wait if they want to use the best features.

Apple Watch and AirPods updates

Compared to the iPhone, the changes to Apple's smartwatch and headphones may be bigger.

The media said that the Apple Watch Series 10 will be thinner than the previous generation, but with a larger screen. In terms of functions, sources revealed that sleep apnea and high blood pressure detection functions may be introduced, but there is still uncertainty about the actual implementation.

Apple will update its low- and mid-range AirPods product lines, will provide noise reduction function on mid-range AirPods for the first time, and will update entry-level AirPods for the first time since 2019.

A major new feature for the AirPods line is hearing health. Apple has been working to push AirPods to function as hearing aids, but Gurman said that feature may not be available until later.