Tech Desk 
Sep 09, 2024
Apple has officially revealed the iPhone 16, designed from the ground up to incorporate the new Apple Intelligence system. The standard iPhone 16 introduces a new design with vertically stacked camera lenses, enabling the phone to record spatial video, a feature that expands its multimedia capabilities.
The iPhone 16 will be available in five colours: ultramarine, teal, pink, black, and white, offering more variety to suit different preferences.
In terms of durability, Apple has introduced a new Ceramic Shield material for the screen, which is now 50% tougher, providing better protection against drops and scratches. Screen sizes remain the same, with the iPhone 16 featuring a 6.1-inch display, while the iPhone 16 Plus offers a larger 6.7-inch screen.
The long-rumored Capture button is officially named the Camera Control on the iPhone 16. This feature allows users to slide their finger to adjust camera controls, adding more flexibility to photography and video recording.
Under the hood, the iPhone 16 is powered by the new A18 chip, which includes a 16-core neural engine that is twice as fast for machine learning tasks. The chip also offers 17% more system memory bandwidth, all tailored for enhanced Apple Intelligence and on-device AI capabilities.
The A18 chip features a 6-core CPU that is 30% faster than the previous A16 Bionic chipset in the iPhone 15. Additionally, it promises greater energy efficiency, consuming 30% less power while maintaining performance levels.
The GPU in the iPhone 16 is also upgraded, now with five cores and 40% faster than the iPhone 15’s GPU, while being 35% more power-efficient.
Apple continues to focus heavily on AI, with Apple Intelligence integrated into many of the iPhone's functions, including messaging and photos. Apple reiterates its commitment to Private Cloud Compute, which ensures that AI tasks requiring more computing power are processed in its data centers. This cloud computing service is designed to be fully private, with oversight from external groups to ensure data security.
Apple follows Samsung's footsteps
In line with advancements seen in Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices, the iPhone 16 introduces new AI writing tools. These features include assistance with texting, summarisation of content, and even emoji and image generation. Apple’s generative image tools are integrated into various apps, allowing users to create slideshows with simple text prompts and helping to locate specific images in their photo library.
In the Mail app, AI now provides email summaries, giving users a quick overview of messages instead of just displaying the first two sentences.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, highlighted that Apple Intelligence is powered by the custom A18 chip and tailored software. "Apple Intelligence draws on the immense power of our silicon to run multiple generative models on the iPhone in your pocket. These models are built by Apple and fine-tuned for your everyday iPhone experiences, adapting dynamically to your current activity," he said.
"For more computationally intensive tasks, Apple Intelligence can unlock even more intelligence with private cloud compute, which maintains the privacy and security of your iPhone while enhancing performance."
Siri's new features
Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, is also receiving updates as part of Apple Intelligence. The new features include improved speech recognition, allowing Siri to better handle instances where users stumble over their words. Additionally, Siri will soon be able to understand on-screen context, so if you receive a text about an album, you can simply say “Play that,” and Siri will know exactly what you mean.
Apple Intelligence update
Apple Intelligence is set to arrive as a free software update, with a public beta available in October. This update brings a host of new features, including enhanced capabilities for the Camera Control button.
A standout feature, called Visual Intelligence, will allow users to use the Camera Control button to snap a photo of a restaurant or flyer, and Apple Intelligence will retrieve relevant information. You can also use it to search for photographed items or look up things with ChatGPT.
Camera Control functionality
The Camera Control button itself offers multiple functions. A single click launches the camera app, a second click takes the photo, and a click-and-hold captures video. It includes a capacitive sensor for gesture support: a light press provides a preview that hides other interface features, while sliding your finger adjusts zoom or background blur on portrait shots.
The iPhone 16 retains the same main camera setup, but the ultrawide camera now features a new 12MP sensor designed to enhance low-light performance. Both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be capable of recording spatial video, expanding the possibilities for video content creation.
Gaming capabilities
The new A18 chip in the iPhone 16 is set to elevate the gaming experience, as it is powerful enough to support AAA games previously available only on the iPhone 15 Pro models. This upgrade promises a more immersive and high-quality gaming experience for iPhone users. Apple has increased the battery size in the iPhone 16, though specific details about the size have not been disclosed.
Pricing and availability
The pricing for the iPhone 16 remains at $799, while the iPhone 16 Plus is priced at $899. Apple is also offering up to $800 off on trade-ins for those purchasing through the company.
While no official availability date has been provided, it is anticipated that pre-orders will start today, with shipping likely to begin on September 20.
