Tech Next: It’s Glowtime folks - all the highlights from Apple’s big September event

CHENNAI: Apple’s annual iPhone reveal isn’t just the biggest event on its calendar but is also one of the most widely anticipated Consumer Tech events. The build up to this year’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ was similar to what happens each year as Apple’s September event approaches. While some of the leaks and rumours got it right, there were quite a misses too. AI was widely anticipated to be the overarching theme of this year’s launch event and there were no surprises here. We take you through the key announcements:

Two new buttons: while the focus is usually on the Pro models, this year’s entry-level iPhones come with quite a few meaningful upgrades. The first thing you will notice in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are two new buttons. The iPhone 16 inherits the Action button from last year’s iPhone Pro twins. There’s also an all-new Camera Control button (also debuts on the Pro devices this year) that gives you access to quite a few cool functions.

It allows greater control when you shoot images and videos. You can discover your surroundings and get more info on objects in your camera frame almost similar to Google lens. There’s a new processor (A18 chip) that doesn’t just improve performance (30% faster than the A16 Bionic chip on last year’s iPhone 15 twins) but also has a significant impact on battery life. The iPhone 16 duo come in a bold palette of colours including a cool teal and ultramarine (Rs 79,900 onwards)

Bigger and better: Apple tells us that the new iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence. With AI likely to dominate the sales pitch of most smartphone brands in the foreseeable future, this is a given. Apple has expanded the screen real estate of both the Pro devices. The 16 Pro now sports a 6.3-inch display while the Pro Max is close to the seven-inch threshold with a massive 6.9-inch display. Both devices are crafted in Grade 5 Titanium that is lighter than stainless steel and weigh quite similar to last year’s Pro duo despite the marginally larger displays. Camera performance is one of the Pro’s differentiators. This year’s Pro devices come with a triple rear cam that includes a 48MP Fusion cam, an improved 48MP ultrawide lens and a 12MP telephoto shooter. That’s not all, you get four new studio-quality microphones for improved audio capture (with Spatial Audio capture) that should interest Content creators. The new Pro devices will be powered by the new A18 Pro Chip that Apple claims is 20% faster than the previous generation (Rs 1,19,900 onwards)

Thinner and lighter: of all products that Apple unveiled, it’s the Apple Watch 10 that caught our attention. While there was no new Apple Watch Ultra watch (other than a new colour way for the Apple Watch Ultra 2), Apple has reimagined the Apple Watch 10. It’s thinner and lighter than its predecessor and features a large 1.96-unch display that’s even larger than last year’s Apple Watch Ultra 2. This smartwatch comes with faster charging (80% battery in 30 minutes) and insightful Sleep Apnea notifications. It also brings depth and temperature sensing for water activities that we first saw on the Apple Watch Ultra (Rs 46,900 onwards)

AirPods refresh: Apple showcased a new design (open-ear fit) for the AirPods 4 that also gets ANC (Active noise cancellation). The AirPods Max get five new colours and also offer USB-C charging. Apple also confirmed that the AirPods Pro 2 will introduce what it calls ‘hearing health experience’ this fall. This suite of features is likely to benefit users affected by hearing loss.

Coming soon: One of the talking points at the launch was Apple Intelligence. It is all set to debut in October with the iOS 18.1 (as well as iPad OS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1).  This will include everything from writing tools to summaries. The widely anticipated overhaul of Siri is likely to arrive in 2025 adding to the AI capabilities of your iPhone.

(Ashwin Rajagopalan is a lifestyle writer and consumer technology expert. Catch the latest digital and tech updates in this weekly column.)