Apple announcement: iPhone 16 revealed alongside huge updates to Apple Watch, AirPods and AirPods Pro

Apple has unveiled its new string of products at an event in California.

Chief executive Tim Cook announced a huge overhaul to some of the company’s most popular products, including the iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods and AirPods Pro, as well as releasing a major update on the highly anticipated Apple Intelligence.

Here is everything announced.

iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max

The iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max are Apple’s more premium phones that have nicer screens and cameras than the regular models.

Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, and the Apple 16 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display, larger than those of previous models, which measured in at 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches, respectively.

The new models also have the “thinnest borders on any Apple product,” Apple said, calling them “by far our best iPhone displays ever.”

The titanium is nearly half the weight of stainless steel and is “more scratch resistant than other forms of titanium others have used.”

The four finishes include white, black, natural and “desert.”

The company also said the new iPhone 16 Pro Max has “the best iPhone battery life ever” but did not offer additional details.

The new iPhone Pro models include an A18 Pro chip with second-generation 3-nanometer transistors and a new 16-core neural engine that powers Apple Intelligence, designed specifically for generative artificial intelligence workloads, the company said, leading to a 17 per cent increase in total system memory bandwidth. It is “even faster and more efficient than A18,” the company said.

The A18 Pro chip also powers new camera features, per Apple, including a new 48-megapixel “fusion camera,” which can read data 2x faster, and a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera that allows for more detail in wide-angle shots. The 5x telephoto camera offers more detail for zoom photos.

Apple also introduced video capture in 4K at 120 frames per second, the iPhone camera’s “highest resolution and frame rate yet.”

The Pro models have four “studio-quality” mics with reduced noise, designed in part for vocal and acoustic recordings, the company said, as well as spatial audio capture. A new “Audio Mix” feature, which Apple called an “industry first,” uses machine learning to identify and separate background elements from a user’s speech, the company said.

Apple said a new update to Voice Memos, coming “later this year,” will allow people to layer other tracks atop previously recorded voice memos. For example, the feature could help musicians test out song ideas by layering a guitar track over a vocal track they have previously recorded.

The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $1,799, and the Pro Max starts at $2,149.

Both models will be available for pre-order on Friday.

Apple announces iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus

Apple announced the new iPhone 16, which it says was built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence.

The new iPhone has:

• Aerospace-grade aluminium
• 85 per cent recycled content in the enclosure
• Two size options: 6.1 inches for iPhone 16 and 6.7 inches for iPhone 16 Plus
• Customizable action buttons (for example, flashlight at night and calendar during the day)
• All-new “camera control” button to provide instant access to the camera with one click, as well as the ability to adjust various camera features by sliding your finger
• A brand-new A18 chip created for iPhone 16, optimized for running large generative models and with a 2x faster neural engine
• New 48-megapixel camera, 4x the resolution of iPhone 14
• A new ultra-wide camera that allows for automatic focus and more light capture in low-light situations
• Spatial photos
• Customizable, pinnable collections in iOS 18 photo gallery

Apple said the new A18 chip created for iPhone 16 has 3-nanometer technology and four efficiency cores, which are used in nearly every experience on iPhone, including Apple Intelligence. The chip delivers up to 30 per cent higher sustained performance for gaming, Apple said.

It is also up to 60 per cent faster than the CPU in iPhone 12, and the speed challenges high-end desktop PCs, Apple said, adding that the GPU on the iPhone 16 is up to 40 per cent faster than in the iPhone 15.

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus start at $1,399 and $1,599, respectively.

First Apple Intelligence features will launch in beta from October for iPhone 16

Apple Intelligence features will launch in beta from October for new iPhones

Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi spoke about the company’s new artificial intelligence capabilities.

Many of these features were already announced at Apple’s developers conference in June, and the first set of features will be available in a free software update next month.

Apple Intelligence is available on the new iPhone 16 phones the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and will work across selected Mac products.

He said Apple Intelligence operates across language, images, action and personal context.

Mr Federighi said data is never stored or shared with Apple, and independent experts can verify this privacy promise.

One feature Mr Federighi highlighted is the new generative emoji feature, which will allow users to create custom emojis by typing in a few words. Users can also type in words to pull up photos and videos they want to find.

Mr Federighi said Apple Intelligence marks the start of a new era for its voice assistant Siri. Users can prompt Siri with text; ask questions with their voices, even if they stumble over their words; pull up specific details from text conversations; and more.

Features such as generating emojis and a new Visual Intelligence feature will come later. Visual Intelligence lets you do things such as take a picture of a dog to find out what breed it is.

AirPods Pro 2 has three new health features, including clinical-grade hearing aid

Apple marketed AirPods Pro 2 as a product with “incredible health capabilities,” including three dedicated health features.

Hearing protection, which is turned on by default across listening modes, will be available to all users. Since 80 per cent of U.S. adults have not had their hearing checked in the past five years, per Apple, the company introduced a clinically validated hearing test with AirPods Pro and iPhone that takes just five minutes to complete, the company said.

AirPods Pro will also have a clinical-grade, over-the-counter hearing aid feature. After users take the hearing test, AirPods Pro can easily turn into a personalized hearing aid, Apple said. The resulting “hearing profile” will be automatically applied to music, movies and phone calls across all of a user’s devices.

Apple said the features will receive clearance from the FDA and other regulators soon.

AirPods Pro 2 start from $399.

AirPods 4

Apple just announced the AirPods 4.

Apple said it used 3D modelling and laser topography to develop the shape of its “most comfortable AirPods ever.” They are powered by the H2 chip.

The company said the headphones are a massive improvement in audio quality, and the “best-sounding AirPods ever.”

They also have personalized spatial audio, and Apple said they will be able to help reduce environmental noise.

The AirPods 4 charging case is compatible with USB-C, and it is the smallest case ever. You can also charge the case wirelessly.

AirPods 4 will be available for $219, and AirPods 4 with active noise cancelling will be available for $299.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 debuts in black

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has the “most accurate GPS in a sports watch,” Apple said, marketing it as the perfect companion for workout enthusiasts.

As a reminder, the watch offers:

• Depth gauge for scuba
• Dual-frequency GPS
• Advanced positioning software
• Pacing features
• Custom workouts
• Automatic stroke detection and lap count for swimmers
• Advanced compass app that includes latitude, longitude, waypoints and backtrack, as well as offline maps with turn-by-turn directions even when iPhone isn’t nearby

The watch starts at $1,399, and customers can pre-order it from Tuesday.

Apple announces Apple Watch Series 10 with thinnest design ever, biggest display yet

Apple announces Apple Watch Series 10 with thinnest design ever, biggest display yet

A new titanium finish option weighs up to 20 per cent less than previous models and is “carbon-neutral,” Williams said. It is replacing the stainless steel finish in previous generations.

The device also still incorporates up to 50 meters of water resistance.

In 30 minutes, users can charge their watches to up to 80 per cent battery, making Series 10 the fastest-charging Apple Watch to date, Williams said. It also has an 18-hour battery.

To improve phone calls, Apple incorporated a neural network into Series 10 that suppresses background noise to make conversations sound clearer, he added.

When it comes to fitness, Apple Watch introduced new ways to track workouts.

For kayakers, canoers and rowers, Apple Watch’s workout app can track routes and rowing activity, introducing a Tides App and new depth and water temperature sensors.

Prices start at $649, and customers can pre-order from Tuesday.

Apple Watch Series 10 will include new health features for sleep apnea

Apple said its Apple Watch Series 10 will be able to alert users to sleep apnea, which is a disorder that can cause people to stop breathing while they are asleep. The condition affects more than one billion people worldwide, Apple said.

The company said 80 per cent of people with sleep apnea are undiagnosed. Apple’s Series 10 uses an accelerometer to measure breathing disturbances while users are sleeping, and it analyzes this data every 30 days.

This feature was built using an extensive dataset, Apple said, and the company expects clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators “very soon.”