Apple unveiled a new iPhone lineup and a series of accompanying artificial intelligence-centric features on Monday, signaling the company's attempt to transform a technology trend into a cultural phenomenon.
Apple debuted the following four models: the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max at its "Glowtime" event - and changes to other products, including AirPods.
Shortly after the announcement, people turned to Google with questions, including when does the iPhone 16 come out, how can you order one and what makes the models different?
Below are answers to several commonly-asked questions:
When will the new iPhones be available, and how much will they cost?
The new iPhones — ranging in price from $800 to $1,200 — hit the stores on Sept. 20. However, pre-orders will be accepted beginning online on Friday.
The starting prices for each phone are below:
- iPhone 16 - $799
- iPhone 16 Plus - $899
- iPhone 16 Pro - $999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max - $1199
What's special about the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max?
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Considered the more premium options, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max feature larger display sizes, new creative capabilities with innovative pro camera features and stunning graphics for immersive gaming, according to an Apple news release.
The new Pro models achieve the highest resolution and frame-rate combination ever available on iPhone, with a new 48MP Fusion camera with a faster quad-pixel sensor that enables 4K120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision.
Phone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be available in four stunning finishes: black titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and desert titanium.
What AI features will be included?
The four different iPhone 16 models will all come equipped with special chips needed to power a suite of AI tools that Apple hopes will make its marquee product even more indispensable.
The AI package won't be available as soon as the new phones, however.
Most of Apple’s AI functions will roll out as part of a free software update to iOS 18, the operating system that will power the iPhone 16 coming out in December. English will be the featured language at launch, but an update enabling other languages will come out next year, according to Apple.
In an attempt to set itself apart from the early leaders in AI, the technology being baked into the iPhone 16 is being promoted as “Apple Intelligence.” Despite the unique branding, Apple’s new approach mimics many of the features already available in the Samsung Galaxy S24 released in January and the Google Pixel 9 that came out last month.
"Their big differentiator is privacy," explained Tony Marengo of The Mac Tutor. "...And Apple likes to bill themselves as a privacy-focused company as opposed to Google. So the inquiries you make through the artificial Apple intelligence, will stay on your phone or on Apple’s private servers."
Apple is trying to preserve that long-time commitment to privacy by tailoring its AI so that most of its technological tricks can be processed on the device itself instead of relying on giant banks of computers located in remote data centers. When a task needs to connect to a data center, Apple promises it will be done in a tightly-controlled way that ensures that no personal data is stored remotely.
While corralling the personal information shared through Apple’s AI tools inherently reduces the chances that the data will be exploited or misused against a user’s wishes, it doesn’t guarantee iron-clad security. A device could still be stolen, for instance, or hacked through digital chicanery.
What else did Apple announce on Monday?
Apple also introduced a new version of its smartwatch that will include a feature to help detect sleep apnea as well as the next generation of its wireless headphones, the AirPods Pro, that will be able to function as a hearing aid with an upcoming software update.
