Apple event - live: iPhone 16, new Watch and AirPods unveiled alongside big AI updates
New AI features among highlights of Apple event
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Apple has unveiled a brand new range of iPhones at its biggest event of the year.
The new iPhone 16 lineup was launched alongside updated Apple Watches and AirPods, together with some major AI announcements from the Cupertino company.
The ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, which was live streamed from Apple’s campus in California, kicked off at 10am local time (6pm UK time), with CEO Tim Cook saying it marked a major shift in the company’s approach to its hardware.
One of the biggest updates to the iPhone 16 – which will actually be four different models – is a dedicated “capture” button for using the camera, but perhaps the biggest feature was one that was revealed earlier this year: Apple Intelligence. The AI tools include the ability to create custom emojis from a simple text command, while its integration to the new AirPods Pro 2 mean they can be used as a “clinical-grade hearing aid”.
You can follow all the latest news and updates from the launch, as well as watch a live stream of the event, right here.
Why is the event happening today?
The iPhone launch, of all Apple’s events, has lately kept to a relatively reliably schedule that sees it fall on the second Tuesday of September.
This year, however, it’s on a Monday. That’s a very unusual day for an Apple event and doubly unusual for an iPhone. (In fact, an iPhone has never been revealed on a Monday.)
The move is thought to be at least in part because of the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Apple presumably doesn’t want to share the headlines with such a momentous (and potentially controversial) event. You can follow the latest on the run-up to that debate here.
It remains unclear whether this will mean anything for the release schedule of the new devices. They too have kept their own very regular schedule: pre-orders open the Friday after the event, then the devices are released a week later.
That will probably stay the same. (If so that will mean the phone will launch on the 20th.) But we’ll find out later today.
What else to expect from today’s Apple event
Beyond a new range of iPhones packed with AI, there are a number of other big announcements expected today.
Apple will likely use the event to unveil brand new models of its AirPods and Apple Watch, while there could be some news and updates related to its iPad range.
Among the anouncements could be a long-overdue refresh of its AirPods Max, which have remained the same since they were first launched nearly four years ago.
With five hours to go until it begins, here’s everything to expect at today’s event:
Apple launch a new iPhone. But its next event might be much bigger than that
Watches, AirPods and potentially more expected at Apple’s AI-focused presentation
The first AI-phone
Today, like every previous event held by Apple in September, will see the launch of a brand new range of iPhones, alongside a host of updates for its other devices. But this year will be slightly different.
The ‘It’s Glowtime’ event is expected to be the platform to announce the tech giant’s artificial intelligence ambitions, referred to as ‘Apple Intelligence’. The new iPhone 16 is expected to be the company’s first AI phone, with features including a revamped Siri and the ability to create customised emojis from simple commands.
It will not be the first time that Apple’s devices feature AI technologies: currently everything from cutting people out of photos to recommending apps use artificial intelligence. But for a long time Apple has chosen to focus more on the experiences that those technologies have enabled, without explicitly referencing the technologies themselves. Until recently, if it did refer to those technologies then it preferred to call them machine learning.
This year, pressure from the media, investors and commentators, as well as an increased interest among customers, have led the company to lean into generative artificial intelligence like never before.
You can read the full story here:
This year’s iPhone is going to be a huge and risky first for Apple
It’s ‘glowtime’ for Apple’s plans for artificial intelligence
Last-minute rumours point to small bezels
Everything suggests that it’s going to be a relatively conservative set of changes this year. But last-minute rumours seem to be confirming what we thought – while shedding a little light on what it might mean.
At the top level, there is nothing dependable to suggest the rumoured new line-up is wrong: we’re going to be getting new iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and more.
The iPhone will probably get the biggest changes. On the outside, the bezels will slim down, it will get a new capture button, and there will be new colours. On the inside it is expected to include new processing power to help with Apple Intelligence.
The Apple Watches are likely to receive a relatively minor spec bump and perhaps a small redesign. The AirPods line-up could finally get sorted out, making it easier to follow with a cheaper and middle version of the earbuds, to sit alongside the existing (and unchanged) AirPods Pro.
When does the Apple event start?
10am local pacific time. That’s 1pm on the east coast, or 6pm in the UK.
How to watch Apple event live
Apple lets you get its live events in a variety of different ways these days. But the most prominently promoted one is still its own “Apple Events” website, which you can find here.
You can also watch on YouTube. (In my humble opinion that’s the best way to do it: it’s compatible with just about everything, and you can even set yourself a reminder.) You can find the video below.
Hello and welcome...
... to The Independent’s live coverage of Apple’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, which is rumoured to bring new iPhones, Watches and AirPods – as well as potentially more information about Apple Intelligence.
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