Apple (video, MacRumors, Hacker News):
The new Pro lineup features the thinnest borders of any Apple product and introduces larger display sizes: 6.3 inches on iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9 inches on iPhone 16 Pro Max — the largest iPhone display ever.
[…]
The new mechanical architecture improves heat dissipation and efficiency for up to 20 percent better sustained performance.
[…]
Later this fall, Camera Control will be updated with a two-stage shutter to automatically lock focus and exposure on a subject with a light press, letting users reframe the shot without losing focus.
[…]
Later this year, Camera Control will unlock visual intelligence to help users learn about objects and places faster than ever before.
[…]
Powered by A18 Pro, the upgraded camera system introduces a new 48MP Fusion camera with a faster, more efficient quad-pixel sensor and Apple Camera Interface, unlocking 4K120 fps video recording in Dolby Vision — the highest resolution and frame-rate combination ever available on iPhone, and a smartphone first. The quad-pixel sensor can read data 2x faster, enabling zero shutter lag for 48MP ProRAW or HEIF photos. A new 48MP Ultra Wide camera also features a quad-pixel sensor with autofocus, so users can take higher-resolution 48MP ProRAW and HEIF images when capturing uniquely framed, wider-angle shots or getting close to their subjects with macro photography. The powerful 5x Telephoto camera now comes on both iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, allowing users to catch the action from farther away, no matter which model they choose.
[…]
A new 6-core CPU is the fastest in a smartphone, with two performance cores and four efficiency cores that can run the same workload as the previous generation 15 percent faster while using 20 percent less power.
Camera Control sounds great—subject to case compatibility—but I wonder whether it will be too fiddly in practice. Another year with disappointing Pro colors.
Previously:
Update (2024-09-12): Juli Clover:
The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus have an A18 chip, while the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max have an A18 Pro chip.
The chips are similar, but there are some differences to be aware of, along with differences in the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro thermal design.
Update (2024-09-17): Wes Davis (Hacker News, MacRumors):
Apple has hiked the price of its battery repair service for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Now, it will cost $119 to get your battery replaced in either phone — a $20 jump over its older fee.
Joe Rossignol:
Kuo estimated that sales of all four iPhone 16 models reached about 37 million units in the first weekend after Apple began accepting pre-orders, which is down nearly 13% compared to first-weekend sales of the iPhone 15 series last year. The analyst said a key factor for the decline is the lower demand for the Pro models, with first-weekend sales of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max estimated to be down 27% and 16%, respectively, compared to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max sales during the equivalent period last year.
The Pro models certainly seem less differentiated than last year.
Tim Hardwick:
Apple during its iPhone event earlier this week unveiled a significant upgrade to its Voice Memos app, introducing multitrack recording capabilities that appear to be exclusively for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models. The new feature marks a notable advancement in mobile audio recording, but it appears it will be unavailable for older iPhones or the standard iPhone 16.
Update (2024-09-19): See also: iPhone 16 Pro reviews from Nilay Patel, John Gruber, and others.
Update (2024-09-25): Ryan Jones:
24 hours and still going. iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Previously:
Update (2024-10-21): Charles Martin:
Numerous reports on the Apple Support Communities, as well as on Reddit and other forums on the web suggest that unknown numbers of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models are having issues out of the box. In each case, the iPhone suddenly becomes very slow or completely stops responding to input, then abruptly restart themselves.
Some reports have said that affected iPhones can also restart from a crash when in standby mode, resulting in showing the home screen when awakened, rather than where the user left off. The recent update to iOS 18.0.1 doesn’t seem to solve the issue, and reports suggest the freezing/crashing cycle can occur up to 20 times a day, according to a report from MacRumors.
Apple A18 Pro Apple Event Apple Hardware Announcement iOS iOS 18 iPhone iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max Voice Memos
Apple (video, MacRumors, Hacker News, TidBITS):
Camera Control — a result of thoughtful hardware and software integration — elevates the camera experience on the iPhone 16 lineup. It is packed with innovation, including a tactile switch that powers the click experience, a high-precision force sensor that enables the light press gesture, and a capacitive sensor that allows for touch interactions. Camera Control can quickly launch the camera, take a photo, and start video recording so users don’t miss the moment. A new camera preview helps users frame the shot and adjust other control options — such as zoom, exposure, or depth of field — to compose a stunning photo or video by sliding their finger on the Camera Control. Additionally, developers will be able to bring Camera Control to third-party apps such as Snapchat.
[…]
A18 delivers a huge leap in performance and power efficiency, and is built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology to further accelerate Apple Intelligence. An upgraded 16-core Neural Engine is optimized for large generative models and runs ML models up to 2x faster than the A16 Bionic chip.
The 6-core CPU is 30 percent faster than the A16 Bionic chip and faster than all the competition. It is also more power efficient and can run the same workload with 30 percent less power than A16 Bionic.
Apple:
Today, Apple announced that Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver intelligence that is incredibly useful and relevant, will start rolling out next month with iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, with more features launching in the coming months.
Francisco Tolmasky:
The “camera control” gives off strong TouchBar and Stage Manager energy. People have wanted a “take picture” button for years. But Apple couldn’t possibly just give us that. So they delayed this absurdly simple request for YEARS so that they could justify it with INNOVATION. This isn’t just a button, it’s covered in some sort of crystal or something and hey look you can rub it too.
Joe Rosensteel:
Extremely interested to find out how well the tiny camera control surface works with various iPhone cases instead of just making this a physical button.
Kevin Patrick Doyle:
or you know, gloves, which some of us wear a few months out of the year
Previously:
Update (2024-09-12): Jason Snell:
I got to spend some time with Camera Control, the second button Apple has added to the iPhone in as many years. I should say up front that I’m a huge fan of adding physical buttons to the iPhone, because physical buttons build muscle memory that software interfaces can never quite build in the same way. Taking a picture on the iPhone should become second nature, just as it is with point-and-shoot cameras. The Camera Control button should enable that—and, by the way, it allows the Action Button to officially become a “do whatever you want” button.
The button itself feels really good. It’s a real button—if you push it all the way down, you can feel it depress with a pleasing tactile response. But it’s also a touch- and pressure-sensitive button that lets you “push halfway” to bring up another set of options, for things like zooming in or switching between photographic styles. If you keep your finger on the button and half-push twice in quick succession, you’ll be taken up one level in the hierarchy and can swipe to different commands. Then half-push once to enter whatever controls you want, and you’re back to swiping. It takes a few minutes to get used to the right set of gestures, but it’s a potentially powerful feature—and at its base, it’s still very simple: push to bring up the camera, push to shoot, and push and hold to shoot video.
Nick Heer:
Apple could have added a hardware camera button at any time in the iPhone’s history. It did not until it wanted to use the camera for things not directly concerning photography and videography. Oh, it has those features too, of course, but it also makes the buttons down the right-hand side of this year’s iPhone line into dedicated Apple Intelligence launchers.
Matt Birchler:
This event just solidified my opinion that the iPhone 15 lineup was one of the greatest iPhone lineups of all time.
M.G. Siegler:
I'm not trying to be a jerk, this is hopefully just constructive criticism: today's event could have and should have been half as long as it was.
Eric Schwarz:
Something else that has become apparent with these events—Apple spends way too much time demoing things that we’ve already seen.
Update (2024-09-17): Keith Harrison:
Two new sizes as the Pro phones grow in size, and weight, and get even smaller bezels. Here’s what you need to know about the iPhone 16.
Steve DentSteve Dent:
Apple has now released new updates on iPhone 16 repairability and appears to have addressed both those issues and a bunch more. Saying it tries to strike a balance between durability and repairability, it focused particularly on the “repairability” aspect with its latest devices.
Update (2024-09-19): Rocio Fabbro (via Hacker News):
“Apple employees can already purchase the iPhone 16 with their employee discount,” TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a post on X Wednesday. “Typically, employees have had to wait several weeks after the release of new iPhone models before being able to buy. This could be another sign that the early demand for the iPhone 16 is below expectations.”
Rosyna Keller:
This is false. New iPhones have been a part of EPP immediately since at least 2017.
See also: iPhone 16 reviews from Allison Johnson, John Gruber, and others.
Update (2024-09-23): Juli Clover (via Hacker News):
Apple has shared repair manuals for the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 16 Pro, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The repair manuals provide technical instructions on replacing genuine Apple parts in the iPhone 16 models, and Apple says the information is intended for “individual technicians” that have the “knowledge, experience, and tools” that are necessary to repair electronic devices.
Update (2024-09-25): John Siracusa:
It boggles my mind that so many reviews of the iPhone 16 series emphasize so strongly that these phones are an “incremental” update.
How many times has Apple added a button to the iPhone, let alone one as complex as the Camera Control? And the non-Pro phones got two new buttons!
Kyle Wiens (Hacker News, MacRumors):
But in our world, it’s a big deal: the iPhone 16 lineup makes three big leaps for repairkind.
[…]
Similarly, when we zap the adhesive, the current oxidizes the negative/anode mating surface and loosens the adhesive from it. The adhesive “filling” between the battery and the frame will then stick to whichever surface that’s connected to the positive terminal.
Previously:
Apple A18 Apple Event Apple Hardware Announcement Apple Intelligence Camera iOS iOS 18 iPhone iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus
Apple (video, MacRumors):
The new AirPods 4 are the most advanced and comfortable headphones Apple has ever created with an open-ear design, and today, customers can choose between two distinct models: AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). AirPods Max now come in midnight, starlight, blue, purple, and orange, and offer USB-C charging for more convenience. This fall, AirPods Pro 2 will introduce the world’s first end-to-end hearing health experience, delivering active Hearing Protection, a scientifically validated Hearing Test, and a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature.
[…]
Delivering a massive improvement in sound quality, AirPods 4 feature an entirely new acoustic architecture, low-distortion driver, and high dynamic range amplifier, and add Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking for the most immersive media experience. With the H2 chip, AirPods 4 unlock intelligent audio experiences only Apple silicon can deliver, such as Voice Isolation, enabling clearer call quality no matter the environmental conditions, and Siri Interactions, allowing users to simply nod their head yes or gently shake their head no to respond to Siri announcements. For even more control, AirPods 4 also feature a new force sensor on the stem to play or pause media and mute or end calls with a quick press.
Volume controls still seem to be limited to AirPods Pro.
Apple (Hacker News):
AirPods Pro add an innovative over-the-counter Hearing Aid capability for users with mild to moderate hearing loss. Using the personalized hearing profile from the Hearing Test, this new feature seamlessly transforms AirPods Pro into a clinical-grade hearing aid. After setup, the feature enables personalized dynamic adjustments so users have the sounds around them boosted in real time. This helps them better engage in conversation, and keeps them connected to the people and environment around them. With the incredible audio quality of AirPods Pro, the user’s personalized hearing profile is automatically applied to music, movies, games, and phone calls across their devices, without needing to adjust any settings. Users can also set up the Hearing Aid feature with an audiogram created by a hearing health professional.
Ezekiel Elin:
My hearing aids are waterproof, the battery lasts 5 days (discardable) or 18-22 hours (rechargeable), and I can stream directly from my phone. The main quirks I have to deal with are bugs on iOS that fail to handle headphones being paired all the time (CarPlay, mainly). I can control the volume on my hearing aids, change programs for loud environments, and can often hear better than my friends in those loud environments.
[…]
I don’t mean to dunk on the AirPods and their potential for people who don’t have or don’t want to try hearing aids. But if the people around you are that dissatisfied with their hearing aids then it really sounds like something’s gone wrong in the dispensing process.
Joe Rossignol:
Apple today announced that the AirPods Max are being updated with a USB-C charging port and new color options, including Midnight, Blue, Purple, Orange, and Starlight.
Previously:
Update (2024-09-12): Saagar Jha:
Interestingly AirPods 4 have a shorter advertised battery life than AirPods 3: from 6 hours to 5
Update (2024-09-17): Hartley Charlton:
Various media outlets and YouTube channels today shared their first impressions of the AirPods 4, reviewing the changes Apple has made to enhance comfort, sound, and functionality.
Update (2024-09-23): See also: Billy Steele (via MacRumors).
Update (2024-10-16): Jason Snell:
On the one hand, the fact that you can get noise cancellation on base AirPods is amazing. Their hard plastic body means that they can’t make a soft seal like the silicone tips on the AirPods Pro can, so there’s more outside audio leakage to compensate for. However, there’s a huge advantage there: If you can’t stand silicone ear tips sticking into your ears, maybe the AirPods 4 will let you finally use ANC AirPods for the first time.
[…]
But here’s the thing: While AirPods 4 with noise cancellation are a step up from the base model and from previous models, that $70 difference (only $20 if you can find AirPods Pro 2 on Amazon for $199, as I can right now) between the models comes with a huge leap in quality.
When I put the AirPods 4 with ANC in my ears while the house next door was being loudly power washed, I could hear my music and the faint sound of power washing. On an airplane, the hum of the engines was tamped down. Great! But in contrast, when I used my AirPods Pro 2 in those situations, the power washing sound was gone, and so was the hum of the engines. Apple’s claim that the AirPods Pro are twice as good at noise cancellation might be a bit of a head-scratcher in terms of how it’s calculated, but it’s not wrong.
Update (2024-10-21): Steve Troughton-Smith:
The ANC AirPods 4 certainly passed the ✈️ test. Blown away by how effective they are for regular old earbuds — completely nullify the noise of the airplane and make listening to music (and announcements) easy. Coming from the AirPods Max, I’m impressed.
Update (2024-10-30): John Voorhees (via Steven Aquino):
My brief experience with hearing assistance has been wild and surprising in a very good way. I’m fortunate that my hearing loss is mild. At the same time, though, the difference from using hearing assistance is so noticeable that I don’t want to take my AirPods out of my ears. I’m sure the novelty of hearing assistance will wear off and become the ‘new normal,’ but I won’t forget the experience of those first hours using it. It was remarkable.
Ezekiel Elin:
Tried the Hearing Aid test and features in iOS 18 today. It varies between moderate and severe (~60 dB) and is willing to function as hearing aids, but I’m unable to consistently understand speech with them.
AirPods Apple Event Apple Hardware Announcement Earbuds
Apple (video, MacRumors, Hacker News):
Apple Watch Series 10 is nearly 10 percent thinner than Apple Watch Series 7, Series 8, and Series 9, while offering all the advanced capabilities users love, adding new features, and maintaining all-day 18-hour battery life. An innovative metal back integrates the antenna into the housing of the device itself, combining the two layers into one. The back is perfectly matched in material, finish, and color to the rest of the case, making it appear like the device is made from a single piece of metal.
[…]
In addition to being thinner, Apple Watch Series 10 is also lighter: Aluminum cases weigh up to 10 percent less than Series 9, and titanium cases weigh almost 20 percent less than stainless steel Series 9. The case also features more rounded corners and a wider aspect ratio, which contribute to a much larger display while only slightly growing the case to new 42mm and 46mm sizes.
[…]
Fifteen minutes of charging provides up to eight hours of normal daily use, or eight minutes of charging powers up to eight hours of sleep tracking. Faster charging also means users can charge to 80 percent battery in about 30 minutes.
I’m not sure that I like that the base size is increasing. With Apple Watch SE being updated in 2020 and 2022, a new model seemed imminent, but it was not updated today.
Apple:
Breathing Disturbances is an innovative new Apple Watch metric that uses the accelerometer to detect small movements at the wrist associated with interruptions to normal respiratory patterns during sleep. Every 30 days, Apple Watch will analyze breathing disturbance data and notify users if it shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea so they can speak to their doctor about next steps, including potential diagnosis and treatment.
Because overall quality of sleep is important, Breathing Disturbances can also be used to assess restfulness of sleep. Breathing Disturbances can be influenced by alcohol, medications, sleep position, and more. Users can view their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app, where they are classified as elevated or not elevated, and can be viewed over a one-month, six-month, or one-year period.
Apple:
Apple Watch Ultra 2 in black titanium, Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2, and the new Titanium Milanese Loop can be pre-ordered today, with availability beginning Friday, September 20.
Previously:
Update (2024-09-12): Mark Gurman:
This has gone under the radar, but if you have an Apple Watch Series 6 or newer with Blood Oxygen monitoring and you buy a new Apple Watch, you’re going to lose that very key feature a lot of people rely on until Apple figures out a workaround or settles with Masimo.
Leonardo G Di Giulio:
Imagine how much accurate [the sleep apnea detection] would be if it also used the oxygen data.
David Smith:
An interesting point of comparison. The Series 10 “Small” (42mm) Apple Watch is very nearly the same physical footprint of the “Large” (42mm) Series 1 Apple Watch.
Previously:
Update (2024-09-18): Joe Rossignol:
The first Apple Watch Series 10 reviews have been published by various media outlets and YouTube channels, ahead of the device launching on Friday.
Update (2024-09-25): Saagar Jha:
[After] using Apple Watch Series 10 for a bit I actually think this is a big limitation in one of the only new features introduced this year: the always-on display doesn’t actually update every second. Apple says it does, but it really doesn’t. Here’s why.
watchOS has new watch faces that do update every second. But none of the old ones do!
[…]
Anyway, for the new watch none of this has changed software-wise. But the hardware itself now invites you to look at it when your wrist is down. It is actually an interaction that is comfortable to do, because the display is so much brighter! But this old model doesn’t work.
The problem is stale data: the display is on, but the content doesn’t get a chance to update. Power is budgeted for the screen but not what is being shown on it. I don’t even know if there is a way to tell the OS this if you’re not one of the special cases that Apple has built in.
Update (2024-10-01): The Talk Show:
Jason Snell returns to the show to discuss Apple’s September product announcements[…]
Update (2025-02-27): Joe Rossignol:
If the audio playing through your Apple Watch Series 10’s speaker becomes harder to hear after repeated use, you are not alone.
There are a growing number of complaints about a potential Apple Watch Series 10 speaker issue across the Apple Support Community and Reddit. Affected users say the speaker audio becomes quiet or muffled over time, even after using the Water Lock feature to eject water from the speaker following swimming or another water activity.
The low volume affects both phone calls and music, according to the complaints.
Apple Event Apple Hardware Announcement Apple Watch Apple Watch Series 10 Apple Watch Ultra 2 Health.app Sleep watchOS watchOS 11
