Will the unveiling of iPhone 16 tonight trigger an "upgrade wave" for Apple?

Apple's annual fall launch event is counting down, with the theme "Glowtime". What highlights can we expect from the iPhone 16 and other new products?

On Tuesday at 1:00 am Beijing time, Apple will hold a new product launch event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The event will be live-streamed on the Apple website and YouTube.

The iPhone 16 is undoubtedly the protagonist of this event. According to various media outlets and analysts, the new generation iPhone will still include four models, with upgrades in software and hardware, color adjustments, narrower bezels, addition of a "camera button", 8GB of memory as standard, periscope telephoto lens, and equipped with the A18/A18 Pro chip...

The highlight is Apple's AI (Apple Intelligence), introducing AI large models for Siri to be more intelligent, capable of more personalized conversations, summarizing information for users, etc. Some analysts believe that the introduction of AI will accelerate the iPhone replacement cycle.

In terms of other new products, the Apple Watch Series 10 will be thinner than its predecessor but with a larger screen. At the same time, Apple will update the AirPods product line, with the entry-level model not having noise-canceling function, but the mid-range AirPods will provide noise-canceling for the first time. Additionally, Apple has been working to make AirPods function as hearing aids.

Four models released together, new camera button, performance upgrade

It is reported that the iPhone 16 will still be released in four models, including the base model, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max, totaling 4 models, with the Pro series being the focus of this year's upgrade.

In terms of colors, the Pro models will use gold titanium alloy instead of blue titanium metal, retaining black, white, and natural colors. There are reports that the new color is actually close to bronze. The non-Pro version will add blue, pink, and green, while replacing yellow with white, in addition to the previous black, totaling 5 colors.

In terms of size, the screen bezels will further narrow to 1.15mm, possibly setting a new global record for the narrowest bezels. The screen sizes of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be upgraded from 6.1 and 6.3 inches to 6.3 and 6.9 inches respectively.

The biggest change is the physical button, non-Pro models will also be equipped with an Action Button, which, combined with custom settings and quick commands, can be used for functions like taking screenshots, enabling conversation translation, etc. This will be the first time the base model iPhone adopts this buttonThe addition of a "Capture Button" similar to a camera shutter, which allows for sliding between photo and video modes, is unclear whether this button will be available on the upcoming Pro models or the entire series.

In terms of imaging upgrades, the Pro models will feature a periscope telephoto lens capable of 5x optical zoom. Additionally, they will include a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and support recording spatial videos in 4K resolution.

To enable spatial video recording on non-Pro models, the cameras will be vertically arranged for easy viewing of 3D videos using Apple's Vision Pro headset.

In terms of other hardware configurations, both non-Pro models will be equipped with the A18 chip, while the Pro/Pro Max models will have the A18 Pro processor. The chip may come with an upgraded neural engine with more cores to enhance AI/machine learning performance.

Will AI Features Steal the Show and Trigger an Upgrade Wave?

When it comes to the various features of the iPhone 16, Apple's AI capabilities will take center stage. It is reported that Siri will be enhanced, and new features will be supported in Mail, Photos, and more.

Previously, reports indicated that Apple's AI will empower Siri with text summarization capabilities to provide users with a more intelligent voice interaction experience. Safari browser will introduce "smart search" functionality, and it will also assist photographers in capturing better photos through features like photo elimination and AI editing.

Notably, to support Apple's AI features, the entire iPhone 16 series is expected to come with 8GB of RAM, a first in Apple products.

While the iPhone 15 Pro also supports AI features, some focal points of this release event will be the launch time of iOS 18 and other incremental features.

With the introduction of Apple's AI, analysts are expecting that the iPhone 16 may trigger an "upgrade wave."

Analysts at Morgan Stanley stated that the introduction of Apple Intelligence in the iPhone 16 will help unleash pent-up demand and accelerate the replacement cycle for iPhones, which currently stands at a historically high 4.8 years. This could potentially lead to additional iPhone production orders in the next 3 to 12 months.

However, well-known Apple journalist Mark Gurman believes that there is unlikely to be a super cycle of upgrades this year, partly due to many consumers worldwide tightening their spending. Another major issue may be attributed to the devices themselves, as the new iPhone model looks almost identical to last year's model, despite some minor upgrades and other features. To stimulate consumer upgrades, there must be a completely new design.

Another issue is the slow update of AI features. Gurman states that Apple Intelligence is not yet fully mature. The initial version will lack many features, and all major new features of Siri will not be available until next year. AI image creation features will also be delayed until next year, so consumers will have to wait for the best features.

Highlights of Apple Watch and AirPods Updates

Compared to the iPhone, the changes in Apple's smartwatch and headphones may be more significant.

Reports suggest that the Apple Watch Series 10 will be thinner than its predecessor but with a larger screen. In terms of functionality, insiders suggest that it may introduce features such as sleep apnea and high blood pressure detection, but there is still uncertainty about actual implementation.

Apple will update its mid-range AirPods product line, offering noise-cancellation for the first time on the mid-range AirPods and updating the entry-level AirPods for the first time since 2019.

For the AirPods product line, a major new feature is related to hearing health. Apple has been working to turn AirPods into hearing aids, but Gurman suggests that this feature may be introduced later