Apple Drops New iPhone 16 Series + More
Have your personal proofreader and (enhanced) virtual assistant in one phone.
(SPOT.ph) Which team are you for this year’s Apple launch event? Are you one of those who stayed up late to watch the whole thing but fell asleep halfway through? Or did you miss the whole thing and woke up confused and surprised and flooded with news about the new drops—specifically, the much-anticipated iPhone 16? If you’re more on Team 2 and need a quick recap on last night’s affair, allow us to walk you through it.
The annual Apple Event streamed early Tuesday morning (September 10 at 1 a.m. PHT; September 9, around 10 a.m. PST) and launched the new iterations of select products, among them the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 2, AirPods, and, of course, the star of the event—the iPhone 16 lineup, which we'll talk about here.
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Check out the new iPhone 16 series:
First things first, the iPhone 16 series has four models: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
From the A16 Bionic in the iPhone 15, this new lineup jumped two generations ahead to the A18—created specifically for the iPhone 16 and its Apple Intelligence. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus has 6.1" and 6.7" screens while the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has 6.3" and 6.9" screens—the largest iPhone displays to date.
A18 has Apple’s latest generation 6-core CPU. It’s up to 30% faster than the CPU in the iPhone 15 (and up to 60% faster than the iPhone 12). “This CPU is faster than all the competition, challenging even high-end desktop PCs,” Apple says. The iPhone 16 is also equipped with a 5-cover GPU.
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, on the other hand, are equipped with the A18 Pro chip ("A class of its own," said Apple) with a new 6-core GPU. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max "are the most advanced iPhone models Apple ever made".
The iPhone 16 is packed with a 48MP fusion camera, which has four times more resolution than the camera on the iPhone 14. It has up to 4x optical zoom right and up to 10x digital zoom while the Pro series has up to 10x optical zoom and 25x digital zoom. You also get up to 22 and 27 hours of video playback for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus and up to 27 hours and 33 hours for the Pro and Pro Max. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is said to have "the best battery life on iPhone ever."
The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max are available in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium while the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus went for a more playful palette: pink, teal, and ultramarine, aside from the usual black and white.
Cool new features
The newest, and arguably the most standout feature in this lineup is for everyone who loves to take pictures: the Camera Control. Sure, we usually just use the volume button to take a snap, but this new feature can let you do more. You can instantly access the camera with just one click and adjust various camera features by sliding your finger.
Zooming in and out ihas never been easier, and among the phone's new visual intelligence features is this: when you take a picture of, let's say a restaurant, it immediately pulls out info about what you just shot (opening hours, menu, ratings, et cetera).
Onto the Apple Intelligence a.k.a personal intelligence system “at the heart of the iPhone 16 lineup.” It anchors a lot of features in the new series. One of them is the Writing Tools, which will be like your personal proofreader. You can rewrite notes, adjust your tone, and well, proofread everything. You can also record, transcribe, and summarize audio recordings. Yes, even during phone calls.
Apple Intelligence also allows you to find photos and videos just as easily as typing a description. It will “automatically find relevant photos and videos.”
And you know how we see only the first few lines of an email, prompting you to open it and scan the whole thing first? Apple Intelligence will summarize the contents for you. Your notifications will be summarized to the most useful info. Siri, too, is entering its new era, with a better understanding and context about your life and easily pulling out recommendations and reminders from texts and messages from friends and loved ones.
You can just say, “Send Erica the photos from Saturday’s barbecue,” and Siri will send it off. It’s like your own personal assistant. Apple Intelligence will be available as a free software update. These first set of features will roll out in the U.S. next month, with more soon to come.
Prices (according to the Apple PH site):
iPhone 16 starts at P54,990
iPhone 16 Plus starts at P62,990
iPhone 16 Pro starts at P69,990
iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at P84,990
According to the site, pre-orders for the iPhone 16 series will begin on September 13. It will be available starting September 20. You can check online.
The Apple event also saw the release of the Watch Series 10, a.k.a Apple's thinnest watch with their biggest display. It's also their fastest-charging watch ever. The Watch Ultra 2 was also dropped with a new, and very sleek, black titanium case. You won't have to worry about getting lost while on a run because it claims to have "the most accurate GPS in a sports watch."
The AirPods 4, for its part, has been updated. It's now equipped with Active Noise Cancellation which is a first for the open-ear design. The AirPods Max is in fresh new colors like purple, beige, and light orange, too.
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