Apple September 2024 Event Recap

Every September, Apple will have a presentation on its best-selling product of all time: the iPhone. And this September is no different than the last 10 Septembers. While it’s pretentious to say the iPhone design hasn’t changed for almost a decade, the devil is in the details and the iPhone 16 is no different.

Since the pandemic, Apple has moved the event from live to scripted, well-produce videos. And Apple has raised the bar again on how to do product presentations this year.

Apple Intelligence

Apple spent a good 10 minutes explaining Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16. Furthermore, Apple mentioned how Apple Intelligence integrates with each of the products from AirPods to the iPhone 16 Pro. The way Apple mentions Apple Intelligence is as though it can only work on the iPhone 16 and above, but in reality, it’s available on any iPhones that can run iOS 18 and above.

• for those who follow Apple, these are already introduced in WWDC 2024
• features coming in october update.
• should coincide with mac updates in october
• there’s a lot of mention about Apple Intelligence over the presentation
• generative models, personal context. personal AI
• features available in iphone 16 and iphone 15
• apple spent around 30 minutes talking about this
• feature available in october
• clean-up -> remove objects in photos

iPhone 16

Other than the camera bump, it’s safe to say that Apple hasn’t changed the base iPhone design at all. The cutout which was once for the millimeter wave for 5G is now the camera control button. The internals have been upgraded enough that this is possibly the best base iPhone Apple released in years. Instead of trickled down features from past iPhone Pros, the iPhone 16 has actual improvements to make it a compelling choice.

More details

• A18 chip: The heart of the iPhone is the new A18 SOC. Instead of taking an A17 Pro from the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple optimized the A18 for the base iPhone. The dedicated graphics on the A18 allows you to play AAA games for the first time on the base iPhone.
• Camera Control: The new feature for the iPhone is the new Camera Control button/sensor. It’s a sensor with a haptic engine to simulate button clicking. You can also slide around the sensor to adjust the camera setting. Clicking it outside of the Camera app will take you to the camera app. Clicking it inside the Camera app will give you adjustment options like exposure, depth of field, and many more.
• Reworked camera bump: The camera system has been rearrange to allow the iPhone 16 to take spatial videos and photos. You can fully experince those videos on the Vision Pro.
• New Ceramic Shield: The front glass of the iPhone 16 gets an updated version of the Cerami Shield. Apple claims that it is 50% more durable than the previous version.
• Bigger battery: Apple claims that the A18 is more efficient than the A16 in the iPhone 15. Even then, Apple puts a bigger battery on the new iPhone 16 for good measure.

iPhone 16 Pro

The iPhone 16 Pro is Apple’s best effort in jamming the best design and technology in a titanium glass sandwich. Apple designed the iPhone 16 Pro to do two things well: take videos/photos and play games.

Here are some of the details.

• A18 Pro: The best mobile chip Apple makes. 16-core neural engine with 6-core GPU and 6-core CPU. Apple claims 20% performance improvement.
• Bigger screen: The new iPhone Pros are enlarged by a few millimeters. However, Apple made the bezels a lot thinner. So the new iPhone 16 Pro screen size is 6.3" and 6.9" compared to 6.1" and 6.7" in the iPhone 15 Pro.
• A more capable video capture: The iPhone 16 Pro can now capture 4K videos at 120 fps
• Updated Ultrawide sensor: The Ultrawide sensor is now 48MP, the same as the main sensor.
• Higher zoom factor: The telephoto sensor now can capture at 5x zoom. On a 35mm camera, the lens would be 120mm, which is a very capable telephoto length.
• Camera control: Just like the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Pro has a new Camera Control sensor/button. However, some tidbit of info mentioned, a software update will bring a two-stage shutter button just like a proper camera.
• Audio Mix: There are 4 mics on the iPhone 16 Pro. Using AI, you can isolate audio capture based on subjects on the scene. So you should get crisp audio with no background noise.
• Layered Voice Memo: Micheal Jackson didn’t play any instruments but recorded his hums to the beat that was in his head. Later, he will layer those hums to make a song. So the demo is Micheal Jackson singing and humming his song. The Voice Memo app can now do layers so you can build songs from your hums just like Micheal Jackson.
• Starting storage: You can put up to 1TB of storage on the phones. However, what’s interesting is the starting storage. 128GB on the smaller iPhone 16 Pro and 256GB on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Apple Watch 10

The Apple Watch has achieved what big makers like Rolex, Omega, and Tag Heuer where they have made a design that is instantly recognizable and many others will attempt to copy it. That being said, there is no reason for Apple to change its watch design between now and the next thirty years.

Some details

• It’s bigger: The watch dimension has increased by 1mm on each side but Apple made it thinner by 1mm. The watch will look bigger on your wrist.
• **Titanium options: Titanium has made its debut on base Apple Watch, making it lighter than last year’s stainless-steel option. However, it is still heavier by a few grams than base aluminum.
• Faster charging: The series 10 will charge from 0% to 80% in 30 minutes. With the sleep tracking function, Apple intends you to wear your watch all the time.
• Sleep apnea detection: The watch will monitor your heart rate and breathing and warn you if it detects sleep apnea, a condition Apple claims that is untreated by billions of humans.
• Nike and Hermes: As usual, Nike and Hermes is continuing their collaboration with Apple.
• Water depth and temperature sensor: First introduced in the Apple Watch Ultra series, water depth and temp sensor are now available in the Apple Watch 10. However, instead of 120m on the Ultra, the sensor only works up to 6m. Good for most people, but might not be for SCUBA divers.
• S10 SiP: A brand new signal processor for the Apple Watch series 10. With more neural cores on the processor, some Apple Intelligence features are available on the device.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Apple didn’t introduce an update for the Apple Watch Ultra series but there’s a new color and collabration with Hermes

Here are the details

• New Black: There’s now a black titanium option for the Ultra Watch 2 and it looks nice. There’s also a new matching titanium strap. I think it will sell well
• Hermes Edition: For the first time, Hermes has collaborated with Apple on a new Apple Watch Ultra 2 Hermes edition. Useful to get those Kelly and Birkin bags.

AirPods 4

Apple introduced an updated AirPods.

Some details

• Redesigned: Although looks identical to AirPods 3, Apple insists that the AirPods has been redesigned to be more comfortable on more ears than ever.
• Noise cancellation: Noise cancellation, which was only with AirPods Pro and AirPods Max is now available on the AirPods. However, it is an extra $50 option
• Speaker on the case: To help with Find My, Apple put speakers on the AirPods case. However, it is only available on the AirPods with noise cancellation.

AirPods Max

In their presentation which spans around 1 hour and 38 minutes, Apple spent a scant 40 seconds talking about the new AirPods Max. Kinda puts the perspective on how important the AirPods Max is to Apple in the grand scheme of things.

However, on the websites, there are some details

• New colors: This was mentioned in the
• USB-C: The AirPods Max is probably the last Apple device that has the Lighting connector.
• ‘Pro’ Noise cancellation: Apple claims that the noise cancellation will be better on the AirPods Max compared to other AirPods. With more mics and a bigger driver, this is pausible.

AirPods Pro

Apple did not update the AirPods Pro, however, they introduced new software features for the AirPods Pro. Some details:-

• Hearing test: With the new update, you can do a 5-minute hearing test using your AirPods Pro every month and put them on your graph to see if you are losing your hearing.
• Active Listening Protection: The AirPods Pro will intelligently reduce or cancel noise that is too loud or jarring.

Others

And a grab bag about Apple’s September Event

• The Observatory: As reported by MacRumors, Apple built a new place called the Observatory to showcase their new products. It is situated next to the Steve Jobs Theater.
  

  

• Apple 2030: This is Apple’s initiative to be a carbon-neutral company and it is mentioned serval times throughout the presentation. Critics might call such actions as ‘greenwashing’ but Apple did eliminate a lot of plastics in their packaging and tried to use as much recycled materials as possible.
• iPhone cases: Also mentioned that the new iPhone cases have some sapphire glass on the side for better contact with the Camera Control sensor. This will differentiate between cheap and expensive phone cases.
• Video quality: The entire presentation is shot on iPhones and presumably edited with Apple’s video tools like Final Cut Pro. What’s amazing is the quality of the motion capture. There are many scenes with great contrast between subject and background, yet, all are captured perfectly. Say what you want about Apple’s product, but the iPhone Pro bodies are very capable based on what they capture.

Conclusion

As predicted, Apple is sticking to the formula. After all, they are raking in hundreds of billions of dollars every year selling the same tools as before. Why do radical changes in a successful product? There are many icons in design like the Porsche 911, professional camera bodies, and Rolexes which are the same thing, and the general masses are not complaining about it.

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Other Ecosystem Items

• Apple TV (Amazon) / Apple TV 4K (Amazon)
• AirTags (Amazon)
• HomePod Mini (Amazon)