Apple excited fans with its vision for its 鈥淎pple Intelligence鈥� artificial intelligence system earlier this year. Now, it鈥檚 time for the company to prove it really works.
The company is set to introduce the first lineup of iPhones purpose-built for generative artificial intelligence (which lets users create text and images) during its annual hardware event, which kicks off You can watch the livestream .
The event was teased with the cryptic motto of 鈥渋t鈥檚 glow time,鈥� and Apple is staying mum thus far on what it means.
Apple faces immense pressure ahead of the event to prove the new AI features and other iPhone 16 updates are worth shelling out for an upgrade. Apple also needs to convince investors that it hasn鈥檛 fallen behind in the AI arms race, as rivals have already released similar features with the new technology.
Since the launch of the iPhone 12 with 5G connectivity in 2020, the company has given users few exciting reasons to buy the latest generation. Phone cameras have largely advanced to the point where they鈥檙e sufficient for most people鈥檚 day-to-day needs without major hardware changes, and at some point the human eye isn鈥檛 even capable of perceiving higher screen resolutions.
As a result, iPhone sales, which make up half of the company鈥檚 revenue, have been sluggish.
The company鈥檚 shares had been relatively stagnant, too, until the Apple Intelligence unveiling, a sign that investors are counting on AI to convince people to buy new iPhones. Apple鈥檚 stock is up 14% since the June 10 event, and nearly 18% since the start of this year.
If Apple delivers, it could cash in 鈥� roughly 300 million iPhones worldwide have not been upgraded in more than four years, according to a research note from analyst Dan Ives of investment firm Wedbush last month.
So, while Apple will likely highlight changes to various products and services like AirPods or, even Apple TV+ on Monday, 鈥渆verything is about the iPhone upgrade cycle. Everything else is subplot,鈥� D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria told CNN.
Subplot or main character, here is everything we鈥檙e expecting from the Apple event.
The AI iPhone
The company has already hinted at some of the things Apple Intelligence will be able to do: it will enable more natural conversations with Siri, help draft emails, make it easier to find specific moments in your photo albums and incorporate users鈥� personal information into its responses. The company鈥檚 task on Monday will be to show iPhone users what that will look in real life.
鈥淓xpect to see demos about how, within your text chain, you can get summaries,鈥� Luria said. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l know why did Tiffany M have beef with Tiffany R, and you鈥檒l be able to ask that within the chat and get a response. Those are the kinds of things that will get people excited 鈥� to show some concrete examples of how folks will be able to use Apple Intelligence to do things they weren鈥檛 previously able to do.鈥�
And while it鈥檚 not unusual for new iPhones to get an updated processor chip, that change may be especially important this year to ensure the iPhone 16 can handle the increased data processing needs that will come with the new without compromising battery life.
Luria added that he thinks there could also be a subtle change to the appearance of the iPhone, such as a wider screen or updated edges, 鈥渢o drive home the point of an upgrade cycle.鈥�
鈥淪omething distinct about the new iPhones that will communicate to consumers that, 鈥業 have the new iPhone and you don鈥檛,鈥� which was not the case for the last four years,鈥� he said.
The iPhone 16 is also set to feature a dedicated camera button, according to a from Bloomberg鈥檚 Mark Gurman.
The big question: price?
A major question heading into Monday鈥檚 event is how Apple will price the iPhone 16 lineup. For the last four years, the starting price at launch for the new iPhones was US$799.
Apple enthusiasts have debated for years whether iPhone models should be cheaper, while investors would prefer maximum profit.
Many analysts, including CFRA Research鈥檚 Angelo Zino, say Apple could modestly raise prices 鈥渁cross the board鈥� for the iPhone lineup because of the new AI features and the cost to the company of delivering them.
However, it almost certainly won鈥檛 be a major hike because 鈥渢hey don鈥檛 want to lose the (customer) enthusiasm because of sticker shock,鈥� Luria said.
Other devices
Rumor has it that Apple may also announce updates to the Apple Watch and AirPods.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is expected to be thinner than its predecessors but with a larger screen, and the company is also set to roll out new low-end and mid-tier AirPod offerings, Gurman reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation.
Those updates would follow new software offerings for both devices that Apple announced at its annual developers conference in June.
AirPods users will be able to answer or decline a call with just a nod or shake of their head. And new vital sign tracking on Apple Watch can notify users when they may be getting sick, based on signals like body temperature and heart rate.
鈥揝amantha Kelly and Ramishah Maruf contributed to this report.
