A dubious rumor announced a delay in the launch of the iPhone 16 due to the delay of the AI platform “Apple Intelligence”. But, unsurprisingly, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg does not believe it. For him, the company maintains the traditional release schedule for its next range of phones.
Keynote on September 10?
Last week, the American journalistalways well informed by sources at Apple, indicated that Apple Intelligence would be delayed and that we would have to wait for iOS 18.1 in October, about a month after the new iPhones go on sale. In his Sunday PowerOn letter yesterday, in addition to the future M4 Macs, our colleague assures that his sources have informed him that the launch of the iPhone 16 series will take place as planned, like last year. A possible date is September 10, 2024. This would therefore be the date of the keynote of Tim Cook and his troops.
If this is confirmed, we can check the box for September 13th for pre-orders and the September 20 for the official launch of the 2024 iPhones.
After the iPhone 16 launches, iOS 18.1 will be required to get Apple Intelligence features in October, but only in US English at first. Gurman says there is no reason to delay the release of the iPhone 16 and its variants like the iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
In their current state, they are a long way from the game-changing technology that fans and investors hope Apple Intelligence will become.
What features for Apple Intelligence?
As a reminder, Apple Intelligence offers several key functions:
- Assisted writing : Grammar correction, rewriting and text summary.
- Improved Siri : Contextual understanding, intelligent responses and interaction via typing.
- Photos and videos : Natural language search, memory movie creation and advanced editing tools.
- Mail and Messages : Quick replies and email summaries.
- Transcription : Audio recording and transcription. Also valid for calls.
- Focus and notifications : Filtering important notifications and customizing alerts.
- Professional tools : Integration with third-party software for data editing and management.
Mark Gurman, however, believes that the writing tools, typing for Siri and call recording summaries are the best features.
What’s new in the iPhone 16
As for the iPhone 16, the expected new features are:
- Improved screen : More advanced display technology for the “Pro”. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will increase their diagonal by 0.2 inches with 6.3 and 6.9 inches respectively. Still no 120 Hz for the base models, however.
- Refined design : A thinner and lighter design with high quality materials.
- 24 MP front camera : A significant improvement over previous models, with a six-element lens for improved image quality.
- New colors : Introduced new color options including Pink Titanium, Slightly Modified Natural Titanium, and Darker Black Titanium.
- Rear camera improvements : Better image quality with significant changes to improve photo and video performance. 5x telephoto on the base “Pro” and 48mp ultrawide sensor for all.
- Faster processor : Likely to introduce a new A18 chip for increased performance and better power efficiency. AI is at the heart of the design, as are video games.
- Better battery life : Battery management improvements for longer battery life.
- Improved connectivity : Support for new 5G bands for better coverage and faster download speeds.