 The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s iPhone 16 launch was mostly about refining the device’s nuts and bolts, rather than introducing exciting overhauls or new features. Let’s recap some of the changes — and why they were made: - Because the iPhone has increasingly become the camera of choice for most people, Apple added a dedicated hardware button to take pictures and video.
- The iPhone 15 Pro was plagued at launch with an overheating bug, so the company redesigned the internals of the iPhone 16 to better dissipate heat.
- Consumers are constantly yearning for their iPhone to last longer, so Apple was aggressive in upping the battery life of its phones. For instance, the iPhone 16 Pro Max can play video for four hours longer than a 15 Pro Max. That’s two extra movies.
- Apple customers love their AirPods, so the company brought previously Pro-level features — like active noise cancellation — down market and replaced its aging $129 model with a fresh design.
None of those changes is significant enough to drive a super cycle — the rush of upgrading that happens every few years — but they should keep users happy. Apple’s brand, product ecosystem and marketing muscle are all so strong that even the bare minimum is usually enough. Apple knows that the new iPhone hardware doesn’t represent a major leap over last year’s model. So it focused much of its launch event on Apple Intelligence, the company’s new suite of AI tools. Of course, those features were already announced in June and have been available in beta tests for weeks. You also don’t necessarily need to buy an iPhone 16 to get them (they’ll work with the iPhone 15 Pro models as well).  The iPhone 16 Plus. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg That’s why the highlight of the show may have been the debut of some long-awaited health features, including hearing-aid software for the AirPods Pro. But I’ll start by digging into the hardware changes.
The Camera Control button on the new iPhones seems like an extension of the Dynamic Island from the iPhone 14 Pro. Apple was praised two years ago for that enhancement, specifically for how the hardware and software blend together. But it hasn’t been a game-changing innovation. So the company has now concocted another cool interface — and this one might have more of an impact. Having the button will probably spur people to take more pictures. Apple also added a second 48-megapixel lens and expanded slow-motion video recording, another enticement to create more media. It all adds up to users needing additional storage — either on their phone or in iCloud — and that’s good for the company’s bottom line. The A18 chip on the iPhone 16 is a two-generation jump from the previous A16, with the Pro models shifting to the A18 Pro from A17 Pro. The A18 Pro promises a 15% gain for its central processor and a 20% jump for its graphics — notable on paper — but the change may still be subtle for most people. In day-to-day use, the last couple of iPhones were plenty fast. The users who will notice the improvements are people coming from Android devices or much older iPhones. Likewise, the new AirPods 4 will probably be most impressive to people coming from rival devices. The Apple Watch hardware upgrades were fairly minor as well. Though Apple redesigned the new Series 10 watch, it looks nearly identical to the “jelly bean” model introduced with the Series 4 in 2018. The selling points are the new materials and lighter chassis. Users of the Series 10 will also now get the much larger screen of the Ultra.  Apple Watch Ultra. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg The new black Ultra watch does look incredible: Apple’s most faithful customers will upgrade from last year’s model for the color alone. But the lack of major hardware changes underscores a growing issue for the Apple Watch lineup. The product is now a decade old, and it’s harder than ever for Apple to wow customers every year. Back in 2023, I said Apple was considering moving to a two-year upgrade cycle for at least some models. That already applied to the lower-end Apple Watch SE, but we’re now seeing this with the Ultra too. Last year, Apple barely had enough new stuff to warrant putting the “2” suffix on its updated Ultra. The speed improvements in the S9 chip, a screen that could go a third brighter and the new double-tap gesture justified the branding — barely. This time around, Apple really had nothing ready. The S10 chip in the Series 10 isn’t any faster than the S9, and upcoming features have hit delays. So Apple didn’t brand the new Ultra as a “3.” But even without much razzle-dazzle on the hardware side, Apple has a saving grace: its new health features. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said that he believes Apple’s legacy will be its health-care initiatives. While some of its efforts have fallen short and even drawn controversy, there’s no doubt that Apple has already helped hundreds of millions of people lead healthier lives.  The AirPods 4. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg The first health feature discussed during last week’s presentation was sleep apnea detection on the Apple Watch. This software (which is also coming to last year’s watches) can warn users if it believes they have the condition. Customers will then know to go to a doctor and get checked out. Like with Apple’s other health features, the mechanism is designed to raise awareness and push a user to get help — rather than give them all the data needed to make a medical decision. I think this is going to help a lot of people, even if a blood-pressure warning feature would have had a bigger impact. (I’m told that long-awaited capability ran into problems during testing, specifically with the updated design for the Series 10, so Apple delayed it.) The most impressive health initiative coming this year is the company's new set of hearing features. As I reported several months ago, this involves turning AirPods into a clinical-grade hearing test machine as well as — most impressively — an over-the-counter hearing aid. Shortly after the announcement, the technology got approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. A conventional hearing aid can cost anywhere from $300 to upwards of $2,000. Apple’s option will bring that price point to $249 — the cost of the AirPods Pro. That’s critical given that most US insurance companies don’t reimburse over-the-counter hearing-aid purchases. It also will integrate more seamlessly with the iPhone, giving it a better interface than most existing hearing devices.  Apple Watch Series 10. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Other future Apple health features will include embedding heart-rate sensors in the AirPods, as well as an AI-driven health coaching service for the Apple Watch and iPhone. There are also more blood-pressure management tools in development for the iPhone and iPad Health app. But it hasn’t all gone smoothly. Beyond the snag with the blood-pressure monitoring, Apple still hasn’t resolved its legal fight with Masimo Corp. over blood-oxygen detection. That means the feature won’t appear on the latest crop of Apple Watches sold in the US. Upgraders who have the feature right now will lose it by buying a new model — something that will undoubtedly confuse and irk consumers who like the capability. It seems clear that Apple doesn’t want to fix the problem by writing a big check to Masimo, which it sees as a patent troll. But consumers are now paying the price for Apple’s resistance to take that step. The ultimate health addition for the Apple Watch will be noninvasive glucose monitoring to detect diabetes. This is still many years away from launching, but Apple has some of its smartest engineering minds working on it. | 
