An attendee tries out an Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset with the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, at the unveiling of the latest iPhone at Cupertino, California. Bloomberg
An attendee tries out an Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset with the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, at the unveiling of the latest iPhone at Cupertino, California. Bloomberg
An attendee tries out an Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset with the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, at the unveiling of the latest iPhone at Cupertino, California. Bloomberg
An attendee tries out an Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset with the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, at the unveiling of the latest iPhone at Cupertino, California. Bloomberg

Apple joins generative AI race with iPhone 16 series and promises more to come


Alvin R Cabral
  • English
  • Arabic

Apple has joined the generative artificial intelligence race with the unveiling of its iPhone 16 series, aiming to keep abreast of the technology expected to drive the next generation of mobile devices.

The world's most valuable company introduced four new devices – the base iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max – at its annual event in Cupertino, California, on Monday.

The devices are powered by Apple Intelligence – the company's take on generative AI. Artificial intelligence has upended productivity and processes among users.

Announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, the service was described as a “personal intelligence” system for iPhones, iPads and Macs, which combines the power of generative models with personal context.

Apple also added a new Camera Control button on all devices, which controls certain camera features by sliding a finger through the new hardware component on the right side of the device.

Adding the button is “interesting” and a “nice touch”, and can be considered a gateway to a wider use of AI on the iPhone, said Nicole Peng, senior vice president at Singapore research firm Canalys.

“For the iPhone, [Apple's] unique perspective is using the camera to be able to achieve a lot of things,” she told The National at the event.

“It has to start from something quite easy to use, like the day-to-day experience on the camera.”

At Monday's event, Apple chief executive Tim Cook promised it will “put powerful generative models right at the core of your iPhone”.

“The next generation of iPhones has been designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up. It marks the beginning of an exciting new era,” Mr Cook said.

Apple Intelligence introduces more language capabilities in iOS 18, as well as the coming iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia – boosting users' communication and writing abilities.

It will allow them to use typical generative AI offerings, such as summarising and organising messages, creating timelines in Photos and generating images, among other uses.

The company also assured that Apple Intelligence will adhere to safety and privacy standards, with all processes on devices and no user information collected.

In July, Apple was reported to have joined fellow Big Tech companies to agree to abide by a wide-ranging set of voluntary commitments set out by the US, aimed at ensuring the responsible use of AI in the lead-up to Apple Intelligence's introduction.

Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, unveils the latest iPhone in Cupertino, California. Bloomberg
Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, unveils the latest iPhone in Cupertino, California. Bloomberg

Generative AI took off last year with the advent of OpenAI's ChatGPT, the conversational AI that eventually became an all-around AI generator for text, images and video.

That led to a new battlefront among technology companies aiming to tap into its potential, with competitors such as Microsoft's Copilot and Google's Gemini, which has been integrated into the Alphabet-owned company's latest Pixel 9 smartphones announced last month.

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, was able to go a step ahead with its own Galaxy AI, first introduced in its Galaxy S24 series in January and later in its latest Galaxy Z foldables in July.

Apple's entry into the generative AI race was much hyped. The company is notable for not being the first to introduce certain features or services, but when it does, it is seen as a benchmark, as well as with a notion of “cool”, especially among its loyal user base.

The company at the Worldwide Developers' Conference has also announced a partnership with Microsoft-backed OpenAI, in which ChatGPT will be integrated into Apple's Siri digital assistant this year.

It is unclear how Apple Intelligence will be received, but given the way the company integrates services in its ecosystem, it is expected to be a seamless experience, barring any bugs.

“Apple's launch today has delivered a lot of the cool AI features promised at the WWDC and done what they do best – showcased a compelling consumer story, telling the user how Apple Intelligence will improve their life,” Nabila Popal, a senior research director at the International Data Corporation, told The National.

Apple is also betting that the new iPhone 16 will prop up sales, at a time interest in the flagship device is facing challenges, particularly in the key Chinese market.

The company's iPhone launch cycle is timed before Apple's fiscal first quarter, from October to December, the critical holiday season in which sales have historically performed well.

Apple stopped reporting hardware unit sales in 2018. The company was estimated to have shipped about 80.5 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of 2023, data from the International Data Corporation shows.

Apple, with a market cap of $3.36 trillion on Monday, maintained a strong bottom line, posting a 7.8 per cent jump in net profit and a 5 per cent rise in revenue in its fiscal second quarter – which was a sales record for a June quarter.

Apple also introduced two variants of the new AirPods 4, one of which comes with active noise cancellation. It also announced token updates to the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, and a new colour for the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

It also introduced Apple Watch Series 10, which it said is its thinnest and lightest yet, on the 10th anniversary of the original Watch's unveiling in 2014.

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

Mica

Director: Ismael Ferroukhi

Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani

3 stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

India team for Sri Lanka series

Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan

UAE squad

Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

MATCH INFO

Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')

Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')

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ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

Bawaal%20
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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nag%20Ashwin%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrabhas%2C%20Saswata%20Chatterjee%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%2C%20Shobhana%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli

Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000

Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km

SPEC%20SHEET
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M2%2C%208-core%20CPU%2C%20up%20to%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.6-inch%20Liquid%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201664%2C%20224ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%2C%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206%2C%20Bluetooth%205.0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2052.6Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2018%20hours%2C%20MagSafe%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201080p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20Apple%20ProRes%2C%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-speaker%20system%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20support%20for%20Dolby%20Atmos%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20and%20dynamic%20head%20tracking%20(with%20AirPods)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Silver%2C%20space%20grey%2C%20starlight%2C%20midnight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Air%2C%2030W%20or%2035W%20dual-port%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C-to-MagSafe%20cable%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh4%2C999%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
While you're here
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Bob%20Marley%3A%20One%20Love
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MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Results

6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Rio Angie, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).

7.05pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Trenchard, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Mulfit, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

8.15pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 1,200m. Winner: Waady, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.

8.50pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 2,000m. Winner: Tried And True, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

9.25pm:Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test series fixtures

(All matches start at 2pm UAE)

1st Test Lord's, London from Thursday to Monday

2nd Test Nottingham from July 14-18

3rd Test The Oval, London from July 27-31

4th Test Manchester from August 4-8

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

The%20specs
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Updated: September 10, 2024, 6:34 AM`