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.
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.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
Results
Stage Two:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates
4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
General Classification:
1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03
2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10
5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%2C%20Manal%20Khader%2C%20Amer%20Daher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Elia%20Suleiman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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