New iPhone 16 announced with focus on Apple Intelligence

New iPhone 16 announced with focus on Apple Intelligence
iPad Pilot News

There are a handful of events you can count on every year: Sun ‘n Fun in the spring, EAA AirVenture in late July, and Apple’s annual iPhone event in September. Today is officially that final day, iPhone day, where Apple shows off the latest iPhones and Apple Watch models. While we tend to focus more on using the iPad as the pilot’s best friend here at iPad Pilot News, the iPhone plays an equally important role as a preflight planning tool and a backup EFB in the cockpit.

In what was once again the world’s worst-kept secret, Apple announced new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models today. But we won’t sugarcoat it: the event was a bit of a snoozer with only modest feature updates in the new models, with an emphasis on increased processor horsepower to support the proprietary Apple Intelligence.

What’s new with iPhone 16

The new iPhone 16 comes in two sizes and brings several of the design cues from last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, like the physical Action button that allows users to access a variety of custom functions with just a press. The Action button is now available to control functions in third-party apps like unlocking the doors of your car using the FordPass app. Hopefully, wider adoption of this physical button shortcut might lead to some creative ideas while using popular aviation apps.

iPhone 16 also gets the Emergency SOS and Messages via satellite that were previously only available on the Pro models.

Additionally, a new button—Camera Control—gives users quick access to the camera app plus quick access to advanced camera settings like zoom, exposure, and depth. Again, third-party apps will have access to this new hardware interface for advanced camera control that might be specific to their app.

Most importantly, the Apple A16 Bionic processor found in the iPhone 15 leaped a generation to the A18, built with 3-nanometer transistors and offering a 2x faster neural engine. This beefier processor is to help support the plethora of on-device intelligence features. The iPhone 16 lineup will harness “the power of Apple silicon and Apple-built generative models to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks.”

What else is new on iPhone 16:

New 3 nanometer A18 chip with 2x faster neural engine
A new additional 48-megapixel super-wide angle camera allows for higher-resolution photos
The camera system can now capture spatial (3D) video to allow for 3D viewing on Apple’s Vision Pro headset
Powerful upgrades to the advanced camera system
New colors with aluminum finish
Action button
Camera control capacitive slider
120hz refresh rate

There are two models: the iPhone 16 (starts at $799 for 128GB) and iPhone 16 Plus (starts at $899 for 128GB), both of which can be pre-ordered starting today.

What’s new with iPhone 16 Pro

The iPhone Pro models traditionally feature a higher-performance processor and upgraded camera technology. The same is true this year, as Apple’s primary focus during the event was on Apple Intelligence, and a new A18 Pro chip to support the extra horsepower required to power the proprietary generative AI models.

Like the standard iPhone, the Pro also gets the new Camera Control capacitive slider, bigger displays and a larger battery.

What else is new on iPhone 16 Pro:

New faster A18 Pro chip
Larger 6.3″ and 6.9″ displays with thinner bezels
Larger batteries
New desert titanium color
New 48mp ultrawide camera
4K 120fps slow motion video recording

There are two models: the iPhone 16 Pro (starts at $999 for 128GB) and iPhone 16 Pro Max (starts at $1199 for 256GB), both of which can be pre-ordered starting today.

What’s new with Apple Watch

Apple also announced the Apple Watch Series 10. Like the iPhone, these include a modest set of updates focused on faster processors and a larger, brighter screen. The new screen is so efficient that Apple was able to update the Always-On Display to refresh from once a minute to once a second.

The new screen also claims a 40 percent increase in brightness when viewed from an angle, making it easier to read at a glance. This could make it easier for pilots to read the watch without removing their hand from the yoke during flight.

A less flashy but more practical update is a redesigned metal back that incorporates a new faster charging coil and an improved cellular antenna for better reception.