iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10, and New AirPods: Recap of Apple's "It's Glowtime" September Event

Intro

Today's Apple announcements, at an event entitled "It's Glowtime", were exactly what many of us expected: new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods. We also got a release day for all the big software updates. watchOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and macOS will all get their big upgrades on Monday, September 16.

TL;DR:

• Apple Watch Series 10 is a bit thinner (9.7mm) than Series 9, and comes in at larger screen sizes (42mm and 46mm). The screen is brighter when viewed at an angle and updates faster in Always On Display mode. Sleep apnea detection is the headline feature and comes to the Series 9 as well. Stainless steel is out, titanium is in. It can survive more water, so has the same water pressure and temperature sensing that the Ultra has. The Ultra now comes in black but is otherwise unchanged.
• AirPods: new AirPods 4 have a speaker in the case, nodding and head-shaking detection for responding to Siri, and other features that used to be only in the Pro line. They cost $129. A more expensive model with active noise cancellation and other Pro-only features is also available, for $179. Yes, that's ANC, conversation mode, transparency mode, and other features on AirPods without ear-sealing tips. AirPods Pro 2 get a hearing aid feature that boosts problematic frequencies for you, which are determined through a new hearing test in iOS 18.
• iPhone 16 has better cameras, the same screen, better durability, faster chip, wifi 7, and new buttons. The Action button from iPhone 15 Pro is on the 16, as is the new camera control button. This is a flat area of the bezel you can press to open your favorite camera app, lightly press to lock focus or bring up controls, firmly press to take a picture, or swipe side to side to control zoom or move through controls.
• iPhone 16 Pro has all the same updates as iPhone 16. It has an even faster chip optimized for AI and machine learning tasks, a bunch of features for videographers, better cameras, and better microphones.

iPhone

Let's start with iPhone, even if Apple kept this for the end of their presentation.

To no one's surprise, this year's iPhones are the best yet, with the best cameras and screens. One neat change is Ceramic Shield, which was upgraded to be 50% more durable than in previous years. Anything that makes my phone tougher is a good thing in my book. As usual, I'll skip over most of the camera stuff, but the way the cameras are controlled now is actually really cool.

All of the new phones have what Apple calls the camera control button. This is a flat area on the side of the phone surrounded by a border of metal. It is pressure-sensitive and uses haptic feedback, but isn't actually a button. It acts a lot like a modern MacBook trackpad, or the home button in iPhone 7 and 8. You can press it to open your favorite camera app. Once that opens, you can lightly press to lock focus, slide a finger sideways to change the focus or zoom, firmly press to take a picture, and more. Apps can customize the various gestures and presses for this button. In one app, a double light press might open more camera controls, while in another, sliding might switch between camera lenses instead of changing the zoom level. It sounds like a powerful new tool for apps to play with.

If you press and hold the camera control button, something interesting happens. Your phone will take a picture, then use onboard and internet intelligence to look it up. If you take a picture of a dog, you'll see information about the dog breed. If you took a picture of a restaurant, you'll get hours of operation and reviews. You get the idea. This is essentially a web and AI search of the real world, available by simply long-pressing one button.

All iPhone 16 models also get the action button. Last year, only iPhone 15 Pro got this, so it's great to see that the base model iPhone 16 isn't left out this time. For those unfamiliar, this button replaces the mute switch. By default, it simply toggles between mute and ring modes, just like the switch did. However, you can customize it to perform various default actions, such as toggling the flashlight or opening an app. You can even assign a shortcut to run when the button is pressed, letting you do things like run one action if you're at home, another if it's night time, and another if your battery is low.

Charging speeds have improved, at least if you get the new MagSafe chargers. All iPhone 16 models can now charge up to 25W with the latest MagSafe. Qi 2 and the previous MagSafe both top out at 15W on iPhone, so this is quite the increase. Note that the newest MagSafe chargers will still work with older devices, they just won't go as fast as they can with iPhone 16. Once your battery is charged, it should last quite a long time. Apple said that larger batteries, thermal and power changes, and chip architecture all combined to make these phones last. In fact, they said that iPhone 16 Pro Max has the longest battery life of any iPhone they've ever made. No numbers were given during the presentation, but this article has a nice breakdown of battery estimates.

The base model iPhone 16 has the A18 chip inside it. Unsurprisingly, this chip is good at AI--it's twice as fast as the previous chip at machine learning tasks. New cooling lets it operate better during intense activity, such as playing demanding games, and more memory bandwidth lets it have better access to the models needed to run onboard machine learning tasks. With Apple Intelligence coming later this year, this was a focus of the presentation. It can do more than just AI, though. This iPhone can now handle hardware ray tracing for games, which was exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro last year. Basically, it's very fast, and optimized for AI. With all the background tasks Apple Intelligence will be doing, this is a good thing. Even if you don't care about that, AI is used in plenty of other places, from sound reduction on phone and video calls to taking pictures to generating image descriptions for VoiceOver. No matter how you use your phone, chances are you'll benefit.

iPhone 16 Pro is, not surprisingly, even better. While its chip (A18 Pro) is faster at ML and AI, it can also do a great deal more for videographers. From 4k 120 video to remarkable sound reduction and post-processing to upgraded cameras and microphones, this phone is quite impressive. One demo Apple showed had someone playing a guitar track on their phone, while they recorded themselves singing over it. The phone then used AI to remove the sound of the guitar track, giving them a clean vocal recording. Another demo showed off the slow motion abilities of video recording, which offer 1/5, 1/4. 1/2, and normal speeds.

I'll stop talking about the image and video stuff now. The only other notable things about the Pro are that it retains its faster USB-C interface, and it got bigger. The screens are now 6.3 inches on the Pro, and 6.9 inches on the Pro Max. This is an increase of 0.2 inches over iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, while the phones overall didn't get much bigger. Reduced bezels and reengineered interiors are to thank for the phones staying relatively similar to last year's sizes. In fact, Apple said that iPhone 16 Pro Max has the thinnest bezels on any iPhone ever.

All the new phones will be available to pre-order on Friday, September 13. They will be in stores a week later, with deliveries starting the same day. iPhone 16, still with an aluminum and glass body, comes in white, black, ultramarine, teal, and pink. The 16 is 6.1 inches, and the 16 Plus is 6.7 inches. The starting price is $799 for the 16, $899 for the Plus,

iPhone 16 Pro, in titanium, is 6.3 inches. The Max variant is 6.9 inches, the largest iPhone display Apple has ever made. Both phones use titanium and glass for the body, just like last year's Pros. The color options are black, white, natural, and desert. The Pro starts at $999, and the Pro Max starts at $1199.

Apple Watch

While we didn't get a new model of Apple Watch Ultra this year, only a new satin black color and associated bands, the non-ultra watch got some decent improvements. The Series 10 has a re-designed chassis with more rounded corners, a better screen, and some nice internal changes. New band options are available for it as well. As in all previous Apple Watch generations, band compatibility remains. You can still use any Apple Watch band with the Series 10, or use any of the new bands with older watches.

The back of the Series 10 has been re-engineered. The antenna design was optimized for better signal, and the charging was upgraded. Apple says this model can be charged to 80% in just thirty minutes. We don't know for sure whether this requires a new charger, but I'd guess it probably does. The screen sizes are larger, too, at 42mm or 46mm. This is up from the 41mm or 45mm sizes the Series 9 offered, making even the smallest Series 10 rather large. To offset this, at least somewhat, the new watch is thinner. It's now 9.7mm thick, down from 10.7mm for the Series 9. The screen has been improved to be more visible at an angle, and to update more frequently. Apple says that previous displays would update once per minute, but Series 10 updates once per second. This is with Always On Display active and the wearer's wrist down, not while the display is actively being used.

Internally, not a whole lot has changed, though you can finally play audio through the internal speaker. The chip seems to be similar to what's in the Series 9, possibly slightly better. Apple didn't go into much detail about such comparisons. The big feature for this year's Apple Watch is sleep apnea detection, which is also coming to Series 9 and Ultra 2. Every 30 days, the watch's sensor data, collected while you sleep, is examined. You are notified of the frequency of what Apple calls "breathing disturbances", and advised if it looks like you might be suffering from sleep apnea.

The other big change is support for more extreme water environments. Series 10 is rated for use down to 20 meters, and can be used for higher-velocity water adventures, such as waterskiing. As such, it now comes with the same depth app that used to be exclusive to Apple Watch Ultra. Series 10 will automatically show the depth and water temperature when submerged.

Apple Watch Series 10 is available in aluminum or titanium. The titanium option replaces stainless steel, making the high-end model lighter than in previous years. Aluminum comes in jet black, brushed silver, and rose gold, while titanium comes in natural, gold, and slate. You can pre-order starting today (September 9). Delivery and in-store availability starts September 20.

AirPods

There are two new AirPods models now, and the existing AirPods Pro 2 are getting some great new features. The AirPods Max were upgraded to use USB-C instead of Lightning and have some new color options, but are otherwise unchanged.

AirPods 4 come in two variants. One is the base model. The case charges with USB-C, but has no wireless option. It's smaller than any previous AirPods case, while still providing up to 30 hours of listening time. The sound has improved over AirPods 3, so Apple says anyway, but there aren't any big changes here.

Where things get interesting is with AirPods 4 with Noise Cancellation. These AirPods have the same sound as AirPods 4, but with a bunch of upgrades. The case has a speaker to indicate low battery and to make a sound when you ping it with Find My. It also supports wireless charging with MagSafe, Qi 2, and Apple Watch chargers. The AirPods themselves have active noise cancellation, transparency mode, conversation awareness, and voice isolation. They do all this even though they have no ear tips, so don't make a full seal with your ears. The noise cancellation won't be as good as with AirPods Pro, but it's far better than nothing. I'll also be interested to find out if transparency mode is able to "erase" the slight sound blocking you get when wearing the earbuds.

Both models of AirPods 4 support new iOS 18 features like nodding or shaking your head to answer Siri. The basic AirPods 4 are $129, while the ANC ones cost $179. They are available starting September 20 and can be pre-ordered now.

I mentioned new features for AirPods Pro 2, and here they are.

iOS 18 will include a hearing test that takes about five minutes to complete. Once done, iOS will generate a customized profile and apply it to the earbuds. Whether listening to audio from your phone, or audio in the real world, your AirPods will boost certain frequencies that your test indicated you have trouble hearing. Apple is waiting on regulatory approval, which they expect to happen within a few weeks, so they can offer AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids.

To further protect your hearing, these AirPods can also reduce loud sounds. The example they gave during the presentation was that of band members using AirPods to dampen sound during a performance. This feature, or one like it, was introduced at a previous event when these AirPods launched. It's not clear what has changed this time around, but I'm all for protecting peoples' hearing, so I'll take it.

All these features will arrive with software updates this fall. It sounds like they won't all be available when iOS 18 becomes available, but the timeline wasn't made clear. The good news is that, if you already have AirPods Pro 2, you don't need to buy anything new. If you're confused about the differences between AirPods Pro 2 and the two models of AirPods 4, this 9to5 Mac article explains everything quite well.

Wrapping Up and Releases

All the big software updates will come out on September 16, a week from the day of this writing. That's macOS Sequoia, iOS and iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, and tvOS 18. Note that these updates won't include Apple Intelligence; those features will arrive in subsequent updates, probably later in the fall. Pre-orders for today's hardware start either today or Friday, September 13, with deliveries and in-store availability on September 20.

New Apple Watches, new iPhones, new AirPods, new features for existing AirPods, and reminders of what's coming in software updates later this year. Exciting stuff! Will you be upgrading any of your Apple gear, or maybe trying something for the first time? Are you happy where you are? Leave a comment with your thoughts!