Apple’s new iPhone will jump headfirst into AI. Here are the biggest takeaways from Monday’s announcement

Apple is leaning full-tilt into artificial intelligence.
The company revealed the iPhone 16 on Monday, along with a full slate of new AirPod and Apple Watch products. Its primary selling point — along with the typical new tech and software features — is Apple Intelligence, a suite of tools that Apple said will help you express yourself, save time and relive memories.
There’s a lot riding on it. Apple’s stock price has risen 13 per cent since it previewed its AI strategy in June, with hopes that the new tech will help reverse a recent slump in iPhone sales.  But the company has also suffered from bruising public relations messes and earlier this year was sued by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly creating a monopoly in the smartphone market.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Apple’s big announcement on Monday.
Apple touted its new AI tool’s ability to make everyday tasks easier.
Apple Intelligence will be able to rewrite notes into a polished email, adjust the tone of texts and proof-read messages. It will also have generative image abilities, creating new emojis or original images with only a description.
The company promises it will help with your camera roll, too. Instead of scrolling endlessly to find an image, Apple Intelligence will allow you to search your photos and find what you’re looking for in an instant.
AI will also summarize emails and other notifications.
And it will mark a new era for personal assistant Siri, Apple promised, allowing it to parse your prompt, even if you stumble over your words. It will also be able to fulfill personalized tasks, like this example Apple shared: “Send Erica the photos from Saturday’s barbecue.”
All these features will run on what Apple calls “private cloud compute,” which ensures your data is never stored or shared with Apple and is only used to complete the task.
These tools will be available in English in October and expanded to other languages next year.
The iPhone 16 will feature two new buttons.
The first is an action button. It can be customized to perform different tasks — including recording a voice memo, identifying a song or translating a phrase. It can even lock and unlock your car.
The second is the camera control button, which launches the camera with one click. You will also be able to slide your finger across the button to adjust the zoom or change other camera settings.
And Apple Intelligence will be integrated into the camera control button. Once clicked, users will be able to point their camera at a business and discover its hours, or at a flyer for an event and instantly log it in their calendar. This feature will be available later this year.
Apple is promising a CPU in the iPhone 16 up to 30 per cent faster than its predecessor, and a GPU up to 40 per cent faster. Both will be more energy efficient, too.
The screens will be protected with a new ceramic shield that’s twice as tough as any other smartphone glass, Apple said.
The camera boasts a 48 megapixel “fusion” camera with ultrawide and macro modes.
The Apple Watch Series 10 will feature the product’s largest display, thinnest body and fastest charging.
It will also include a new tool to detect sleep apnea, which largely goes undiagnosed, Apple said.
The new AirPod Pros will also include new health tools.
The second-generation earbuds will have a clinically-validated hearing test that takes only five minutes to complete. After completing the test, the earbuds can be transformed into hearing aids, allowing you to hear better.
All these devices will be released on Sept. 20. The iPhone prices will be the same as they were for the last generation, with the base model starting at $799 (U.S.).
With files from the Associated Press.