Apple’s iPhone 16 heralds age of the AI-powered phone

As someone who helped set up one of the first iPhones back in late 2007 on live TV, I found the launch of the first iteration of Apple’s smartphone an exciting time. At the launch in June of that year, a grinning Steve Jobs proudly held up that early device to the obvious delight of Apple fans.

Did the late Apple founder know then that he would change the future of mobile communication forever? That breakthrough device was revolutionary, transforming the way people interact with each other.

At a launch event on Monday, September 9, Apple released details of its new iPhone 16, along with several other new products such as the Apple Watch Series 10 and Air Pods 4. The unveiling of the iPhone 16 could mark a turning point in the history of Apple’s smartphone brand.

Back in 2007, there were no other players in the market. Today, competition is fierce and there is a new factor in the mix that has the potential to shake up the smartphone market in the long term – artificial intelligence (AI).

The much vaunted new features based on AI are being marketed under the banner of “Apple Intelligence”. These include features for photo and video editing – something that other companies have made much of when launching new smartphones this year, such Google’s Pixel 9 – but also features to help you edit text and generate your own AI images.

Since the release of the original iPhone, there have been a lot of changes at Apple. Jobs died in 2011 but his successor as CEO, Tim Cook, has provided a solid strategic direction for the company. Jony Ive, the industrial design guru behind many of Apple’s most famous products left the company in 2019 to set up his own design company, LoveFrom.

There have been more than 40 iterations of the iPhone,