Apple Glowtime: A Futurist’s Take on What’s Useful, Exciting, and Maybe Not So Much

This week, Apple unveiled its latest suite of devices, including the iPhone 16, Watch Series 10, AirPods, and more. While there are some exciting updates, it’s clear that Apple is mostly playing catch-up to competitors like Android. What I’m really looking for is a leapfrog innovation that inspires and amazes, something we didn’t quite get this time.

iPhone 16 & iPhone 16 Pro: Apple Intelligence and Catch-Up Tech

Apple’s latest iPhones feature the A18 Pro chipset, bringing Apple Intelligence—an AI-driven system enhancing everything from cameras to power efficiency. As I mentioned during my Triple M chat with Atlas, "Apple Intelligence makes the iPhone 16 faster, smarter, and more intuitive."

• The Good: Apple Intelligence learns from user behavior to offer personalised app suggestions and performance enhancements. The 48MP camera with computational photography is also a standout, enhancing low-light shots and real-time settings adjustments.
• The Catch-Up: The move to USB-C and the use of titanium in the Pro models are good, but these features have been on Android devices for a while. While Apple still delivers a high-quality experience, it’s more refinement than revolution.

Pricing: The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $1,799, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max 1TB tops out at $2,849.

Watch Series 10: Health Monitoring and Battery Life

The Watch Series 10 brings more AI to health tracking, particularly with sleep apnea detection and FDA-pending features. The watch learns from your habits, providing personalised health insights, and the battery life has seen a welcome boost.

• The Good: The potential to detect health issues like sleep apnea and provide personalised health recommendations is huge. As I told Atlas, "The watch is learning from your habits and even analysing your sleep patterns."
• The Caveat: As with any health tech, the question is whether people will actually take action based on the data. And FDA approval is still pending for some of the more advanced features.

AirPods & Adaptive Audio

Apple introduced Adaptive Audio for AirPods, which dynamically adjusts between transparency and noise-cancellation modes. It’s a solid quality-of-life improvement, especially in dynamic environments like commuting or open offices.

• The Good: Adaptive Audio is a useful enhancement, making the listening experience smoother for those constantly on the go.
• The Catch-Up: While it’s a nice feature, other headphone makers have been offering similar options for a while. Again, it’s more about Apple refining its ecosystem rather than pushing boundaries.

Visual Intelligence: Another Google Lens?

Apple's Visual Intelligence allows iPhone and iPad cameras to identify objects, text, and landmarks in real-time. It’s helpful for everything from scanning documents to translating languages on the fly.

• The Good: This feature makes your device more interactive with the world around you, similar to Google Lens.
• The Catch-Up: While polished, this is an area where Apple is catching up rather than leading. Google Lens has offered similar functionality for years.

Battery Life: Always a Good Story

Both the iPhone 16 and Watch Series 10 boast improved battery life. The iPhone 16 Pro claims 33 hours of video playback, while the Watch Series 10 offers all-day battery life with added features.

• The Good: Battery life improvements are always welcome, particularly for those who rely heavily on their devices.
• The Caveat: Though better, it’s not revolutionary. We expect battery life improvements with each iteration, so this is more about keeping up with expectations.

The Bigger Picture: Where’s the Leapfrog?

While Apple’s announcements are solid, I can’t help but feel like they’re still playing catch-up. Sure, the improvements are useful, but they aren’t breaking new ground. What I—and I suspect many others—are really hoping for is an Apple event where we’re not just seeing incremental updates, but something truly inspirational, aspirational, and wonderful.

Apple, it’s time to leapfrog ahead. We need that next big, world-changing innovation.

Annual Event, Annual Expectations

Just as Apple announces new hardware every year, their software updates are also an annual event. In my WWDC 2024 article, I covered Apple's software side, which is just as crucial for shaping the future of their ecosystem. It’s worth revisiting how these updates align with this year’s hardware announcements.

Want to hear more? Check out my latest conversation with Atlas on Triple M, and don’t miss my upcoming segment on Radio 3 Hong Kong for further insights! https://www.morrisfuturist.com/apple-glowtime-announcements-futurists-perspective/