Without Apple Intelligence, what's the point of iPhone 16? The Chinese version will be launched in 2025, but no specific date has been announced, neither early nor late in the year. Ideally, it would be best to wait until the iPhone 17 announcement in September, eliminating the need to purchase iPhone 16.

At midnight Beijing time on September 10, the annual "Tech Spring Festival Gala" was held as scheduled. The theme of the 2024 iPhone and other new product launches was "Moment of Glory."

Interestingly, reports about the new product updates have been circulating on various content platforms for quite some time, and these information sources are generally reliable and trustworthy.

The Most Significant AI Upgrade

As expected, the iPhone 16 series will come equipped with a module called Apple Intelligence. This module represents the biggest upgrade for the iPhone 16 series and is the highlight of the launch event.

At the event, Apple announced that Apple Intelligence will be released alongside iOS 18.1 in October. However, initial support will be limited to American English. In December, support will be expanded to countries with English dialects, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Due to this initial public release of Apple Intelligence, the iPhone 16 series has become Apple's most advanced iPhone to date.

Regarding Chinese language support, Apple has clearly stated that it will be introduced gradually in 2025. However, Apple has not specified whether this will occur early or late in the year.

The good news is that Apple Intelligence will also support older models like the iPhone 15 Pro, as well as Macs and iPads equipped with M1 or newer processors. Nevertheless, existing Chinese users of the iPhone 15 Pro may not be able to use Apple Intelligence normally even when iOS 18.1 is released.

In the opinion of "Digital Intelligence Research Society," Apple will launch different versions of Apple Intelligence for Chinese users and those outside China. This situation arises due to geopolitical tensions that have led to competition between countries in science, technology, and data. As this competition intensifies, the release and updates of many products are becoming disconnected from the Chinese version.

For example, the built-in Podcasts app on iPhones can normally use the podcast transcript feature when logged in with a US region ID, but this feature is not available when logged in with a Chinese region ID, causing inconvenience for many users who wish to learn new languages.

Similarly, ChatGPT, owned by OpenAI, blocks domestic users in China, and China blocks access to ChatGPT, resulting in a mutual blockade. As a product leading the global AI and large model trend, it is unfortunate that we cannot enjoy the convenience and progress brought by ChatGPT.

According to "Digital Intelligence Research Society," Apple will surely seek a ChatGPT-like product for the Chinese market. Rumors have circulated that the new iPhone will integrate Baidu's AI product. However, no definitive information has emerged so far.

For Chinese users, we can only wait for the release of the Chinese version of iPhone 16 or Apple Intelligence with Chinese language support. Although Apple has announced a 2025 release, it remains unclear whether this will be early or late in the year.

Therefore, if you are not pursuing technological or efficiency improvements, there is no immediate need to pre-order the new iPhone 16 during the pre-sale stage. It is neither cost-effective nor worthwhile. It would be more prudent to wait until iPhone 16 officially supports the Chinese version of Apple Intelligence before making a decision.

Routine Upgrades Without Surprises

At the event, Apple introduced the new iPhone 16 series, featuring larger displays, new camera control buttons, and the A18 Pro chip.

Visually, the iPhone 16 Pro boasts an increased size to 6.3 inches, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max expands to 6.9 inches, making it the largest display Apple has ever offered. It supports a 120HZ refresh rate and boasts the thinnest bezels across all Apple products. Additionally, the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with the best battery life ever.

Notably, the dedicated camera buttons on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max feature haptic feedback, allowing users to launch the camera app with a tap, take photos with another tap, record videos by holding down the button, and utilize touch gestures.

In terms of chipsets, the iPhone 16 series jumps directly from the A16 in the iPhone 15 series to the latest A18. The A18 chip is manufactured using 3nm process technology, resulting in smaller transistors. Its CPU is 30% faster than the iPhone 15 and 60% faster than the iPhone 12. While offering improved speed, it also reduces energy consumption by 30%, performing on par with high-end desktop PCs.

Regarding the GPU, the iPhone 16 series delivers a 40% improvement over the iPhone 15 and is twice as fast as the iPhone 12. This chip is specifically designed to run large AI models. The Neural Engine delivers a two-fold increase in machine learning performance, while the upgraded memory subsystem drives Apple Intelligence more quickly and efficiently.

Following the event, the iPhone 16/Pro became available on Apple's China website, starting at a price of 5,999 yuan. There is no change in pricing compared to the iPhone 15/Pro series across various storage options. The most expensive 1TB storage variant of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is priced at 13,999 yuan. Pre-orders will commence on September 13.

Prior to the iPhone launch, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10, featuring a 30% increase in screen size, making it Apple's largest wearable display to date. Additionally, the Apple Watch Series 10 is the thinnest watch Apple has ever produced, measuring just 9.7mm thick. It charges fully in just 30 minutes, with a starting price of $399 for the GPS model.

Multiple new products, including AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Max, were also announced. Notably, AirPods 4 offer up to 30 hours of battery life and introduce active noise cancellation for the first time in this product line. Pricing starts at $129 for the standard version and $179 for the active noise cancellation model, with pre-orders starting today.

Following Apple's event, Huawei, as a global competitor, will hold its own new product launch at 2:30 pm. Interestingly, the two leading global smartphone brands are holding their launch events on the same day, Beijing time, separated by the vast, deep blue Pacific Ocean. This direct competition extends beyond product features, specifications, and pricing to include the timing of the launch events themselves.