Entertainment – Digitex Solutions

What We Know About The New iPhone Launching This Month

digitex — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 19:56:48 +0000

Topline
Apple announced Wednesday a new addition to its iPhone 16 series, debuting the iPhone 16e to customers, who will soon be able to pre-order the lower-cost model that includes some of the bells and whistles of Apple’s latest iPhone lineup.
The new iPhone was announced Wednesday. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP) AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The iPhone 16e will be available for pre-order Friday and launch on Feb. 28, according to Apple, which said the phone would deliver fast performance and “breakthrough battery life” at a more affordable price than other iPhone 16 models.

The iPhone 16e will be powered by the same A18 chip found in the more expensive iPhone 16 base model and has the same 6.1-inch screen the base model has.

The new phone has a 48 megapixel camera system and can shoot video at 4k resolution at 60 frames per second.

The product will also feature Apple Intelligence, the phonemaker’s artificial intelligence tool limited to the iPhone 15 and 16 lineups.

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How Much Does The Iphone 16e Cost?
The iPhone 16e starts at $599 for its 128 gigabyte model, making it $200 cheaper than the base iPhone 16 model. The 256 GB iPhone 16e is priced at $699, while the 512 GB version is $899.
What Is The Iphone 16e’s Battery Life?
Apple, which measures battery life through how long an iPhone can conduct video playback, says the iPhone 16e has enough battery for up to 26 hours of playback, topping the iPhone 16’s 22 hours of playback. That means the iPhone 16e, which uses USB-C charging, has the second-strongest battery life of any iPhone (the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the best battery).

What Colors Does The Iphone 16e Come In?
The iPhone 16e’s colors are limited to black and white, unlike other iPhone 16 models that have four to five color options.
What Is Apple Intelligence?
Apple Intelligence is the phonemaker’s artificial intelligence tool capable of helping users with writing text, creating images, organizing messages and transcribing. It is available on iPhone 15 and 16 models, as well as some Macbook, iMac and iPad models.
Key Background
Apple has typically released affordable versions of its iPhones through its iPhone SE lineup, which featured smaller displays, lightning ports for charging and lower-performing chips. The iPhone 16e’s release also comes just five months after the release of the iPhone 16 lineup, bucking Apple’s trend of yearly iPhone releases. The tech giant reported $69.1 billion in iPhone sales last quarter, falling short of Wall Street estimates by nearly $2 billion. Apple’s sales in China also came up $2.4 billion short of expectations during the quarter, generating $18.5 billion in the country dominated by the Huawei and Xiaomi smartphone brands. However, Apple managed 4% year-over-year sales growth and 10% net profit growth.

Further Reading
Apple Earnings: Record Results Even As iPhone, China Sales Fall Short Of Forecasts (Forbes)

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Apple unveils cheaper iPhone 16e powerful enough to run AI

digitex — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 16:39:40 +0000

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., during the first day of in-store sales of Apple’s latest products at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesApple announced a new iPhone model on Wednesday that is priced lower than its main iPhone models, which usually come out in September.The new iPhone is called iPhone 16e, and it will retail for $599 when it goes on sale later this month.The new iPhone 16e doesn’t have a home button and fingerprint sensor, instead, it uses Apple’s FaceID scanner and modern design including a sensor notch at the top of the screen. It uses Apple’s A18 chip, which is also used in the main iPhone 16 models. The updated processor means that the iPhone 16e can run all the same apps and games that more expensive iPhones can run. It comes in black and white.The phone also includes Apple’s first cellular modem, which it calls C1. iPhones have used Qualcomm modems for the past few years. It also has a single camera lens, versus as many as three on the most advanced iPhones.Apple is releasing a new low-cost iPhone as sales have been mixed in recent quarters and Apple seeks growth for its most important product category. For the December quarter, Apple’s overall iPhone sales were down 1% on an annual basis. Apple still sold over $69 billion of phones in the period.Low-end iPhones are important to Apple as it gets new customers into their ecosystem, and the new device supports Apple Intelligence, making it Apple’s least expensive new phone that can access features like image generation and notification summaries.Apple’s current models are the iPhone 16, which starts at $799, and the iPhone 16 Pro, which starts at $999. Before Tuesday’s launch, only the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro models were the only phones with access to Apple Intelligence.Apple has released a less-expensive iPhone model to round out the bottom of its lineup since 2016. The iPhone SE, as it was called then, got further updates in 2020 and 2022. Generally, the iPhone SE reuses an older design than the newest iPhones, but Apple updates its components such as its processor so it can receive ongoing software updates.After the old iPhone SE sells out, there won’t be any new iPhones with a fingerprint scanner. It was also less expensive than the iPhone 16e at $429.The launch also marks a new approach to Apple’s famous product launches, which garner media attention around the world. Previously, Apple would reveal new products live and on-stage, at a presentation on its campus in California. In 2020, Apple stopped inviting people to live launches and started screening marketing videos on its website and YouTube instead.In recent years, Apple has started to quietly release new products through press releases, such as the new Macs it announced last September. It may be testing how much buzz it can get for one of these quieter launches. Last week, ahead of Wednesday’s launch, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a message on social media: “Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.”Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsDon’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

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Apple turns its AI on by default in latest software update

digitex — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 19:05:42 +0000

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., greets customers during the first day of in-store sales of Apple’s latest products at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesApple on Monday released a software update for iPhones, iPads and Macs that turns Apple Intelligence on by default for users with supported devices.The updates, iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3 and macOS Sequoia 15.3, also disable AI summaries for news apps, which have gained a reputation for twisting news push notifications to display inaccurate facts.The release is a milestone in the rollout of Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of artificial intelligence features. Apple Intelligence is a critical service for Apple as it seeks to distinguish its products from competitors with an AI system integrated into iPhones and its other devices.While Apple Intelligence is already featured in the company’s marketing for the latest iPhones, the rollout has been deliberate and limited. Apple says that is to allow it to test new features and make sure it has enough server capacity. The entire Apple Intelligence suite is still officially in beta, and it’s only available in a handful of English-speaking countries.Apple’s move to turn Apple Intelligence on by default is a step toward a more complete rollout of the feature. Previously, users with supported iPhones — models that were released in 2024 as well as 2023 “Pro” level models — were prompted to turn on Apple Intelligence when setting up their phone, a process that included downloading AI models from the internet and some installation.With the latest updates, Apple Intelligence will be turned on by default when the latest software update is installed, expanding the number of users who are exposed to the software. Apple Intelligence is marketed as being able to rewrite text, generate images, and summarize long emails and message threads.”For users new or upgrading to iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically during iPhone onboarding,” Apple said in the developer release notes for the update.Users will have to navigate to the Apple Intelligence page in the Settings app to turn it off, according to Apple.The latest software update also includes one of the most notable examples so far of Apple rolling back an AI feature after it generated controversy and subpar results. Apple joins Google and Microsoft as companies that were forced to roll back new AI features after it generated harmful content or “hallucinations” that weren’t based in reality.Apple Intelligence can take stacks of notifications and simplify them into a three-sentence notification. However, the BBC and other news outlets discovered in December that the feature can twist news headlines into inaccurate information.Earlier this month, Apple’s system conflated notifications from BBC’s sports app to say that “Brazilian tennis player, Rafael Nadal, comes out as gay.” Nadal is Spanish and is married to Maria Francisca Perello.The latest update disables Apple Intelligence for news and entertainment apps. Apple Intelligence also has been updated to show any notifications generated by its AI in italics, signifying which notifications are created by generative AI and which were pushed by the app itself.”We’re pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the summarization feature for news,” a BBC spokesperson told CNBC.Apple told CNBC earlier this month that its notification summaries for news apps would return in a future update.WATCH: Apple’s superficial problem is there’s not enough demand, says Jim Cramer

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