Apple iPhone 16 event: What to expect from the AI-packed 'Glowtime' show

Apple (AAPL) will host its annual iPhone event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters on Monday, Sept. 9. The company is widely expected to debut four new iPhones, along with the tenth-anniversary edition of the Apple Watch and new AirPods.

In addition to hardware, the showcase will focus heavily on the rollout of Apple’s Apple Intelligence AI platform for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The company’s fall event is easily one of its most important of the year and helps set the tone for Apple’s year ahead, and I'll be on the ground in Cupertino bringing you all of the latest news.

Here’s what to expect from Apple’s “Glowtime” show.

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence will bring a host of new capabilities to Apple’s product lines, including summarizing long text message threads, prioritizing and summarizing emails, and a much-needed upgrade for Apple’s Siri voice assistant.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will release Apple Intelligence as part of a software update in October, rather than alongside the company’s latest iPhones, to give developers more time to test out and build apps for the platform. Other Apple Intelligence features may not land on users’ iPhones until early 2025.

Apple Intelligence is the company's first big swing at bringing generative AI to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Getty Images) (SOPA Images via Getty Images)

The hope for the Glowtime event is that Apple will provide an update on when the software will be available and dig into any additional capabilities it has to offer.

Apple Intelligence could be one of the most consequential launches for Apple in years. The software will only run on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer models, giving investors hope that it will spur a new iPhone sales cycle. And with people holding onto their phones longer, Wall Street will welcome any means of getting users to upgrade sooner than later with open arms.

The iPhone 16 line

Apple’s next-generation iPhone, likely called the iPhone 16, will reportedly get relatively modest hardware upgrades. If Apple follows the same strategy it has during previous releases, the base iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will get the A17 Pro chip found in last year's iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max phones, while the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will get new, more powerful processors.

There's also the possibility that Apple will bring new chips to all four iPhone models. According to a report by MacRumors, citing Haitong International Securities’ analyst Jeff Pu, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will get an improved A18 processor, while the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will get the company's A18 Pro.