Watch the event in just 90 seconds. Image: Apple/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
At Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event, the company introduced the Apple Watch Series 10, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, fourth-generation AirPods and more. It was a big event — and some people complained about the length.
The beautiful city of San Francisco shone as the backdrop to Apple's 'It's Glowtime' event. Photo: Apple
While getting blitzed by an avalanche of mind-numbing specs during Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event, I kept marveling at how good San Francisco looked. The beautiful City by the Bay provided the backdrop to Monday’s event, with many of the presenters standing in front of gorgeous San Francisco landmarks.
San Francisco is my hometown (I’ve lived here nearly 30 years now), and it’s been getting beat up by stories about urban decay in recent years. But it’s still one of the world’s most beautiful cities, and it looked great during Apple’s live stream. Here’s a quick rundown of all the eye-popping SF locations.
A new MagSafe charging puck from Apple is much faster than its predecessor. Photo: Apple
Apple improved MagSafe wireless charging in the new iPhone 16 models by increasing the maximum charging capacity. It’s a considerable jump: the handsets can charge up to 66% faster.
Wireless charging is now as fast as plugging in a cable…with the right equipment.
We're still waiting for some much-anticipated Apple products. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event wrapped up Monday with several upcoming products not even having been mentioned, much less launched. Some of these were not expected to debut, like new Macs and iPads, but others were supposed to be on the agenda, like a new Apple Watch SE.
Here’s what to look forward to at an October Apple event, plus the products that’ll likely come even later.
The Camera Control button on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro gives you instant access to your camera AND camera settings Photo: Apple
The new Camera Control on the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models provides instantaneous camera access and other advanced features. With it, you can launch the Camera app, zoom in and out of your shot, initiate an AI-powered visual search and more — all with a simple tap, click or slide on the new capacitive button.
AirPods Max come in five new colors: starlight, orange, purple, blue and midnight. Photo: Apple
Apple breezed through a few long-overdue updates to the AirPods Max during Monday’s “It’s Glowtime” event. The minor updates include new colors for Apple’s premium over-ear headphones, tweaks to their active noise cancellation feature and the removal of the Lightning port in favor of USB-C.
The new jet black polished aluminum Apple Watch Series 10 looks perfect for Darth Vader cosplay. Photo: Apple
The all-new Apple Watch Series 10 is the slimmest Apple Watch yet. With a bigger screen, longer battery life, improved water resistance, and a titanium finish upgrade, it’s now a serious alternative to Apple Watch Ultra. But despite all these sporty new features, Apple Watch Series 10 looks more refined than ever, with an elegant new polished aluminum look.
“It’s the thinnest Apple Watch ever, with our largest and most advanced display in a sleek, lightweight, all-metal case that comes in gorgeous new finishes of aluminum and polished titanium,” said Apple COO Jeff Williams during Monday’s taped “It’s Glowtime” event. “The design of Series 10 is truly a milestone of watchmaking.”
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the new Black Titanium finish is available at its lowest ever price for Black Friday. Photo: Apple
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 now comes in a new black titanium finish — apparently the only change to the popular sports-focused smartwatch at the “It’s Glowtime” event. Dubbed “satin black,” the new finish joins the existing Ultra 2 with a natural titanium finish.
In addition, Apple showed a fancy Milanese Loop watch band to complement the satin black watch, plus a new Hermès model.
Apple said iPhone 16 Pro models are the most advanced iPhones ever made (which it says every year, naturally). Photo: Apple
The new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max handsets boast size increases, thinner bezels for larger screens, a leap in battery life and new features, including impressive camera and audio upgrades. And on top of that, the new A18 Pro chip brings enough raw processing power to handle resource-intensive Apple Intelligence functions, Apple said Monday at the “It’s Glowtime” event.
“iPhone 16 Pro has a stunning new design with innovations inside and out. It starts with a big improvement to the gorgeous pro displays,” said Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple senior VP of Worldwide Marketing. “They’re even larger at 6.3 inches on iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9 inches an iPhone 16 Pro Max for the largest iPhone display ever, helping you see more and do more. These are by far our best iPhone displays ever.”
And they’re the best iPhones ever, which Apple CEO Tim Cook was sure to mention, as he always does.
iPhone 16 features an iPhone X-like design. Photo: Apple
Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus on Monday. The new iPhones feature an iPhone X-like rear camera design and upgraded internals for Apple Intelligence support.
“iPhone 16 celebrates color in an unparalleled way. We evolved the process of developing our unique and durable color back glass to create new rich colors,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s VP of iPhone marketing, during the “It’s Glowtime” event.