Monday is a big day for Apple as it is finally set to introduce its newest lineup of iPhone smartphones. It is all but set to break new ground with a shift into an era of AI craze, with expectations varying from smartening Siri to creating customized emojis on the fly.
The new era will begin with unveiling the hotly anticipated iPhone 16 in a Cupertino, California, auditorium named after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who pulled out the first iPhone in 2007 and waved it like a magic wand while predicting it would reshape society.
Apple has sold billions of iPhones since then, helping to create about $3 trillion in shareholder wealth. But in the past decade, there have been mostly minor upgrades from one model to the next – a factor that has caused people to hold off on buying a new iPhone and led to a recent slump in sales of Apple's marquee product.
The iPhone 16 generates a bigger buzz because it is the first model to be tailored specifically for AI. This technology is expected to trigger the biggest industrial revolution since Jobs thrust Apple into the smartphone market 17 years ago.
The advances included in the iPhone 16 could set up Apple to be "the gatekeeper of the consumer AI revolution," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note.
Apple's pivot began three months ago with a preview of its new approach during a developers' conference, helping to build anticipation for Monday's showcase.
Since that June conference, competitors such as Samsung and Google have made even more strides in AI. Google even took the unusual step of introducing its latest Pixel phones packed with their own AI magic last month instead of hewing to its traditional October timetable in an effort to upstage Apple's release of the iPhone 16.
In an attempt to set itself apart from the early leaders in AI, the technology being baked into the iPhone 16 is being promoted as "Apple Intelligence." Even so, Apple Intelligence is similar to the generically named AI already available on Google's Pixel 9 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 released in January.
Most of Apple's AI tasks will be performed on the iPhone itself instead of remote data centers – a distinction requiring a special processor within the forthcoming models and the high-end iPhone 15s a year ago.
That's why investors anticipate hot demand for the iPhone 16, spurring a surge in sales that has caused Apple's stock price to climb by 13% since Apple previewed its AI strategy in June. That spike has increased the company's market value by nearly $400 billion.