The iPhone 16 was officially unveiled today but I will be holding out for the iPhone 17.
While the innovations in the Pro models are minor compared to their predecessors and are only likely to interest die-hard iPhone fans, the normal iPhone 16 at least has a small redesign of the camera on the back.
They will also now have the action button that Apple gave the two Pro models in 2023. If you’re a fan of rich colours, you’re in luck here too. Both models will also get a new camera button.
My most-wanted new Apple product isn’t the iPhone 16 or Watch Series 10
Software before hardware
The big selling point of the iPhone 16 this year is the software. And it’s not even about pretty gimmicks that conceal hardware design decisions, however clever and useful they may be. (This of course refers to the Dynamic Island, which makes the camera and sensor system in the oval of the screen useful beyond its actual function).
No, this time it’s about real software. It’s about AI and sensible uses for it. As is so often the case, Apple is a little behind the curve when it comes to the hottest industry trends. What makes the situation even stranger is that Apple was the first company to integrate cores specifically for processing AI functions into its mobile chips – the Neural Engine.
Apple Intelligence and the EU directives of terror
The announcement of Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024 in June came as a bombshell.
AI integrations as far as the eye can see. Intelligent summaries of messages, emails, websites, writing aids for better expression and style, revised Siri with context awareness, AI-supported photo retouching… and much more.
In the USA, the drumbeat was initially heard loud and clear, but was toned down somewhat when Apple explained that Apple Intelligence would not be available at the launch of the iPhone 16 and that the announced functions would be gradually distributed well into next year.
Apple
Across the Atlantic, the drumbeat died away completely and never really reached Europe.
This is because Apple Intelligence will initially only be available in US English, with other languages coming… at some point. Perhaps at the end of the year, probably not until 2025, but Apple has not given us any concrete details.
And then there’s the EU issue, where Apple is actively locking out iPhone and iPad users with the old chestnut: there are fears that regulations in the EU, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA), could undermine Apple’s security and data protection precautions. (Macs are excluded from the DMA.)
Sooner or later, however, Apple will have to find a solution, because this market is too important to be left to Google Gemini, Samsung AI and Chat-GPT.
Pretty uninteresting in the EU
And this is the problem with the iPhone 16, whether Pro or not: until Apple Intelligence is introduced in the EU in the respective national languages, it is only marginally more interesting than the iPhone 15, iPhone 14 and, if you turn a blind eye, even the iPhone 13 series.
Most of the normal new features of iOS 18 – customisations to the home screen, for example – will also be available on slightly older, weaker iPhones such as the iPhone SE from 2022, but not Apple Intelligence. However, as Apple Intelligence itself will not arrive until later, the iPhone 16 lacks the decisive advantage over the older generations in our longitudes.
Better to wait for the iPhone 17
So unless your current iPhone is falling apart, is excluded from the iOS 18 update due to its age or you are switching from Android to iPhone, there is no reason to buy the iPhone 16 – especially for owners of an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max like me.
If I had to buy a new iPhone, I would sit out this year and wait for iPhone 17 – hoping that Apple Intelligence will be available in the EU and in German by then.
And if not, you’ll hear from me next year when it’s once again: “That’s why I’d rather wait for the iPhone 18”.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and adapted from German.
Author: Eugen Wegmann, Staff Writer, Macwelt
Eugen Wegmann has been writing for German sister site Macwelt since 2022 (previously for TechRadar). He wasn't always an Apple fan and looks at its products and antics with a healthy dose of skepticism, but also curiosity and optimism. In his private life, he still relies on Windows (because Apple is taking its time expanding the gaming platform). He has also been a fan of wireless in-ear headphones from the very beginning, and has tested dozens of models over the years.