The iPhone 16 was officially unveiled today, but I’ll be eagerly awaiting the iPhone 17.
While the innovations in the Pro models are minor compared to their predecessors and are likely to only interest die-hard iPhone fans, the regular iPhone 16 does at least feature a small redesign of the camera on the back.
They’ll also get the Action button that Apple brought to both Pro models in 2023. If you like rich colors, you’re also in luck. Both models will also get a new camera button.
My Most Wanted New Apple Product Isn’t the iPhone 16 or the Watch Series 10
Software before hardware
The iPhone 16’s biggest selling point this year is software. And it’s not even about fancy gadgets that hide hardware design decisions, however smart and useful they may be. (That’s the Dynamic Island, of course, which makes the camera and sensor system in the oval of the display useful beyond its actual function.)
No, this time it’s about real The software. It’s about artificial intelligence and its judicious uses. As is often the case, Apple is a little behind the curve on the hottest trends in the industry. What makes it even stranger is that Apple was the first company to integrate cores specifically for processing artificial intelligence functions into its mobile chips: the Neural Engine.
Apple Intelligence and the EU Terrorism Directives
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, Siri revised with Context awarenessAI-powered photo editing…and more.
In the US, the noise was initially loud and clear, but it died down somewhat when Apple explained that Apple Intelligence would not be available at the launch of the iPhone 16 and that the announced features would be gradually distributed until next year.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the drumbeat died out completely and never really reached Europe.
Indeed, Apple Intelligence will initially only be available in US English, with other languages planned… at some point. Maybe by the end of the year, probably not before 2025, but Apple hasn’t given us any concrete details.
And then there’s the EU issue, where Apple is actively excluding iPhone and iPad users with the old refrain: there’s concern that EU regulations, 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.
Rather uninteresting in the EU
And that’s the problem with the iPhone 16, whether Pro or not: As long as Apple Intelligence is not introduced in the EU in the respective national languages, it is only marginally more interesting than the iPhone 15, iPhone 14 and, if you close your eyes, even the iPhone 13 series.
Most of the usual new features in iOS 18 – Home Screen customizations, for example – will also be available on slightly older, less capable iPhones like the iPhone SE from 2022, but not on Apple Intelligence. However, since Apple Intelligence itself won’t arrive until later, the iPhone 16 doesn’t have the decisive advantage over older generations in our longitudes.
Better to wait for iPhone 17
So unless your current iPhone is breaking, is excluded from the iOS 18 update due to its age, or you’re switching from Android to iPhone, there’s no reason to buy the iPhone 16 — especially for iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max owners like me.
If I were to buy a new iPhone, I would wait for the iPhone 17 this year, hoping that Apple Intelligence will be available in the EU and German by then.
And if not, you’ll hear from me next year when it’s again: “This is why I prefer to wait for the iPhone 18”.
This article was originally published in our sister publication Macwelt and has been translated and adapted from German.
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