Tuesday, September 10, 2024

(AP): A pple on Monday charged into the artificial intelligence (AI) craze with a new iPhone line-up that marks the company’s latest attempt to latch onto a technology trend and transform it into a cultural phenomenon. The four different iPhone 16 models will all come equipped with special chips needed to power a suite of AI tools that Apple hopes will make its marquee product even more indispensable and reverse a recent sales slump. Apple’s AI features are designed to turn its often-blundering virtual assistant Siri into a smarter and more versatile sidekick, automate a wide range of tedious tasks and pull off other crowd-pleasing tricks such as creating customised emojis within seconds. Apple CEO Tim Cook promised the AI package will unleash “innovations that will make a true difference in people’s lives.” But the breakthroughs won’t begin as soon as the new iPhones — ranging in price from US$800 (approximately J$125,000) to US$1,200 (approximately J$188,000) — hit the stores on September 20. Most of Apple’s AI functions will roll out as part of a free software updates to iOS 18, the operating system that will power the iPhone 16 rolling out from October through December. US English will be the featured language at launch but an update enabling other languages will come out next year, according to Apple. It’s all part of a new approach that Apple previewed at a developers conference three months ago to create more anticipation for a next generation of iPhones amid a rare sales slump for the well- known devices. Since Apple’s June conference, competitors such as Samsung and Google have made greater strides in AI – a technology widely expected to trigger the most dramatic changes in computing since the first iPhone came out 17 years ago. 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.” Despite the unique branding, Apple’s new approach mimics many of the features already available in the Samsung Galaxy S24 released in January and the Google Pixel 9 that came out last month. “Apple could have waited another year for further development, but initial take up of AI- powered devices from the likes of Samsung has been encouraging, and Apple is keen to capitalise on this market,” said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore. As it treads into new territory, Apple is trying to preserve its long-time commitment to privacy by tailoring its AI so that most of its technological tricks can be processed on the device itself instead of relying on giant banks of computers located in remote data centres. When a task needs to connect to a data centre, Apple promises it will be done in a tightly- controlled way that ensures that no personal data is stored remotely. Besides its latest iPhones, Apple also introduced a new version of its smartwatch that will include a feature to help detect sleep apnoea as well the next generation of its wireless headphones, the AirPods Pro, that will be able to function as a hearing aid with an upcoming software update. 7 THE STAR NEWS • Tuesday, September 10, 2024 @JamaicaStar www.facebook.com/JamaicaStar • www.jamaica-star.com Will MICHEAL MALCOLM whose last known address is Harmony Hall, St. Mary or anyone knowing his whereabout kindly contact OLANDO MALCOLM at (876) 807-7308 N O T I C E Apple embraces AI with new iPhone 16 The new iPhone 16 is displayed during an announcement of new products at Apple headquarters on Monday in Cupertino, California. AP P hotos Attendees take a closer look at the Apple iPhone 16.