Its Glowtime For New iPhones By: Anthony DePadro

This newest event this September brought many things. New iPhone 16, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max. It also brought much more in the AirPods department with upgrades to AirPods Pro, new AirPods 4th gen, and new colors for AirPods Maxes. The last of the big upgrades is the Apple Watch Series 10. There are many new software features too. Apple Intelligence is Apple’s new AI language model that can do so much.

iPhones have many new features and are very sleek. There are five colors: Ultramarine, Teal, Pink, White, and Black. Coach Goodson, a teacher at Hillgrove High School, says, “I like the colors. I don't know if there are many necessarily like hardware and processing improvements, but I don't know enough about it yet.” There is the new Capture Button, which can help do many things with cameras and photos. Says Apple. Click to launch the Camera app. Click again to instantly take a photo. A light press opens controls like zoom. With a double light press, you can select another camera setting. Then slide to adjust that setting. The iPhone 16 has a larger aperture and bigger pixels; it can capture up to 2.6x more light for higher image quality. This can lead to better photos in the long run. The iPhone 16 features a new realigned camera that lets people take spatial video and photos. There is also the latest new generation Photographic Styles, which can show and change how a photo looks. Pros have all the same features; there were no major different upgrades except that all the base iPhone 16s and iPhone 16 Pros can now take 5x Optical zoom with just one camera lens.

AirPods are the talk of the newest show. Many small updates to the pro, like hearing tests and hearing aid capabilities. “And a new all-in-one experience to test, aid, and help protect your hearing,” Apple says. It employs computational algorithms to provide noise cancellation, superior three-dimensional sound, efficient battery life, and imperceptible end-to-end wireless audio latency for gaming — all simultaneously. Coach Bisesi, a teacher at Hillgrove High School, says, “ I think it's fantastic. It gives a lot of options for especially younger people who don't want to wear one or wear a hearing aid, but they always have their AirPods in, and it helps.” The AirPods 4 have a newer design with active noise cancellation on the premium model. With the premium model, you also get a Wireless Charging Case with USB-C with a speaker for Find My and up to five hours of listening time on a single charge and up to four hours with Active Noise Cancellation enabled. Up to 30 hours of listening time, up to 20 hours with Active Noise Cancellation enabled, using the case. There are also four modes for cancellation: Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode, and OFF. “Easily share a song or show between any two sets of AirPods. Simply bring your AirPods near the iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV you’re listening to and connect instantly,” Apple says.

Series 10 Apple Watch was a “The Biggest redesign that Apple Watch has ever gotten,” says Apple. It is the thinnest Apple Watch ever, with the biggest display put on a base-level Apple Watch. You can now get invaluable health insights, including new sleep apnea notifications, and with new depth and water temperature sensors for your any water adventures. This generation of Apple Watch, the Series 10, is one of the fastest-charging Apple Watch ever. It can get 80% battery in 30 minutes. Apple says, “With Apple’s first wide-angle OLED Display, the screen is brighter when viewed from an angle, making it easier to read with a quick glance.” There are three base model colors: Jet Black, Rose Gold, and Silver. But there are also three Titanium variants for a premium price: Natural Titanium, Gold Titanium, and Slate Titanium. The new water temperature sensor provides you with more valuable information for your swim workouts. Aaliyah Johnson, a 12th-grade student at Hillgrove High School, says, “Having multiple notifications on one screen at once and being able to pause my music and the workout stuff.” Additionally, the new depth sensor makes the Series 10 an excellent choice for swimming and snorkeling. All in all, this Apple event was packed with some very necessary upgrades for all three lines of products.