If you watched Apple’s latest event where they officially unveiled the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, you probably struggled to stay awake. Many online share the sentiment. Once known for excitement and groundbreaking reveals, Apple events now feel like reruns. The new iPhones? More like the “S” versions of last year’s models, and the event itself was no different.
Watching the iPhone 16 unveiling was like déjà vu, with half the time devoted to WWDC features already announced months ago. Craig Federighi and his team went on about Apple Intelligence and AI—buzzwords we’ve been hearing for a while now. Sure, AI is important, but when we’re expecting fresh innovation, hearing the same spiel gets repetitive. And when the iPhone 16 Pro was finally introduced, we were reminded—again—of its grade 5 titanium frame, which was also a big deal for last year’s iPhone 15 Pro.
Then came the “revolutionary” 3nm chip, the first phone in the world to feature it—or so Apple claimed. But didn’t they say the same thing last year about the iPhone 15 Pro? Turns out, both models have the same chip. And for all the talk about AI, it almost seemed like Apple forgot they were launching a new phone.
The event, like many others since 2020, was pre-recorded. While polished, it lacked the excitement and spontaneity of live demos. The media in Cupertino probably felt the disappointment too, watching a pre-recorded video of the same old features.
In the end, this was one of the dullest Apple events in recent memory. Apple needs to bring back the spark that once made their keynotes legendary. If Apple can’t make tech exciting, who can? Huawei, perhaps—with their world-first tri-folding phone.
