It’s September, which means it’s new iPhone season. Apple has once again unveiled a slew of new hardware, along with some software updates for existing products, that have me pretty excited. Coming fresh out of the event, here are the five things that I’m most looking forward to from today’s event.
5. AirPods Pro 2 New Hearing Health Features
Alongside multiple new models of AirPods, Apple also announced some awesome new stuff coming to the AirPods Pro 2, including an all-in-one hearing health experience focused on prevention, awareness, and assistance. On the prevention side, Hearing Protection uses the ear tips to passively reduce noise, while the H2 actively cancels out loud sounds around you, while maintaining sound signature and using new algorithms to keep live events like concerts sounding natural. I’ll admit that while I don’t love the optics of wearing my AirPods at a concert, I will actively be using this feature as I vastly prefer this to earplugs any day.
For awareness, Apple is introducing a scientifically validated hearing test into the health app on compatible devices, which will generate personalized hearing profile for the users AirPods, as well as allow them to share the information with their doctor, something I love that Apple has been doing with the Health app features.
But that’s not all, because Apple is addressing the assistance aspect of this new experience by using that personalized hearing profile to turn AirPods Pro 2 into “…an innovative, over-the-counter Hearing Aid…for users with mild to moderate hearing loss.” Hearing loss is the kind of thing that can really effect anyone so the fact that Apple’s packing this kind of functionality into tech a lot of us already have is fantastic and I can’t wait to see what health features they add next.
4. Apple Watch Series 10 Adds Audio Playback Through Speakers
I know this seems like such a minor thing, but I can not even begin to tell you how many times I’ve been somewhere and I’ve wished that I could play a song though the speakers on my watch. I’ve recently been listening to the music downloaded to my Apple Watch Series 9 more frequently was well. So this, along with all the other additions to the Apple Watch Series 10 has me seriously contemplating trading in and upgrading. (Plus that Jet Black color looks sick!)
3. iPhone 16
Originally, this was going to be specifically about the new Camera Control button on the iPhone 16, but the more I see these phones in the press release, the more I realize I’m not just excited about Camera Control, I’m excited for the entire iPhone 16.
The entire lineup has a beautiful array of colors that I can’t wait to see in person. In addition, the Apple Silicon powering the device has made several generation leaps, with the new phones being powered by the A18 chip. Personally I’m leaning towards the blue or green myself, while I know my mother would want the pink. I’m technically not due for an upgrade at this time but I am debating switching to the iPhone 16 in a few months if it’s financially viable. This phone was built from the ground up for Apple intelligence and there’s a number of those features I’m excited to check out and hopefully integrate into my daily life.
2. Apple Intelligence Launching Next Month
Apple is in their AI era and while there’s plenty on offer that I’m excited to play around with, at this point I just want the feature to try out new Siri. Apple’s assistant has always been a pain point for me over the years and with the advancements they’re making it seem like Siri gained from Apple Intelligence…well I want to see that in person. This won’t be the first time and it won’t be the last time where I say this: this seems a bit advanced for Siri.
But I’ll truly be happy if this becomes Siri’s golden age because I’ve never wanted anything more for Siri than for it to be the best assistant it can be. Depending how stable the beta is, I may even hop on 18.1 if/when it hits the public beta channel. I look forward to following up on my thoughts on new Siri later this fall.
1. Sleep Apnea Detection on Apple Watch
Initially announced as part of the Apple Watch Series 10 reveal, Apple is bringing sleep apnea detection to Series 9, 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 later this fall, pending FDA approval. Apple has designed the feature to notify a user if they’re showing signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea so that they can follow up with a physician for a proper diagnosis.
This is one of those things that I need in my life, much like the mental health tracking Apple added to health last year. Sleep apnea is something I have had some concern over, but not to the point of doing any sleep studies. My watch telling me to go get checked out would probably scare me into doing it though.
Those are the 5 announcements I’m most excited about from today’s Apple Event! What announcements had you most excited? I’d love to hear about them down in the comments below.
Dan Stransky 