“Apple Intelligence was the driving force behind the design of the upcoming iPhone generation. “At a product introduction, Chief Executive Tim Cook declared that it signified the start of an exciting new age.

Apple’s stock finished the day hardly altered at $220.91. The competitive issue that Apple confronts is highlighted by the timing of its event, which took place just hours before China’s Huawei (HWT.UL) unveiled a tri-fold phone. To power the 16s, Apple has not yet revealed its AI partner in China.

Phones are anticipated to be one of the key arenas for the competition between Apple and other tech giants worldwide to include AI into their products. The corporation, located in Cupertino, California, is also placing bets that the AI function would encourage customers to upgrade in the midst of dropping iPhone sales.

According to corporate insiders, Siri will be enhanced with Apple Intelligence, the AI program, to include features like object recognition and understanding from phone cameras.

The English language version of the U.S. will have access to a test version of Apple Intelligence starting next month. It will be accessible in December for further English localizations; versions in Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish will follow the following year. According to Apple, features will be released gradually, including enhancements for Siri. But it didn’t specify when it would go past testing.

With an aluminum case and updated chip, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will cost the same as the versions they replace. One of the most praised hardware elements in a format resembling earlier models was an adjustable button that could operate the camera.

With titanium construction and enhanced AI capabilities, the more expensive iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max can advise better photo shoot setups and offer audio editing tools targeted at high-end video production.

With particular capabilities designed to accelerate AI applications, Apple’s new iPhone CPUs are built on the most recent iteration of Arm’s architecture.

“Upgrading would likely entice existing iPhone owners who have owned their smartphone for 3–4 years, even if some features are trickling out later, as this will future-proof their device for AI,” said Nabila Popal, an analyst at International Data Corp.

However, many potential customers were first kept off the market by the feature delays, according to multiple analysts.

It is possible that individuals will hold off on starting research until they have a better understanding of how these things operate. TECHnalysis Research founder Bob O’Donnell stated, “But I don’t think we’ll see the mad rush that we’ve seen in years past.”

On the other hand, Huawei’s website said on Monday that it had received over 3 million pre-orders for its Z-shaped tri-fold phone before it was formally unveiled. In China, where customers yearn for more AI features and are prepared to pay for them, this highlights Huawei’s capacity to get around US restrictions and strengthens its position against Apple.

Airpods and watches
Apple also introduced upgraded hardware design along with new Watches and AirPods with health-focused features. Apple highlighted the Watch’s capacity to identify and react to emergencies like falls as well as longer-term health concerns like sleep apnea.

Apple released hearing-aid features that it has submitted for regulatory assessment in the United States together with the AirPods upgrade.

The new AI-powered phones have been anticipated by Apple enthusiasts worldwide. Of Apple’s $383 billion in revenue last year, more than half came from iPhones.

According to D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria, “Apple has packaged them well and will be able to market them far more broadly, even though Android phones may have some of these features.”

China presents unique difficulties for Apple.

According to Gadjo Sevilla, a senior technology analyst at eMarketer, “Apple dropped out of the top five smartphone vendors in China in Q2.” For the first time, indigenous Chinese smartphone companies occupied all five positions. Apple Intelligence won’t probably be a major factor in the region’s adoption at first because Beijing still has to give its approval before it can be implemented in China.

Early this year, Apple drastically reduced pricing in China as a result of local competition and government constraints.

Although the AI features are anticipated to be available on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the high-end models of the previous generation, the iPhone 16 lineup is the first Apple smartphones built around them.

Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) rivals open a new tab In an effort to challenge Apple’s hegemony in the high-end smartphone market, Google is also displaying AI technologies.

Google, the company behind the Android operating system, which rivals Apple’s iOS, concentrated on artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities during the Pixel smartphone launch event in August. One such feature is Gemini Live, which enables users to have live speech conversations with a digital assistant.

Many of the artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that Google had revealed were also made available for Android-based devices from manufacturers including Motorola (MSI.N) and Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab.

In June, a week following its developer conference, Apple announced that European Union tech regulations will cause it to postpone the rollout of AI-powered features in that region.

In China, Huawei plans to formally unveil the Mate XT Z-fold phone on Tuesday.

VPN usage was brought up at a Senate committee on IT and Telecom meeting that was chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan.

According to Chairman PTA, the authority is getting complaints about social networking apps, such as 22% of requests from X (previously Twitter), 65% of complaints from Meta, and 95% of complaints from TikTok.

Senator Humayun Mohmand questioned whether it would be against the rules for an assembly member to use a VPN.

Chairman PTA retorted that, similar to China and Dubai, the authority is trying to oversee internet limitations in Pakistan.

Twenty-five thousand people have registered their VPNs with the authorities, according to the PTA chairman. He also stated that a campaign is being launched to encourage registration, and unregistered VPNs will eventually be blocked.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had introduced a one-window process for whitelist IP and VPN registration in an effort to guarantee the continuous functioning of enterprises, including software houses, contact centres, freelancers, and foreign embassies.

The PTA and PSEB websites now offer a unified “one window” operation for the registration process.

Over 20,000 IPs have already been registered since 2020 thanks to this continuous effort, which is managed by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Ministry of Information Technology (MOIT), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).

The goal of the program is to guarantee that companies may continue to conduct secure internet operations.

It is recommended that businesses register their VPNs in order to protect their online activity and optimise their workflow.

Businesses can visit the PTA website to register easily.

Installing a firewall might be difficult.
It is important to note that senior writer Hamid Mir, represented by attorney Imaan Mazari, filed a lawsuit in the Islamabad High Court opposing the installation of a firewall and the shutdown of the internet.

In his appeal, the applicant said that the firewall’s installation had seemingly resulted in a sharp decrease in internet speed, harming the young people who are the backbone of the digital economy.

In an effort to increase sales of its renowned product, Apple is anticipated to unveil its most recent lineup of iPhones on Monday. These phones will include generative AI capabilities.

The Steve Jobs-founded company hasn’t revealed much about what it intends to showcase during its “Glowtime” launch event, which will take place at its Cupertino, California, headquarters.

Nonetheless, this is the season when Apple usually refreshes its range of iPhone models.

With so much riding on the potential iPhone 16, Apple is hoping that new AI capabilities would draw consumers in and encourage them to purchase the newest models.

The iPhone, which generated $39 billion in sales in the most recent quarter, accounts for almost 60% of Apple’s total income and continues to be the primary gateway to the company’s services, which are starting to take off and include the App Store and Apple TV.

Apple is only now emerging from a protracted sales downturn as customers continue to hold onto older models for longer.

According to Dipanjan Chatterjee, principal analyst at Forrester, “the iPhone 16 will be one of the most significant iPhone introductions, not because of what’s on the outside but because of what’s inside, namely Apple Intelligence.”

In addition to a relationship with OpenAI, the firm that makes ChatGPT, introduced “Apple Intelligence,” a new set of software features for all devices, during its annual developers conference in June.

These include AI-enhanced image editing, translation, and subtle artistic additions to messages in the near term, but not the more far-reaching innovations that OpenAI and Google have promised.

“Superb Siri”
In addition, Apple announced that Siri, its AI-enabled digital assistant, will now show up as a pulsating light on the edge of a home screen.

Regarding Monday’s event, Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said that “Siri will be a big part of the conversation.”

Since its launch more than a decade ago, GPT-4o, the newest assistant from OpenAI, and other newer models have eclipsed the once-ubiquitous Siri.

Analysts following Apple anticipate the company will release iPhone 16 versions with unique CPUs to support certain AI functions, such as the enhanced Siri.

Apple hopes to “shake that expectation” that new iPhones are “just steady improvements in hardware and software” by including AI capabilities, according to Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart.

With “super-powered Siri” that functions with all apps, Apple has the potential to significantly alter the iPhone experience in the long run, according to Greengart.

Pixel strength
Apple’s presentation closely follows Google’s, which presented its challenge to the iPhone last month with the release of AI-enabled Pixel 9 devices.

Pixels make up a very small portion of the massively dominant global smartphone industry held by Samsung and Apple, but Google claimed that their new range offers an opportunity to address the question of what, despite all the hype, AI can really achieve for consumers.

At Google’s Mountain View, California, campus, senior vice president of devices Rick Osterloh stated, “There have been so many promises, so many ‘coming soons,’ and not enough real-world helpfulness when it comes to AI—which is why today we’re getting real.”

Samsung, which wants to maintain its lead in smartphone sales worldwide, has also included AI into a number of its consumer electronics goods.