Apple expected to launch first iPhone with generative artificial intelligence at its September 9 event

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CNN
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Apple has announced the date of its next major event, where the iPhone 16 is expected to launch.

On Monday, September 9, the tech giant is hosting a special event with the slogan “It’s Glowtime.” The event will take place at 10 a.m. PT at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park and will be broadcast online.

While it’s not yet clear what exactly the term “glowtime” refers to, built-in artificial intelligence is expected to be a key feature of the latest iPhone.

In June, Apple announced a series of generative AI features for the iPhone at its annual developer conference. The company unveiled the first set of tools powered by “Apple Intelligence,” ranging from personalized Genmoji (Apple’s AI-generated emojis) to a significantly smarter Siri, which can answer questions about your schedule, the content of your emails, and when your loved one’s plane lands.

While iPhone 15 Pro Max users will likely be able to access at least some of the AI ​​features, the upcoming iPhone 16 is expected to be the first device designed entirely with AI in mind.

At the conference, Apple also announced a partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, which is facing its own scrutiny and challenges.

Artificial intelligence has been baked into some iPhone features for years, like Live Text and an improved autocorrect feature over the original. But improved generative AI could build on those features to improve interaction and personalization, making a new iPhone the first designed specifically with some of those features in mind.

But Angelo Zino, a technology analyst at CFRA Research, said the outlook for the iPhone 16 is muted, as new AI features will roll out over the next few years — an improved Siri could even arrive as early as 2025, for example, Zino said.

“It will be more of an evolutionary process than a big cyclical cycle like the iPhone,” Zino said.

Generative AI allows tools to create written works, images, and even audio in response to user prompts.

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Apple is likely to make its move into artificial intelligence by using Siri, the company’s virtual assistant, analysts say. By combining Siri with OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT-4o model, the assistant could remember a photo taken years ago, provide more accurate information, and perhaps even learn the user’s preferences and personality over time.

The launch could change Apple’s iPhone trajectory. iPhone sales in China have been falling due to uncertain economic conditions and increasing competition.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the device’s launch is how much it will cost. Apple enthusiasts have debated for years whether iPhone models should be cheaper, while investors would prefer to maximize profits. CFRA doesn’t predict a huge price increase for the iPhone 16, but the inclusion of AI capabilities “could potentially lead them to increase prices across the board,” Zino said.

Apple’s competitors have already jumped into the generative AI space, such as Samsung’s “circle to search” feature, which lets users quickly search for information on a device’s screen with a simple swipe of a finger.

CNN’s Samantha Kelly contributed to this report.