Washington: The upcoming Apple iPhone 16, set to be unveiled on Monday in Cupertino, California, promises a transformative leap in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence. This new generation of iPhone will enhance Apple's digital assistant, Siri, and introduce innovative features like creating customized emojis instantly, marking a significant advancement in AI integration.

The event will take place in the auditorium named after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who famously introduced the first iPhone in 2007, envisioning it as a device that would revolutionize society. Since then, Apple has sold billions of iPhones, generating approximately $3 trillion in shareholder wealth. However, the past decade has seen only incremental upgrades, leading to a slowdown in iPhone sales. The iPhone 16 aims to reinvigorate interest with groundbreaking AI capabilities and more compelling features.

The iPhone 16 is generating a bigger buzz because it is the first model to be tailored specifically for AI, a technology that is expected to trigger the biggest revolution in the industry since Jobs thrust Apple into the smartphone market 17 years ago.

The advances included in the iPhone 16 could set up Apple to be “the gatekeeper of the consumer AI revolution,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a research note.

Apple's pivot began three months ago with a preview of its new approach during a developers conference, helping to build anticipation for Monday's showcase.

Since that June conference, competitors such as Samsung and Google have made even more strides in AI. Google even took the unusual step of introducing its latest Pixel phones packed with their own AI magic last month instead of hewing to its traditional October timetable in an effort to upstage Apple's release of the iPhone 16.

In an attempt to set itself apart from the early leaders in AI, the technology being baked into the iPhone 16 is being promoted as “Apple Intelligence.” Even so, Apple Intelligence is similar to the generically named AI already available on Google's Pixel 9 and the Samsung Galaxy S24 released in January.

Most of Apple's AI tasks will be performed on the iPhone itself instead of remote data centres — a distinction that requires a special processor within the forthcoming models and the high-end iPhone 15s that came out a year ago.

That's why investors anticipate hot demand for the iPhone 16, spurring a surge in sales that has caused Apple's stock price to climb by 13% since Apple previewed its AI strategy in June. That spike has increased the company's market value by nearly USD 400 billion. (AP)