Apple's iPhone 16 launch shows the tech world is floundering

Is calling something a 'stunning new design' enough to make it a stunning new design? This was a question I found myself asking several times during Apple's 'Glowtime' event this week, during which the company revealed the latest additions to its iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods line ups. I was frequently informed throughout the stream how incredible its new designs were – and it often felt like Apple was trying to convince itself, let alone me.

This was always going to be more software-centric event, with the iPhone 16 in particular created "from the ground up" to support 'Apple Intelligence', revealed during June's WWDC. With the rise of AI, software is arguably in a more interesting place than hardware right now (despite the efforts of several pointless AI gadgets to justify their existence). But when even Apple's hardware announcements seem to land not with a bang but a whimper, is it time to admit that, from a hardware perspective at least, the tech world is becoming increasingly dull?

First we were shown the Apple Watch Series 10, whose "beautiful new design" involves a slightly larger display and the addition of a 'new' Jet Black finish – a finish that sounds remarkably similar to the one-off dark finish (also called Jet Black) included in 2016's iPhone 7 line up. The 'new' AirPods Max design consists of some new colours and the addition (at last) of USB-C. The 'new' iPhone 16 design consists of brighter colours and a vertical camera layout that harks back to the iPhones X - 11. And the 'beautiful new design' of the iPhone 16 Pro involves new colours and very slightly thinner bezels around the display. 

In other words, for all the talk, I don't think I saw a single piece of hardware design that I haven't seen before. And many of the individual elements that are supposedly new are riffs on old designs. 

Not that any this feels particularly surprising –  and I'm not sure it's even Apple's fault. After 20 years, what more can Apple do with its glass rectangles except give us new colours, slightly bigger screens, slightly better batteries and slightly better camera lenses? With the iPhone, the clue's in the name: iPhone 16. The 16th iteration of anything can't possibly feel as innovative as, say, the third or fourth. I remember falling in love with the iPhone 4's brand new squared-off design in 2010 (this was also the year we were introduced to FaceTime and Siri - heady days!). But by now, it's hard for any design tweak or megapixel increase to feel truly original.

It's telling that WWDC's keynote felt far more exciting this year. Once second-fiddle to the September hardware event, this year's June presentation was filled with far more wow-that-looks-genuinely-brilliant moments, such as the reveal of iPhone Mirroring, which lets users control their iPhone from their Mac. There was certainly a sense during tonight's event that Apple was repeating many of those announcements. As one Reddit user puts it, "Is that the worst keynote we've had? Nothing new at all. The AI stuff is cool but is already old news."

Indeed, if it's software updates that are bringing the most exciting new features these days, I can't help but wonder if it's time to question the annual release cycle of Apple's hardware. Putting aside the obvious planetary benefits, saving a new iPhone launch for every other year could make the whole thing feel a lot more exciting, with two years' worth of improvements adding up to something that feels like it warrants the splashy launch. The annual September Apple Event might feel sacred in the tech world, but that could well change if they continue to underwhelm. (And while we're at it, can we bring back the live events? These overly slick pre-recorded promos aren't exactly full of soul). 

Rather than a particular failing on Apple's part, I think this speaks to the juncture the tech world finds itself at right now. Smartphones changed the world, yes – but they've been around for nearly 20 years now. Apple can tell us its new products are beautiful and interesting, but it's ultimately a variation of the same thing we've been looking at for years. Of course, Apple did launch a brand new physical product category last year in the form of Vision Pro – but the headset apparently isn't faring well. Tech is always waiting for the next revolutionary 'iPhone moment', but if it arrives in the form of software such as AI, where does that leave hardware? At the very least, perhaps we've reached the point where we don't need new phones in our pockets every year – nor an annual multi-million dollar keynote to persuade us that we do.