Apple Unveils New Low-Priced iPhone With A.I. Features
On Wednesday, the company unveiled an iPhone that will cost $599 and feature an A.I. system it calls Apple Intelligence. The device brings A.I. features like notification summaries and writing recommendations in English to the company's lowest-priced iPhone model as it prepares to expand those features to other languages in the coming months, including Chinese, Portuguese, and localized English for India.
The new phone, which Apple is calling the iPhone 16e, does not feature a home button or Touch ID, which have been phased out. Instead, the phone is unlocked with a facial recognition system called Face ID that has been available on most iPhones since 2017.
The iPhone 16e is the first update to the company's lowest-priced smartphone line since 2022, replacing the company's iPhone SE. The cheaper phones have helped Apple get its signature product into the pockets of price-sensitive customers, who often trade up for more expensive models the next time they buy a phone.
Apple is introducing the new iPhone at a critical juncture. The company's iPhone business has been in a slump, with sales down 2 percent from their peak of $205.5 billion in 2022. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, has chalked up some of the iPhone's struggles to the limited availability of Apple Intelligence, which was announced months before it became available, and is offered only on the company's newest models in English-speaking markets like the United States. In a call with analysts last month, Mr. Cook said that the company's new A.I. features drove iPhone sales in markets where it was available.
But surveys have found that A.I. hasn't been a major reason that people are buying new phones, said Jeff Fieldhack, research director at Counterpoint Research, a market research firm. 'People are buying phones for the same reasons they always have: The battery isn't recharging or the phone is aging and not working,' he said.
Apple's business also stands to benefit from raising the price of its introductory model. The iPhone 16e is 40 percent more expensive than the last iPhone SE, which cost $429. The increase means that Apple stands to collect $170 more on each of the lowest-priced iPhones it sells. That will lift total sales at a time when the number of phones it sells has been relatively stable, at about 230 million phones a year.
The higher price comes after President Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on all imports from China. Apple makes a majority of its iPhones in China, but its decision to increase prices on its lowest-priced iPhone is probably unrelated, said Richard Kramer, partner at Arete Research, a stock research firm.
'These decisions are made months before action is taken,' Mr. Kramer said. 'This is the start of Apple lifting prices across the range at a time when volume growth is pretty moribund.'
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The app also packs an equalizer, the Speak-to-Chat function that can get in the way if too many people are talking near you and Bluetooth connection quality that can allow you to prioritize a stable connection over sound quality if you're noticing dropouts in your tunes. Dig deeper in the app, though, and you'll find more customization tools that let you unlock new commands for the ANC button. I love that there's a lot here; I just wish it weren't all jammed together. But for as clumsy as the Sony app is, I'm happy to see it's available in both the Android and iOS app stores. In comparison, the AirPods Max only properly integrate with Apple devices. If you care about voice assistants, know that the AirPods Max only natively support Siri, while the XM6 work with Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa. TL;DR: Frankly, neither of these solutions is better than the other. I'd award proverbial points here if one company made a ton of features easily accessible in a well-designed app, but neither company hits that note, so nobody wins. I will give Sony credit for the feature that lets you enable transparency mode when you hold your hand over the XM6's right cup, though. You'd think the 5-year-old AirPods Max, which debuted at $550, would have gone down in price by now, having only added USB-C over their tenure. Alas, that's not the case, and they still cost more than you'd expect. This puts them at $100 more than the Sony XM6, though I'm not exactly happy with Sony for charging $50 more for this pair than it did for the XM5 when they came out. We've seen the AirPods Max at around $450 during sales seasons, though, so shoppers who take their time may snag a victory. TL;DR: Sony's high-quality headphones also cost $100 less. During the middle of my battery test, when I relistened to TV on the Radio's excellent album 'Return to Cookie Mountain,' I was reminded how the AirPods Max and Sony WH-1000XM6 are both very good pairs of headphones. I could rattle off all of their specs, such as how the XM6 feature 12 microphones to the AirPods Max's eight, but that's not what you're here to hear, is it? I've answered a lot of questions here, but I saved the best for last. Someone recently asked me what headphones I use every day, assuming I go for the AirPods Max since I keep an iPhone in my pocket, use Macs for my work and personal projects, and prefer iPads over even the best Android tablets. Surprisingly, though, I've chosen the Sony XM6 as my default over-ear noise-canceling headphones. The superior comfort, along with better noise cancellation and sound quality — plus a real carrying case — made it easier for me to break the Apple-shaped lock on my gadgetry. 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The New York Times' Modern Love: 'Miranda July Knew Exactly What She Was Doing' Performance Noise cancellation: I wore both of these headphones with ANC turned on for at least one hour on a recent flight. No music was playing during that time, so I could get a clear sense of what the noise cancellation was eliminating. I performed the same test on these headphones on the subway and at the office to get a sense of how they cut down sound in my day-to-day life. Transparency: To how well the AirPods Max and Sony XM6 let in the sounds of the world, I walked around with their transparency modes enabled (and nothing playing) in the streets and subway trains of New York, as well as our offices. Battery life: I listened to the same hour of music, with noise cancellation enabled and volume at 50%, on each pair of headphones. I then noted how much battery life was left on each and used this to create an estimate of how many hours of juice they have on a single charge. Design Hardware: From flexing the headband to repeatedly extending and closing the arms of the headphones, I checked how durable these headphones felt. I also used both headphones as my main pair for multiple commutes to see how they fit. Software: I made sure I knew how to actually use the AirPods Max and Sony XM6's software-based features through Apple's settings menus and the Sony Sound Connect app. Which headphones are the most durable: the AirPods Max or Sony WH-1000XM6? Which headphones are the most durable: the AirPods Max or Sony WH-1000XM6? Both the AirPods Max and XM6 feel durable, but the former's metallic design gives it a bit more protection against drops and falls. For example, I once accidentally let my AirPods Max scrape against pavement for a little under a minute, and while there was some cosmetic damage, they still worked well. The AirPods Max headband, though, can show some discoloration and sag after years and years of use, but their ear cushions are easily replaceable in case they're damaged, while the XM6's ear pads are not. The XM6 haven't been out long enough to speak to their long-term durability. Neither headphones are designed for water resistance — so don't work out in them — and they're not dust-resistant either. Do the Sony WH-1000XM6 or AirPods Max headphones have a USB-C port? Do the Sony WH-1000XM6 or AirPods Max headphones have a USB-C port? The Sony XM6 have a USB-C port, and the newer AirPods Max also have a USB-C port. The original AirPods Max charge over Apple's Lightning port. Which headphones have the most battery life: the AirPods Max or the Sony WH-1000XM6? Which headphones have the most battery life: the AirPods Max or the Sony WH-1000XM6? Sony rates the XM6 for up to 40 hours of battery life, but with only 30 hours if you have ANC enabled. That's still better than Apple's estimate of up to 20 hours with ANC on. CNN Underscored thoroughly tests the products we review and provides full transparency about our testing methodology. We're made up of skilled writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and writing product reviews, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. Electronics writer Henry T. Casey has reviewed tech for a decade, including home theater audio equipment, portable speakers and streaming devices. Casey goes the extra mile for headphones, having taken multiple pairs with him on vacation for this very article, and losing the bag space to fit them.
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French public limited company (société anonyme)with a share capital of €1,454,542,075.00Registered office : 1973, boulevard de la Défense92000 Nanterre – France552 037 806 RCS DISCLOSUREOF THE NUMBER OF SHARES FORMING THE CAPITALAND OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTING RIGHTSAS OF 30 JUNE 2025 Total number of shares 581,816,830 Theoretical number of voting rights (including treasury stock) 581,816,830 Number of voting rights (excluding treasury stock) 559,625,223 This disclosure is on VINCI web site Finance/Investors/Regulatory information/7. Monthly information concerning the total number of voting rights and shares that make up the company's capital) Attachment 2025 06 30 ddv English versionError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
