Prepare the wallets
On the night between Wednesday and Thursday at midnight, the pre-sale of the new iPhones will begin, and now their prices in Israel are revealed. Despite the many innovations, including a larger screen, long battery life and artificial intelligence innovations, the price, as usual, will not be cheap.
The chains that have meanwhile announced the pre-sale, some of which will also open branches during the night, are iDigital, the iStore chain, Dynamics, Pelephone and Partner. It is possible that other companies will join the "celebration". In exchange for a new 15th generation iPhone device, it is expected that you will receive a discount of about NIS 3,000, and for previous generations - a smaller discount. Some companies will also offer the new Apple 10 watches. The prices of the iPhones are expected to be similar to the current prices.
Pelephone today revealed the prices of the new devices
For iPhone 16 with 128 gigabyte memory you will pay NIS 4,099. For 256 gigabyte memory you will part with NIS 4,649. The price of iPhone 16 with 512 gigabyte memory will jump to NIS 5,699. iPhone 16 Plus will start at a price of NIS 4,649, and the starting price of iPhone 16 Pro with 128 GB memory will reach NIS 5,199. The price of an iPhone 16 Pro with a memory of 1 TB will reach NIS 7,499. For an iPhone 16 Pro Max with 256 gigabyte memory, the minimum for this type, you will pay NIS 6,149, an increase to 512 gigabytes will require NIS 7,149, and the most expensive device - a Pro Max with 1 terabyte memory, will cost you NIS 7,949.
According to a survey conducted by Pelephone, the iPhone is the most popular device among young people in Israel, with 40% of 18-29 year olds owning Apple's flagship device. The results of the survey also show that 97% of iPhone owners in Israel stated that they would buy it again in the future and 60% of those who own an iPhone have always owned this device.
It was also found that 60% of Israelis want a smartphone with AI capabilities while 90% of all Israelis have heard of artificial intelligence and 53% have used it at least once. 62% of Israelis reported that they used AI to search for general information and 86% believe that those who use artificial intelligence have an advantage over those who do not use it.
As I recall, at the beginning of the week, Apple held the announcement event for the new products, centered on the artificial intelligence that will be integrated into the devices, the addition of health components to the Apple Watch, which will now also be able to sense body heat and warn of sleep apnea, many improvements to the iOS18 operating system, larger screens in both watches and iPhones, a durable screen More against breaking, and AirPods headphones that can also perform a hearing test and turn themselves into a hearing device for everything.
As mentioned, Apple is launching several new iPhones, with longer battery life, and a significant increase in the screens. Apple added another side button that will allow you to take photos or videos with a click, and change parameters in the photo such as zoom with a slight movement of your finger on the button. The heart of the innovation is the artificial intelligence that will be integrated in the coming months and will enable "pseudo-human understanding" for tasks and communication between you and the applications. Apple is trying to calm concerns about the possibilities of artificial intelligence and guarantees that the data will not be stored at Apple and will be "hermetically" secured in the users' personal cloud.
Artificial intelligence also reaches Siri
Today the voice assistant is very limited in capabilities and tasks. In many requests, Siri refers to searching on the iPhone. Using the artificial intelligence Siri, you will now be able to launch applications, delete information from the cell phone, type messages, assist with entertainment and cultural recommendations, and also correct your requests within the command. The new Siri with artificial intelligence will be available in English for the time being for users in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom in December, and later in other countries. Next year Siri will be available in more languages. Israel, meanwhile, is not on the initial list.
In accordance with the predictions that were accurate this time in most reports, Apple is adding satellite communication, first in the United States and Canada, which will allow, in cases of cellular failure, to send SMS and conduct calls. The iPhone will also include the ability to send a photo or video and location to emergency centers (first in the US to 911 centers).
Beyond the new products, iPhone users are looking forward to the new operating system IOS18 which is expected to be available in the coming weeks. Along with the artificial intelligence that will be integrated later, personalization improvements will be added: The devices will allow free placement of icons on the home screen, changing colors and activating customized lighting modes. The support for the RCS messaging system will allow you to send messages between iOS and Android devices.
The system will also bring new accessibility features such as atypical speech recognition for users with language impairments and the use of eye tracking to navigate the device. The control center will undergo a design upgrade. Additional improvements will appear in the management of passwords, and in the mail applications, the Safari browser and the SMS messages.