A man displays his newly bought devices at an Apple Store in Dubai. AFP

Hamdi Saad, Staff Reporter

Hundreds of UAE residents got their hands on the new iPhone 16 models on Friday at Apple stores across the country.

Gulf Today saw people lined up outside an Apple Store at Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates as the new iPhone 16 was released in stores worldwide.

Apple on September 9 unveiled new iPhones built for generative artificial intelligence as it seeks to boost sales and show it is keeping up in the technology race.

A man displays his newly bought devices at an Apple Store in Dubai on September 20, 2024, as the new iPhone 16 is released in stores. Apple September 9 unveiled new iPhones built for generative artificial intelligence as it seeks to boost sales and show it is keeping up in the technology race.

Gulf Today learned that receiving the new iPhone 16 phones on Friday morning at Apple stores in the UAE was without queues as authorities announced that people who have booked their devices through online will only receive the iPhone.

Usually, the event of delivering the new Apple phones is accompanied by thousands of people flocking to stores on the eve of receiving the new phone and until the next morning.

The sources stated that Apple stores in Yas Mall, Dubai Mall, and Mall of the Emirates will receive only those who have pre-booked the phones for a Friday morning appointment will get the devices.

Over the past years, Apple has benefited from the momentum of queues at its stores in the UAE and the world to win priority to receive new phones and devices by users.

Apple is accelerating the rollout of a software update that will implant artificial intelligence into its virtual assistant Siri and automate a variety of tedious tasks to coincide with the release of its latest iPhone.

The free update enabling the first set of features in Apple's suite of artificial intelligence became available on Thursday - about two weeks ahead of the October release that Apple projected earlier this month when it unveiled the iPhone 16.

Apple didn’t say why its artificial intelligence software is coming out ahead of its original schedule, but the technology is a marquee attraction in the four iPhone 16 models arriving in stores on Friday.

All iPhone 16 models, with starting prices ranging from $800 to $1,200, are equipped with a special processor required for the new technology, which the company is marketing as "Apple Intelligence.”

That branding is part of an effort to distinguish the iPhone’s AI from similar technology already available in smartphones released earlier this year by Samsung and Google.