BLAST FROM THE PAST: Apple's First Indian Ad Goes Viral Ahead of iPhone 16 Launch

As people await the launch of the much-anticipated iPhone 16 series tomorrow, September 9, a rare footage of an Apple Macintosh advertisement from 1996 featuring Bollywood actor Samir Soni has taken the internet by storm.

The video has captivated users, offering a sense of nostalgia as it has garnered over 1 million views.

The advertisement, shared by TV1 INDIA, shows Soni as an employee in a typical corporate setting. Later, the ad depicts Soni being approached by a ranking official from the head office, who requests a PC to run his Windows disk.

Soni's character confidently hands over his Apple Macintosh, easily inserting the disk and demonstrating its compatibility with Windows software, which impresses the office.

The ad concludes with the tagline, “Does more, costs less, it’s that simple,” a bold claim for Apple at the time.

Several users took to social media to share their memories of when the ad was first released, sparking a sense of nostalgia and highlighting Apple 's earlier affordability approach.

One user remarked, “Does more, costs less was the tagline previously; now it should be ‘costs more, does less!’”

Another individual commented, “Kids today must be wondering why the guy is carrying a save icon in his pocket.”

“Looking at this ad makes me realize how far technology has come,” a third person wrote.

“Costs less? I had no idea they were competing on prices back then!” read another comment.

Some also compared the old advertisement to the new ones. One user mentioned, “Before, the ads were so sophisticated. Nowadays, what do they even make?”

Meanwhile, Apple ’s mega event is expected to debut the next-generation iPhone devices. Dubbed iPhone 16, the upcoming series will primarily focus on a better software experience, underscoring Apple’s efforts in pushing generative artificial intelligence. However, the iPhone 16 and its advanced model, iPhone 16 Pro, will also likely feature hardware upgrades to attract customers, including new cameras that showcase Apple’s latest innovations as it competes with Google.

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus may retain the dual cameras from previous models but will feature improved optical zoom capabilities. Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and other insiders have reported that the iPhone 16 duo will continue with a 48MP wide camera and a 12MP ultrawide camera, but with a vertical alignment instead of diagonal. The ultrawide camera will also use a larger F2.2 aperture instead of F2.4, allowing more light into the sensor for better low-light photographs.