I know several people who upgraded to the iPhone 16 simply because they wanted Apple Intelligence. These are folks who tend to upgrade every few years rather than every year or every other year. We will see what happens when Apple reports iPhone revenue.
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Apple Intelligence Isn't Driving iPhone Upgrades
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Well, that’s the one good bit. I got a ‘free’ 8 GB RAM with my new M4 MBP. I wish it required 32 GB. And didn’t occupy storage space when turned off.
Okay… in the interest of transparency, I upgraded from iPhone 14 to 15 Pro to get Apple Intelligence features.
Insert an AI-generated image of very unimpressed face with eyes facing opposite directions.
What they've announced isn't intended to compete with GPT and others. Except for toys like image playground it's intended to improve the experience of using Apple devices. I'm looking forward to that aspect, and I'll also keep my subscription to GPT (or whatever one best suits my needs. Claude, currently, but that will likely keep changing).
Apple Intelligence drove me... To get an S24 Ultra (I still have a 16 Pro Max as a secondary device because of work).
I updated from an iPhone XR to the base iPhone 16. I had no interest at all in any type of AI; chatGPT, open AI, Apple Intelligence… all of it was just junk with my sole concern being that I could turn it off or some other way conveniently avoid it all.
I was much more concerned about finally getting away from the stupid lightning connector and the Intel modem.
I was much more concerned about finally getting away from the stupid lightning connector and the Intel modem.
Whatever their intent it's lousy comparatively. Some folks will, of course, defend it because, Apple. It's Apple Maps all over again (still inconsistent after all these years). I think this may mark a turning point for Apple but it's too early to say in which direction - reversal of fortunes or rebirth.
even with it off, there are a bunch of space taken up by supporting code that you'll never get back!
We wanted to upgrade all of our Apple related gear this year before 20 January, just in case there would be tariffs and or hiccups in the supply chain later this year. The M4 series is a great jump from our Intel and M1 computer stuff and our model 13 and 15 iPhones were both moved to 16 iPhone Pro Max models for each of us.
All the AI issues have been followed up with articles on how to turn it off which have been most useful. I do not want perforated data bins for leaks of out personal information to the various data brokers and or spammers.
At age 80, I may time out before newer gear is necessary.
All the AI issues have been followed up with articles on how to turn it off which have been most useful. I do not want perforated data bins for leaks of out personal information to the various data brokers and or spammers.
At age 80, I may time out before newer gear is necessary.
Tim Cook would be happy for everyone with that complaint to buy a bigger capacity iPhone. That's how to organically juice the ASP
Which was a carbon copy of the 14 Pro, which was a carbon copy of the 13 Pro, which was a carbon copy of the 12 Pro and etc.
One of the main reasons the internet has been such a success since the 1990s is free search engines. AI will have to follow the same path if it is to become a revolution. Apple might eventually charge for Intelligence (like it does for, say, Apple Music) in exchange for increased privacy (no ads and/or selling your data to third parties), and some users will accept to pay for that, but most people would rather have something free with less privacy like the Google search engine.
That's just it though. The boost in memory is more than what it takes up when not in use. So, in this regard, I'm happy I got Apple Intelligence. It forced a memory spec upgrade, but I don't use AI so it's a net benefit. I bought an M4 Mac mini 24 GB because it was (relatively) reasonably priced, and I am waiting for the iPad 11 because I'm thinking it will also get a memory boost.
OTOH, I ended up buying a 12 GB iPad Pro M4 last year with only 8 GB of that memory active because Apple just wants to screw with us sometimes.
Like Bluetooth it will be better next year! Despite the memes, Apple has no courage to stand behind their software. Labeling it beta and shrugging off responsibilities.
This article pretty much sums it up, especially Jason Snell's quote.
That's because AI is a scam and people are smart enough to see through it.
I just fail to see why I need it in the first place. I’m not scared of new things, but I need less information and less automation in my life in general, not the other way around.
I'm mostly talking about the storage. So far the IPSW for 18 is over 1 GB more than the equivalent 17 version (and IPSWs are compressed), and it's getting bigger
Exactly, I also think the 16 is a very compelling upgrade as an iPhone, but not necessarily because of AI, but rather as a whole, as a smartphone.
This is gonna be a tough uphill battle for Apple. They necessarily have to move more slowly because:
a) they are playing catch-up and staff-up
b) they went to differentiate on privacy
Question is will the market wait for them, and if/when they catch up will it be too little too late?
a) they are playing catch-up and staff-up
b) they went to differentiate on privacy
Question is will the market wait for them, and if/when they catch up will it be too little too late?
First things first - Apple Intelligence would be borderline worthless on my phone without my ChatGPT integration.
Secondly, the masses are still discovering what role AI will play in their daily and personal lives. I am constantly teaching my colleagues tips and tricks. It's not that they're unaware of the many AI tools - they just don't think of the many different use cases. And while Genmoji and Image Playground are "neat" concepts (they are too inconsistent in performance at the moment, making them a chore to use), I can see why it's not enough to drive upgrades.
If you're supposed to sell on benefits instead of features, the question becomes, "What is the benefit for me?" Either Apple has failed to communicate that benefit, or the benefits they've communicated aren't life-changing enough to push someone to upgrade.
I upgraded because I had the iPhone 13 Pro Max and feel that three years (with how they're currently innovating) is a good cycle for me; I certainly didn't do it for AI.
Secondly, the masses are still discovering what role AI will play in their daily and personal lives. I am constantly teaching my colleagues tips and tricks. It's not that they're unaware of the many AI tools - they just don't think of the many different use cases. And while Genmoji and Image Playground are "neat" concepts (they are too inconsistent in performance at the moment, making them a chore to use), I can see why it's not enough to drive upgrades.
If you're supposed to sell on benefits instead of features, the question becomes, "What is the benefit for me?" Either Apple has failed to communicate that benefit, or the benefits they've communicated aren't life-changing enough to push someone to upgrade.
I upgraded because I had the iPhone 13 Pro Max and feel that three years (with how they're currently innovating) is a good cycle for me; I certainly didn't do it for AI.
Well, the storage is much less of a concern IMO. Even the iPad 10 comes with 64 GB. If the iPad 11 comes with 128 GB, that means 1 GB more is less than 1%. If the iPad 11 comes with 64 GB, that's still only 1.6%. OTOH, I'm predicting the iPad 11 will get at least 50% more RAM, and possibly even 100% more RAM. The current iPad 10 only has 4 GB RAM, and I am predicting the iPad 11 will get 6-8 GB RAM.
Since developers are just beginning to add the integrations with the APIs that were released as part of 18.2, it’s not a surprise that a survey like that would say that, especially since AI hasn’t been available worldwide or in languages other than English.
For those who have it, and who do things like write a lot, their experiences are quite different, especially those who work in fields where the use of cloud AI services is not an option due to security/privacy concerns. One of the main reasons I upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro Max was to be able to use AI on my phone (I was already using the betas on my iPad).
What a lot of industry people don’t seem to grasp, though, is how revolutionary what Apple has been adding to their platform is, and how developers can leverage it to truly transform how people use their devices. A lot of the industry press talks down about AI because they’re focused on the cloud AI services, and companies whose business models are based around using your personal information to achieve their goals, whereas Apple Intelligence enables applications to provide the services and information you actually need - privately, without sharing it with those companies (or Apple).
For example, imagine a travel planning app on your iPhone. An email comes in from an airline promoting a discount on flights to Puerto Rico from your local airport - if you book and travel next month. Your personal assistant, Siri, running on your device processes that email, and notices that you’ve set a flag in that travel app for Puerto Rico, and uses an AppIntent from that app to let it know about the sale. The functionality behind that AppIntent runs, asks AI to propose dates for a trip, and pops up a notification asking you if you want it to schedule the trip … All without the airline knowing that you’re interested.
For those who have it, and who do things like write a lot, their experiences are quite different, especially those who work in fields where the use of cloud AI services is not an option due to security/privacy concerns. One of the main reasons I upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro Max was to be able to use AI on my phone (I was already using the betas on my iPad).
What a lot of industry people don’t seem to grasp, though, is how revolutionary what Apple has been adding to their platform is, and how developers can leverage it to truly transform how people use their devices. A lot of the industry press talks down about AI because they’re focused on the cloud AI services, and companies whose business models are based around using your personal information to achieve their goals, whereas Apple Intelligence enables applications to provide the services and information you actually need - privately, without sharing it with those companies (or Apple).
For example, imagine a travel planning app on your iPhone. An email comes in from an airline promoting a discount on flights to Puerto Rico from your local airport - if you book and travel next month. Your personal assistant, Siri, running on your device processes that email, and notices that you’ve set a flag in that travel app for Puerto Rico, and uses an AppIntent from that app to let it know about the sale. The functionality behind that AppIntent runs, asks AI to propose dates for a trip, and pops up a notification asking you if you want it to schedule the trip … All without the airline knowing that you’re interested.
It just isn't a particularly interesting or innovative implementation of AI based features. The Apple Intelligence announcement keynote in June did very little for me.
If there isn’t a major redesign, there won’t be a ton of people upgrading. And I actually really like the current design as it is. But I think iPhones are just so good now, people hold on to them for longer.
I actually think the iPhone 17 Air will be a big hit. Just for the “new” factor of the design. I know it’ll have fewer features, but the original MacBook Air did too and it helped drive Mac growth.
I actually think the iPhone 17 Air will be a big hit. Just for the “new” factor of the design. I know it’ll have fewer features, but the original MacBook Air did too and it helped drive Mac growth.
Actually tried it finally (here in Europe) and it was pretty terrible. Summarises email? Makes silly kids cartoons? Please. Can we actually have something useful, and for adults… It’s really not good.
I can’t speak for others but I was excited for Apple Intelligence. It’s turned out to be a nothing burger.