Gurman: Apple Intelligence Coming to Vision Pro, but Not HomePod

[Abazigal]

But all of the Apple fans on the forum keep telling me older devices, including the iPhone 15, weren’t intentionally skipped to drive upgrades… It was all about the RAM and Apple had no idea how much RAM Apple Intelligence would need until WWDC.

Apple Intelligence might drive upgrades, but I am not convinced it will be instant. Apple let Siri languish for so long that consumers will want to see proof it actually delivers. That’s Apple’s biggest issue here. Proving to consumers both that it works and delivers tangible value.

I suspect that’s the biggest reason it is launching for free. To convince the tech forward, like me, to try it and then evangelize it to my less tech forward friends and family. But they have to get it right from the start so people don’t see the ads and ask people like me only to get a “meh it isn’t all that great” response.

We shall see how it shapes up!

I don’t think Apple particularly cares when consumers upgrade, so long as they do eventually. The decision to restrict Apple intelligence to the latest iPhones was likely done to also buy time for Apple to acquire sufficient server capacity to support the hundreds of millions of devices they know they will eventually have.

A lot of this criticism will likely not matter 2-3 years from now. Apple plays the long game better than any other company this seemingly awkward growing pain right now won’t really have any impact on them.

 

[HylianKnight]

I get that HomePod is low volume, but in my life it is the device that would benefit the most from Apple intelligence. The only “advanced” method of interacting with the HomePod is through the use of Siri, and anyone with a HomePod knows how well that works.

 

[HylianKnight]

Well obviously the HomePod would not get it because apple put a mediocre chip in it hopefully we get a new HomePod by October

If it happens at all, don’t get your hopes up for any meaningful upgrade to compute power or memory capacity.

 

[rgwebb]

No scoop should be needed to know Apple Intelligence is not coming to the HomePod, a glorified Apple Watch Series 7, or HomePod Mini, a glorified Apple Watch Series 5.

 

[rgwebb]

I get that HomePod is low volume, but in my life it is the device that would benefit the most from Apple intelligence. The only “advanced” method of interacting with the HomePod is through the use of Siri, and anyone with a HomePod knows how well that works.

They're going to have to considerably improve the hardware. These devices are incredibly underpowered. If an iPhone 14 Pro can't do AI then there is no way glorified 3 or 4 generations old watch hardware can.

 

[Realityck]

The device that relies on Siri won’t be getting a Siri update

Certainly forms a basis for the earlier rumors of an Apple TV HomePod rumor. Apple Intelligence can’t be used with either of them. They are both examples of the fallacy of using present Siri for control as well as searching for information to do other things with either device.

 

[LogicalApex]

I don’t think Apple particularly cares when consumers upgrade, so long as they do eventually. The decision to restrict Apple intelligence to the latest iPhones was likely done to also buy time for Apple to acquire sufficient server capacity to support the hundreds of millions of devices they know they will eventually have.

A lot of this criticism will likely not matter 2-3 years from now. Apple plays the long game better than any other company this seemingly awkward growing pain right now won’t really have any impact on them.

Apple absolutely cares as increased upgrades will drive increased revenue. Apple loves revenue and profitability which is why you can still buy MacBook Pro laptops today with 8GB of RAM. Which will be criminally too low if the RAM requirements are accurate for Apple Intelligence.

The servers Apple is building out are mainly to give Apple room to keep up with their competition and not end up like they did with Siri in the longer term. Where it starts off ahead of the pack and stagnates quickly and poorly. Long term Apple is strongly incentivized to push as much of the work for Apple Intelligence as they can locally to reduce their operating costs. They'll likely make it very vague to know just how much is done server side though as they'll likely use the server side angle as a way to justify upcoming monthly charges for us all.

 

[Realityck]

I don’t think Apple particularly cares when consumers upgrade, so long as they do eventually. The decision to restrict Apple intelligence to the latest iPhones was likely done to also buy time for Apple to acquire sufficient server capacity to support the hundreds of millions of devices they know they will eventually have.

A lot of this criticism will likely not matter 2-3 years from now. Apple plays the long game better than any other company this seemingly awkward growing pain right now won’t really have any impact on them.

Isn't it all too early to claim consumers care? Even 3 years from now what is the killer app that causes a iPhone to be a lot better than current usage? I also have problems with Apple's attempt to lock AI down to local RAM hardware requirements, versus cloud for iPhones, compared to iPads and Macs that even three years old are usable with AI? You think cloud would be used more because of 5G cellular connectivity?
Reference

What is an AI PC and do you actually need one?

AI PCs are all the rage, but what actually is an AI PC, anyway?

www.tomshardware.com

Do I need an AI PC?

Right now? "Need" is a strong word.

AI features are still in their infancy. In many cases they're still in beta. Many popular chatbots, like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Gemini, are totally cloud-based, as is most of what Microsoft Copilot does.

That's not to say there's no features you'll miss. On Copilot+ PCs, image generation built into Windows 11 and Restyle photo editing are exclusive to the new Snapdragon systems. Some other software, like the Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and Express as well as Da Vinci Resolve will use NPUs for some AI features and the cloud for others. Those NPU features may be slower — or non-existent on older computers.

NPUs are also being used to power background blur and other camera effects on some PCs, though you don't inherently need an NPU for that kind of work (though it does free up the CPU and GPU).

But across the board, these features are still just rolling out, and it's unclear which will be the most useful to you. Local AI is more secure, as you don't have to send your information to another company's servers, but if you're using it in limited scenarios, the cloud functionality the most popular apps currently offer should more than suffice.

There's a lot of hype around AI. And while it has some legitimately cool uses, there are still plenty of places where it's unclear how much people will want to use it. If your current PC is still doing what you need it to do and is getting security updates, it may be worth waiting as more powerful tech comes out to support, presumably, more local AI tools, and see what you actually need.

 

[redbeard331]

Good, I look forward to my personal Apple robot following me around the house.

 

[HylianKnight]

They're going to have to considerably improve the hardware. These devices are incredibly underpowered. If an iPhone 14 Pro can't do AI then there is no way glorified 3 or 4 generations old watch hardware can.

Oh I know, and I don’t ever see that happening.

 

[rickbynight]

The current ‌HomePod‌ is said to be "too low-volume a product to waste the engineering time" bringing Apple Intelligence to the device

...but the Vision Pro isn't?? Come on now, I'm not sure I believe this.

 

[CrysisDeu]

The company also needs to guarantee that it has sufficient cloud-computing capacity to support more devices.

For the 10 Vision Pros sold?

 

[Abazigal]

For the 10 Vision Pros sold?

I realise this post was made in satire, but surely you could have picked a more realistic-sounding number?

 

[rgwebb]

...but the Vision Pro isn't?? Come on now, I'm not sure I believe this.

The problem isn’t volume, the problem is not even really a problem. Apple made the HomePod devices with a different assumptions for the compute and memory needs and those assumptions have been invalidated.

They’re going to need revisions released in the next year or two that have the power to use their models on-device. My guess is they stop trying to run HomePods on S-series package and use A-series SoC with significantly more RAM instead.

 

[ekwipt]

It would be cool if Apple had an Apple Home hub, that was a brain for your whole house and it could be swapped out over the year for more processing power. M4 Chip, 10GBe, Wireless for your whole home, no graphics chip (or relativly very small), then Homepods would just become quite dumb speaker and microphone for the Home Hub, make these as cheap as you can make them etc so people buy multiples of them

 

[amaze1499]

After all, Apple Intelligence was really just an announcement. A good one perhaps, but an announcement. They spoke about literally about nothing!

There were times when Steve Jobs finished a presentation with “one more thing” and „and you can get it today“.

AI is a soup bubble.

 

[rickbynight]

The problem isn’t volume, the problem is not even really a problem. Apple made the HomePod devices with a different assumptions for the compute and memory needs and those assumptions have been invalidated.

They’re going to need revisions released in the next year or two that have the power to use their models on-device. My guess is they stop trying to run HomePods on S-series package and use A-series SoC with significantly more RAM instead.

Agreed. This article makes it seem like the engineering work required to make a HomePod work for Apple Intelligence isn't worth it due to the low volume of HomePods. That strikes me as...odd.

 

[glindon]

The HomePod = the forever not so smart speaker. 💩

I feel bad for people who actually bought HomePods for the “smart” part of the speaker rather than the “music” part of the speaker. To me it’s been one of the best products Apple has released and I bought the second immediately afterwards so I could get stereo. Of course I never use Siri with mine; it has always been an AirPlay device.

 

[california_kid]

I have a recurring nightmare. I get a new HomePod with AI and set it on my night stand. I wake up the next day to the sound of the HomePod alarm. I look over and HomePod seems about 6 inches closer to me than before......

 

[svish]

For Vision Pro, expecting to see it at next WWDC. For HomePod, maybe a future version with an added display might bring Apple Intelligence.

 

[allenvanhellen]

Makes sense. The latest HomePod is run by a 3 year old Apple Watch chip.

No, it doesn’t make sense. Siri has always required an Internet connection. The intelligence of answers and conversationality can be improved server side.

 

[HDFan]

I was going to get a HomePod, but will now hold out for a HomePod that supports a full-brained Siri - with or without a display, I don't care

Settle in for a likely long wait of 2 years or more.

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Here’s more proof it’s a dud.

If it were a dud they wouldn't have updated it.

hopefully we get a new HomePod by October

As above, not likely.

 

[RedWeasel]

The company also needs to guarantee that it has sufficient cloud-computing capacity to support more devices.

Come on Apple. Don’t pretend that the number of AVP devices is relevant compared to the number of iPhones.

 

[Pezimak]

Gurman is probably right, the only device AI makes any sense on being is Apples HomePod, but due to the unique way Apple does things, I.E. not in the cloud although still uses the cloud, then no current model willmsupport the hardware requirements. Meanwhile every single Google and Amazon product will,support what ever advances they make in AI.

Snd if they start putting the M processor or A16 Pro chips in HomePods expect the repricing to double or something ridiculous. Apples ideology of services really does baffle me sometimes, I can’t see it’s AI advancing much beyond the capabilities they offer today as not many will use it. How on earth they expect to make any more inroads into the smart home market I do not know.
It’s like the frankly stupid idea of sticking a screen on top of the home Pod in the same position as the current defuser… useful to no one. They need to make devices with full screens like Amazon and Google do, or make docks like Google has, and not charge the Earth for them but they won’t.

No instead Apple will sell you a robot with a display, charge probably 3 grand plus for it, and proceed to take another 6 years before it ends up with a project the masses may actually buy and afford.…

 

[subjonas]

Apple loves revenue and profitability which is why you can still buy MacBook Pro laptops today with 8GB of RAM. Which will be criminally too low if the RAM requirements are accurate for Apple Intelligence.

I thought 8 GB was the minimum requirement for Apple Intelligence