What is so difficult to understand? These are smartphones in the sub-€400 price segment and they have far fewer limitations than the majority of iPhones. All applications, including AI, have more space available on these devices.
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Kuo: Apple Knows Apple Intelligence is 'Underwhelming' and Won't Drive iPhone Upgrades
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Neutral conjecture about future products/software is different from conjecture aimed at vilifying with no evidence to substantiate it. We have zero reports from any reputable sources indicating the 8GB iPhones won’t support these features. Some are just claiming that to vilify a company when there’s zero reasons to come to that wild conclusion… Just because features have run into a delay in rollout doesn’t mean the iPhones advertised as supporting them won’t support them, that doesn’t follow at all…
Claiming Apple is somehow “deceiving”, “misleading”, and the features are “vaporware” that “never existed”, is more than mere criticism, it is making very specific claims against Apple. And there is zero evidence that actually substantiates any of those claims. Obviously Mark Gurman’s sources were saying the features were under development, and they were nearing release in 18.4, and then he cited his sources again reporting they had to be delayed to 18.5. There’s zero evidence that Apple hasn’t been working on the features, and there are many good reasons to believe they actually are working on them. I understand people being disappointed by the delay, but making up claims against Apple out of whole cloth is not mere criticism. Apple is fixing issues with the features before they release them. This isn’t really something to criticize, this is a good thing. I would much rather a delay, then they rush it out with potential major bugs and/or security/privacy threats. And much of this doesn’t come off as balanced, constructive criticism, it just sounds like people hating on Apple, acting like school kids throwing tantrums because they didn’t get what they want right now, and will have to wait…
The indicator was the "generous" move to make 16GB standard on macOS. Not just on new models like the M4 Mac Mini, but older models still sold as well at the time like M2 MBA. Yeah the desktop OS needs more ram in general, but the move was pre-empted by higher RAM requirements.
The iPhone 16 series was already out at the time, and you can't configure an iPhone with more ram as an upgrade option, while you can a desktop or laptop.
I don't care about value. I care about my software being so buggy and glitchy, when Apple was up near the best years ago. IMO, too many little things have slipped, which all put together leads to a bigger problem. For the price I pay, I expect more.
Next up: "Apple's Head of Custodial Services says something is rotten at Apple"
I mean... sure ok. I think we can all agree that Siri and apple intelligence are pretty dumb. But is AI driving anyone to update their phones or laptops? Microsofts Copilot+ PCs have been a disappointment too. Wall street seems more focused on Tech OEMs finding consumer application for AI that actually draws interest and leads to $$$ somehow. for apple its the update cycle, for other AI companies they are charging monthly subscriptions, but the reality remains, the vast majority of consumers don't seem to care
How do you feel about AI in general? For example, do you use chat GPT? if you're meh on that too, I think you fall in the category of people that don't see the big deal about this AI business. is it kinda neat for a few minutes? sure, do I need it for every day tasks? no.
That’s not an indicator for your claims at all. Macs are completely different from iPhones. They’re a totally separate product line. And macs often use more RAM than iPhones do. Besides, they could have just wanted to coax people to upgrade from still great performing M1 Macs, so had to sweeten the deal somehow with some better base specs. And besides, you’re just assuming your premise. Upping the base RAM on another product line after there was tons of clickbait ragebaiting over the last one with less RAM doesn’t mean “Apple Intelligence now won’t run on the iPhone 16”. That simply doesn’t follow at all… There is absolutely zero evidence the features won’t work on the iPhone 16, and no reason to believe they won’t either… That’s just grasping for straws with absolutely zero backing in fact or basic logic…
Oh, and should we take the latest Mac’s inclusion of the M4 Max chip as an “indicator” that the next iPhone will use the M4 Max chip and will require it to run Apple Intelligence? I think not… 🤦🏼♂️
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I don't feel bad for anyone this board or reddit. They know the limitations of AI at this point. It's older parents and grandparents that see ads and swallow it hook, line and sinker.
The only good thing about apple intelligence is that now base model iPhones come with 8G RAM, and base model Macs come with 16G RAM.
Customers don’t always use new features, but they love the idea that having something fancy justifies their purchase—especially when showing off to family and friends. There are plenty of people like that, and without them, minor upgrades, or even borderline misleading advertisements, wouldn’t sell nearly as well.
In China, where smartphone competition is intense, people boast about having a Leica lens (Xiaomi), AI features (Samsung), or HarmonyOS (Huawei’s supposedly “100% self-developed” OS), yet they don’t necessarily enjoy using these features. You’ll hear someone say, “I just bought this phone to take quick snapshots of work documents.” Meanwhile, nationalists proudly claim that China leads in 5G, but the first thing many users do after getting a new phone is ask on forums, “How do I turn off 5G to save battery?”
That’s why Apple plays the “better camera” card, even if it’s not the absolute best still-shot camera on the market. It’s also why they continuously push Apple Intelligence—from last year’s WWDC to the September event, and again in the recent iPhone 16e launch video. If they didn’t, they’d risk being seen as “falling behind.” And for those who upgrade their iPhones every year, or those on a 2–3 year cycle for a standard/Pro model, these new features—no matter how incremental—help them feel like they’re keeping up with the competition.
It’s fascinating to see how Apple has lost its mojo in the Chinese market, especially considering how they’ve handled AI-related features there. They completely removed AI-related content from their Chinese website and promotional videos, reducing it to a simple disclaimer in the purchase section: “AI ready when regulators give permission.”
Me and the boys have mentioned countless times how Tim Cook bends over backwards for the Chinese market, enforcing an SKU-wide AI ban on the CN variant. Worse yet, Apple actively blocks Chinese users from pairing non-CN+AI-capable models—like the highly popular Japanese or Hong Kong variants—with their CN Apple IDs to unlock AI features. The HK variant is essentially the CN variant but without this artificial restriction, yet Apple still locks it down for Chinese users.
As a result, the entire iPhone 16 lineup in China remains AI-free to this day. This raises an interesting question: What happens if Apple doesn’t jump on the AI train? The sales figures seem to provide an answer. While some pro-Apple media reported last October that initial iPhone 16 Pro sales were 20% higher than the previous year’s, a Reuters report from January paints a very different picture:
This isn’t just a dip—it’s a freefall. And it makes you wonder: did Apple underestimate how much AI hype actually matters, even in a market where they tried to sidestep it?
Me and the boys have mentioned countless times how Tim Cook bends over backwards for the Chinese market, enforcing an SKU-wide AI ban on the CN variant. Worse yet, Apple actively blocks Chinese users from pairing non-CN+AI-capable models—like the highly popular Japanese or Hong Kong variants—with their CN Apple IDs to unlock AI features. The HK variant is essentially the CN variant but without this artificial restriction, yet Apple still locks it down for Chinese users.
As a result, the entire iPhone 16 lineup in China remains AI-free to this day. This raises an interesting question: What happens if Apple doesn’t jump on the AI train? The sales figures seem to provide an answer. While some pro-Apple media reported last October that initial iPhone 16 Pro sales were 20% higher than the previous year’s, a Reuters report from January paints a very different picture:
- Apple suffered its worst smartphone sales performance in China since 2016
- The annual sales decline was one of Apple’s worst in China, according to Canalys
- Huawei and Vivo overtook Apple in market share
- iPhone sales fell in all four quarters, including a 25% drop in Q4
- Apple's latest iPhones lack AI capabilities in China
This isn’t just a dip—it’s a freefall. And it makes you wonder: did Apple underestimate how much AI hype actually matters, even in a market where they tried to sidestep it?
The notification summary is what I find most useful. Also our family loves creating genmoji. As always, YMMV.
I think it's fair to say that the sudden AI boom couldn't have been fully anticipated, but a complete overhaul of Siri has been overdue for, like, nearly a decade now. That it seems part of the reason Apple Intelligence went tits up is that they realized they couldn't build upon the existing Siri infrastructure absolutely is Apple's fault.
