Apple’s artificial intelligence is coming soon to beta versions of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, but only a fraction of current iPhone owners will be able to try it out. Why? You will need a to be able to do this iPhone 15 Pro Or an iPhone 15 Pro Max. The decision does not seem arbitrary at all.
The NPU is the key. If you don’t have one of those two models, you won’t be able to access the functions that Apple offers with its new artificial intelligence system. The company explained that it needs to have chips with a powerful enough NPU (neural processing unit) to take advantage of Apple Intelligence. The M1 and later have that capability, but among Apple’s mobile chips, only the latest A17 Pro has that capability, according to the company.
Why not in the previous ones? As such Apple doesn’t explain exactly why you won’t be able to enjoy these options on the iPhone 15/Plus. The A16 Bionic is indeed a remarkable chip, but it probably doesn’t have enough headroom to run AI functions smoothly, and here Apple has chosen to avoid complaints about a disappointing experience. The other option, of course, is that they want to use this requirement as an argument to sell more iPhones in the future.
Your iPhone 13 is no longer useful. Interestingly, iPhones can usually access ChatGPT and other chatbots because everything runs in the cloud. This suggests that Apple can directly enable searches on its servers for less powerful iPhones that aren’t capable of running native models. As analyst Michael Gartenberg indicates en wired“I suspect this is the opportunity Apple has been waiting for to tell you that the iPhone 13 is no longer good enough.”
iPhone changes or nothing. This means that those who want to access the Apple Intelligence options will either have to buy the iPhone 15 Pro/Max, or wait for the company’s future models to appear from now on. Following the same trend as in recent years, the future iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will have the Apple A17 Pro, which will allow even these “basic” models to access these functions.
Sales will increase. This is stated by Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, who to explain that these AI options will “change the trajectory of Cupertino’s growth: they will drive an AI-powered iPhone refresh cycle starting with the iPhone 16.”
But not everywhere. Deployment of these functions will be gradual. Initially they will only be available for US users and in English, which means the potential sales boost may not be as high. Unless, of course, users in the rest of the world will also buy it with the expectation that Apple Intelligence will quickly reach other regions and languages. Apple hasn’t specified when it will do this, but it has confirmed that it’s definitely the plan.
right moment. If that prediction holds true, Apple will do exactly that at a time when it’s needed the most. iPhone sales have stagnated in recent months and took an unusual hit in the first quarter of the year. As company officials explained, 10% fewer iPhones were sold compared to the same period last year, the biggest drop in sales since the summer of 2020.
AI to the rescue. For a long time the arguments for switching to mobile phones were not so strong. With hardly any changes to their designs, manufacturers mostly hide behind new processors and cameras. People may be extending the life of their smartphones, but AI may now become the “killer app” that can boost sales again. That’s probably what Apple hopes for.
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