This trend is also confirmed in secondary market data: Used smartphone shipments increased almost 10 percent to 309.4 million shipments in 2023, up from 282.6 million units the previous year, according to research firm IDC. For many people, a good phone is enough.
Apple also sells privacy as part of its generative AI suite, saying that Apple Intelligence “is built into the core of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac through on-device processing.” Apple’s AI tools use large language models developed by Apple, rather than relying on models from another entity or an LLM patchwork, such as confirmed by Axios. In cases where an iPhone is not capable of processing a user’s actions or queries on its device, Apple Intelligence will send the user’s data to a server running on Apple Silicon, keeping that user’s personal data secure. says the company.
Which begs the question: If Apple is already planning to offload some of the processing to its cloud, couldn’t a slightly older iPhone, like the iPhone 14 Pro, which is powered by a slightly older chip, also get the brilliance of the AI? above?
Michael Gartenberg, a consumer technology analyst at Flash Advisory & Research who previously worked at Apple, says he technically can’t say right now whether Apple “is being disingenuous about which devices can run this.” But I do know that iPhones can already run ChatGPT and a host of Google’s AI features, so I suspect this is the opportunity Apple has been waiting for to tell them that the iPhone 13 really isn’t good enough anymore. , says.
Another question that the introduction of Apple Intelligence raises, in relation to iPhone sales, is whether it gives consumers a reason No buy an iPhone before next fall, Gartenberg says, halting the current iPhone buying cycle. (And that assumes buyers want generative AI features; Bank survey results suggest that Americans are a little more worried than excited about generative AI).
And since Apple Intelligence will only be available in US English to begin with, it’s unlikely to immediately boost iPhone sales elsewhere (such as China, one of Apple’s most important markets) unless Apple do some critical “future-prepping,” says Carolina Milanesi, founder of research firm Heart of Tech.
“It depends on how they implement the experiences in other countries,” he says, for example, whether AI-generated Genmoji is offered as a feature before text editing or other language-based features. “The biggest update cycle will come next year, when more languages are added,” Milanesi predicts. And specifically in China, Apple not only has to develop language support but also determine how it will handle data storage, she says.
Either way, Apple now has a new way to force iPhone buyers to upgrade in September. This time it is not just about selling them in a new camera placed in the same container; It will no doubt do its best to convince customers that any newer iPhone is a much smarter smartphone, one that offers a much more palatable version of generative AI than the AI chat platforms still searching for application.