Apple hopes AI will help it sell more iPhones

Apple Intelligence – yet another thing that’s arrived before GTA VI.

Yesterday, Apple released iOS 18.1, an update for iPhones that includes the first public version of Apple Intelligence. The new AI features will only work on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model.

• iOS 18.1 includes AI-powered features that can remove objects from photos, as well as proofread, rewrite, and summarize texts and emails. It also includes a new look for Siri.
• However, those looking for features like Genmoji (generative AI for emojis), Image Playground (generative AI for photos), and ChatGPT access will have to wait until iOS 18.2 is released in December.

Up, up, and away?

Apple – currently in the midst of an iPhone sales decline – is hoping its release of Apple Intelligence will kick off a new iPhone supercycle, as consumers who have been putting off upgrades purchase new phones to access the AI-powered features. ~300 million iPhone users haven’t upgraded their hardware in more than four years (out of 1.5 billion iPhones in the world), according to tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

However, talks of a supercycle may be greatly exaggerated. Apple is staggering the release of specific Apple Intelligence features, an approach many analysts say will result in consumers continuing to delay upgrades until the platform is complete and compelling enough to warrant it.

🍏 Not just the iPhone: Apple Intelligence is also now available on certain iPad and Mac models.