Customers look at the Australian release of the latest iPhone and Apple Watch models (Photo by James … [+]
With the launch of Apple’s artificial intelligence software at this week’s WWDC, Tim Cook and his team are set to face a future of AI-enabled smartphones. Yet the iPhone remains sorely underequipped to deliver the pretentiously-named Apple Intelligence to the community, and Apple only has itself to blame.
Apple Intelligence will be bundled with iOS 18. The operating system will support iPhones from the last six years, going back to the iPhone XR and iPhone XS launched in October 2018. Yet the AI component will only be available to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, the two handsets running the Apple Silicon A17 Pro.
This cuts out hundreds of millions of iPhones from the latest technology. It contrasts badly with the Mac platform, where every Mac with an Apple Silicon Mxx chip will support Apple Intelligence. This stands in contrast to the competition. Samsung’s Galaxy AI was launched in January 2024 and debuted across the brand new Galaxy S24 family. It was also back-ported to older Galaxy models, including the full Galaxy S23 range, Z Fold5 and Z Flip5, and the popular Tab 9 tablets.
The brave new world of artificial intelligence needs a processor with dedicated silicon to accelerate AI routines. Apple Silicon has the Neural Engine to handle that part of the equation. But it’s the other part that has damaged the iPhone’s ability to deal with the generative nature of Apple Intelligence. Memory.
Without enough memory, it’s impossible to run AI on a mobile device with an acceptable level of performance.
Apple has always kept the iPhone specifications opaque, but it is a truth almost universally acknowledged that it has always skimped on. iOS’ need for less memory compared to Android has been cited by many, and the lower bill of materials has contributed to Apple’s financial success.
That’s not an option for millions of iPhone users. Unless they invested in the top-of-the-line iPhone since September 2023, they will not be able to unlock the potential of Apple Intelligence. Many were hoping for AI to arrive in their iPhone are facing up that Apple’s decision to offer lower levels of memory in older iPhones has weakened their iPhone in 2024. For them, the AI glass is half-empty.
Of course, it’s also very easy to see this with an accountant’s half-full glass looking for an AI-fuelled moment of growth; the vast majority of Apple’s dedicated community has been handed another slice of FOMO cake. If they want to use Apple Intelligence, they will have to buy a new iPhone.
Now read the latest WWDC headlines in Forbes’ weekly Apple Loop news digest…