Apple
- Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024.
- An iPhone 15 Pro or newer is required for compatibility with the new AI features.
- Apple's iPhone sales have faced headwinds in the last year, so the company is hoping it can convince people to upgrade.
Apple finally threw its hat into the AI ring during its WWDC keynote on Monday, revealing a suite of generative AI features it calls Apple Intelligence.
But most iPhone users will need to upgrade in order to use them.
The Apple Intelligence features, which will be coming to iPhone, iPad, and Mac, will be free for users and start rolling out to US users later this year. There's also a revamped Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, that promises to be more useful by accessing specific actions within apps.
The AI tasks — which range from helping draft emails to generating custom images and emojis to figuring out when you should the house to catch your flight — will be mostly handled entirely on the Apple devices themselves, powered by the chips within the iPhone, iPad or Mac. That means you'll need one of the very latest iPhones, or a fairly modern iPad or Mac, to access Apple Intelligence.
An entry-level iPhone 15 isn't even enough. You'll need at least the iPhone 15 Pro or an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Apple Intelligence is also only compatible with iPads and Macs that have the M1 chip — thankfully those have been around for years.
You'll also have the choice of letting Apple Intelligence and the new Siri tap into ChatGPT for some tasks. The integration will make accessing ChatGPT more seamless, but those with older iPhones can always simply download the ChatGPT iOS app.
Apple Intelligence's launch comes after recent declines in iPhone sales, which dropped by 10% year-over-year in the first quarter. There's also data indicating that people are holding onto their iPhones for longer. As groundbreaking upgrades plateau and prices increase, people likely see less of a need to trade out their current iPhones for the latest models.
AI represents an opportunity for Apple to buck that trend.
Now, iPhone owners will have to decide if Apple Intelligence is enough of a reason to upgrade.
Apple certainly hopes so.