Hey Everyone,
This article is my review of Apple’s last hardware event, my thoughts on the iPhone 16 and my exploration of what Apple Intelligence is today.
Can the iPhone 16 really be considered an AI-device? Click on the images in this article if you want to learn more about those products. Click on the title of this article to read on the web.
It’s fairly hard to understand a product that is not fully arrived yet but buying the hardware anyways. Apple is late on Apple Intelligence.
Apple recently unveiled the iPhone 16 during its annual ‘glowtime’ hardware event, highlighting (supposed) significant advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, but a lot of the features are actually late with key software actually missing with a vague promise that they will be there in the months ahead. Still the glowtime hardware announcements event was surprisingly eventful:
Apple just unveiled the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which join the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus the company announced earlier. The iPhone 16 Pro starts at $999, and the Pro Max starts at $1,199.
Apple just came off a historic loss of a legal battle in the EU where Europe’s top court on Tuesday ruled against Apple in the tech giant’s 10-year court battle over its tax affairs in Ireland. It will need to pay back a whopping $13 Billion euros in back taxes.
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Questions on: iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence.
The iPhone Sales Cycle
Apple is betting we’ll pay for an upgrade for AI. In theory, and unlike the base models in the iPhone 15 line, this year’s crop of iPhones are all compatible with all the generative AI-powered features the company will add to iOS 18 over the next several months. I guess if I’m going to buy hardware on faith, I can trust Apple. But consumers expecting a lot run the risk of being seriously disappointed and this cycle could hurt Apple’s nearly flawless reputation.
Apple has been fairly slow to roll-out Generative AI integrations and features. Early previews have not been great. iPhone sales slowed last quarter, so investors are hoping the new devices boost sales. Apple’s stock is up 19% this year, which isn’t bad. Tim Cook said the iPhone 16 was built for AI “from the ground up,” though the capabilities will only be gradually added to the device via software updates.
Key point:
✨ It’s clear that Apple is trying to give the image of it leaning heavily into AI, but is the hype deserved or does the new iPhone fall short?
“It’s a gambit for the tech titan, which has been racing to develop a suite of tools called Apple Intelligence.” – Mark Gurman.
How visually intelligent will Apple Intelligence be exactly with multimodal reasoning?
iPhone 16’s New Visual Intelligence Demo
“Apple just gave its new iPhones the ability to see by combining AI with the camera and a new button.” – Zahn Kahn.
The iPhone 16 Camera can now.
[Back in the day Snap branded itself as a camera company, but maybe Apple has done that now. Maybe Apple should acquire Snapchat.]
• Solve assignments with ChatGPT
• Find products with Google
• Get restaurant reviews
• Book events
• Ask questions about anything
But would you actually use these features?
Sounds a bit like overkill.
In the grand scheme of things, the quality and capabilities of all of these Generative AI boosted features should be alright eventually, but in the short term the previews and reviews don’t sounds great. The iPhone 16 is powered by the new A18 chip, designed to enhance Apple Intelligence capabilities.
iPhone 16 AI Capabilities in a Nutshell
Apple Intelligence is the shiny name for Generative AI’s integration into Apple’s various devices. Does the Generative AI integration make the product better? That’s what people have to figure out for this buying decision.
🧩 Apple Intelligence Integration: The iPhone 16 is the first Apple smartphone purpose-built for generative AI, branded as Apple Intelligence. This software aims to enhance various functionalities, including Siri, making it more natural and contextually relevant.
🍇 Generative AI Features: Apple Intelligence includes tools for drafting emails and texts, creating custom emojis, and improving photo-searching capabilities. Users can also have more natural conversations with Siri, which can now pull information from text messages to provide reminders and recommendations.
⚡ Visual Intelligence: A new camera control feature allows users to point their camera at objects to get information about them. For example, pointing the camera at a restaurant will pull up reviews, menus, and reservation options. This feature can also identify dog breeds, landmarks, and add events to your calendar.
💬 Enhanced Siri Capabilities: Siri has been upgraded to handle more complex tasks such as sending photos from specific events or summarizing messages. It can now provide more personalized and contextually relevant responses.
🎬 AI-Powered Camera and Video: The iPhone 16 Pro models include advanced video recording capabilities, such as shooting in 4K resolution at 120 frames per second and spatial audio recording with reduced background noise. These features are supported by Apple’s custom-built A18 chip designed to enhance AI tools.
☀️ AI in Daily Tasks: Apple Intelligence helps with everyday tasks like summarizing emails and alerts from apps. However, there are still some issues with accuracy, as the AI sometimes misinterprets information or makes factual errors.
💾 New Hardware Features: The iPhone 16 series comes with a customizable Action Button replacing the mute button, a physical button for camera access, and improved system memory bandwidth to support AI functionalities. The devices also feature a glass-ceramic screen that is tougher than previous models.
So is the iPhone 16 really an AI device?
Maybe, one day.
Practically, Apple’s iPhone 16 (along with iOS 18) will keep sales stable until more innovative models are ready next year. It’s not as if iPhones have significant competition. As of 2023, there are approximately 1.46 billion active iPhone users worldwide. About 21.7% of the global smartphone population uses an iPhone by default. So many of us are sort of stuck with whatever Apple decides to do, or we could just wait until they have more polished features.
Apple Intelligence Functions
You can group Apple Intelligence capabilities into a few categories, but before you run off to upgrade your iPhone consider carefully how much you’d actually use these features.
✏️ Writing Tools: AI can rewrite emails and notes, creates custom emojis for conversations, and edits anywhere you type.
📸 Photos and Videos: AI instantly finds specific photos or videos based on natural language search.
🎯 Priority and Focus: AI summarizes emails and notifications to highlight what is important and surfaces prioritized notifications to keep you focused on what matters.
🚦 Visual Intelligence: With Apple’s new camera, on-device AI analyzes images without storing them and quickly connects to third-party tools like ChatGPT.
✨ Siri: Apple’s virtual assistant can now better understand complicated natural language requests, pull in context to help answer questions, and take actions on your phone at your request.
Real actual AI devices, just like Agentic AI or serious text-to-action models will likely come in 2025 or a few years down the line.
Watch the Glowtime event summary by CNET in 9:37 here.
Is Apple a winner in Generative AI?
Apple’s stock performance during an AI bull market cycle, doesn’t seem very promising for the success of its AI ambitions. Though Apple has been touting the technology since its developers conference in June (where I was likely over optimistic in retrospect), the software won’t be included in the initial versions of the new iPhones. They’re set to go on sale Friday, with the product reaching stores on Sept. 20.
Apple is late to the party and trying to cover that up in a pretty sneaky way. To make matters worse, European users won’t be getting integrated AI on Apple devices. The reason for this is said to be due to privacy concerns stemming from the Digital Markets Act. That’s a lot of iPhone users who are potentially spared this messy roll-out.
“This is just the beginning,” Apple software chief Craig Federighi said during the presentation. The first set of tools will be released as part of a beta test in October, he said, “with more features rolling out in the months to come.”
The successor of Tim Cook (who is 63) to be Apple’s CEO is thought to be John Ternus according to Bloomberg reporting. With the Apple Vision Pro not doing too well, my guess is Cook is gone by 2027.
From a consumer perspective, it would be hard to convince anyone Apple, or for that matter Amazon have done much in the way of Generative AI. Apple Intelligence is filled with mostly gimmicks – like the revamped Siri, Genmoji and integrated ChatGPT search. Siri has been redesigned with a glowing light around the screen edge when active. Wow thanks.
A more powerful chip and new Camera Control button is supposed to make us feel better? Is this even product innovation consumers want? Generative AI is a tricky technology to implement pragmatically. Just ask Google. However the iPhone 16 has some pretty significant product changes.
🖲️ The Camera Control Button
About that button. The Camera Control button, is included in all four versions of the new iPhone 16 and looks like a slightly recessed groove. Pressing it once instantly brings up the camera launch screen, letting you fine-tune the shot. A second touch will take the photo.
The idea is to replicate the experience of using the shutter button on a digital single-lens reflex camera — better known as a DSLR.
The new iPhone 16 promised many things, but nothing that screams AI. But how will it make us feel? This Camera Control button (CCB), which is a recessed tactile switch located on the right side of the device, just below the power button. The button is indeed idealistically designed to enhance the photography and videography experience by providing quick access to various camera functions without needing to navigate through the Camera app.
Key functionalities of the Camera Control button include:
Single Click: Opens the Camera app or a third-party camera app.
Single Click (Camera Open): Takes a photo.
Click and Hold: Opens the Camera app and starts video recording.
Light Press: Opens controls like zoom, locks focus and exposure for reframing shots.
Double Light Press: Brings up the camera preview menu to choose different controls such as exposure or depth of field.
Swipe: Allows users to swap through available adjustment options like zoom, exposure, or depth of field.
The button is equipped with both force and touch sensors, enabling it to support different gestures. In terms of product-design it’s a pretty fascinating case study.
🚨 Apple Intelligence: Buyer Beware
I have not tested this myself but there are a lot of previews and reviews of those who have:
Early tests of the prerelease software show that while Apple Intelligence can be helpful, it sometimes produces inaccurate or nonsensical results. The Washington Post found that for instance, it has been known to misinterpret text or elevate phishing emails to priority status.
The integration of Apple Intelligence has raised concerns about battery life, with reports of significant battery depletion during testing.
Apple Glowtime Updates
Apple has just announced two new versions of AirPods 4.
The Apple Watch Series 10 arrives with a new way to detect sleep apnea that will also work on older Watches.
Apple Watch SE was not yet announced. Rumors suggested that Apple had been working on a new Apple Watch SE made of plastic, which would be available in more colors and would be focused on children. H
The new hardware becomes available September 20th, 2024.
Apple has revealed the launch date for iOS 18 and it’s September 16th, or about a week from now.
New Look and Design of Apple iPhone 16
The rear cameras are now stacked vertically on a smaller pill-shaped camera bump. This arrangement is better suited for capturing spatial video, according to the Verge.
If you want to listen to the entire Glowtime event of September 9th, 2024 you can do so here – especially interesting if you want to know about the latest hardware releases.
What is the Ceiling of Apple Intelligence?
While Apple has partnered with OpenAI, I expect it to partner with Anthropic as well for Claude 3.5 Opus (that’s not quite out yet). I also expect Apple to partner with Google for some capabilities of Gemini. Sure in time Apple Intelligence might be formidable.
While ChatGPT boasts 200 million weekly active users, its numbers will be totally clouded if they happen to include iPhone users post iOS 18. That reviewers have found issues with Apple Intelligence in September, 2024 is totally understandable, but still shocking. We expected a higher quality from Apple historically.
The stakes are high for Apple, which looks to prove to both consumers and Wall Street that it’s now a major player in generative artificial intelligence, but honestly the roll-out has been clumsy and the features sort of generic for the most part. In terms of capex, I don’t think Apple has gambled like Microsoft, Meta and Google in terms of investments in Generative AI though they have clearly increased their spending in the last year or so.
Apple Intelligence is not right on time, it’s late and rather all over the place. They have a lot of work to do to catch up. Comparing Apple Intelligence to the movie Her (2013) is comical PR. But Google Gemini was a laughing stock for consumers when it was Bard, so there’s a ceiling and a basement with how badly you can possibly roll out these things.
For the record, the reviews of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and its various more specific Copilots are’t great either. These massive corporations feel pressure to release products that aren’t fully ready. Apple is still primarily a hardware company, its Services business has not really scaled like some of us had hoped. While I’m sure they have a fair amount of AI talent and acquire a lot of AI startups for that talent, the in-house component of Apple Intelligence isn’t turning any heads anytime soon.
An updated Siri is their best product? If Siri is your fallback plan, it’s not a good sign. The theme of the event, “It’s Glowtime,” is a reference to Siri’s new interface. That Apple needs to pay back $14.4 Billion (converted to USD), is a sign of the times. The case stems back to 2016 when the European Commission ordered Ireland to recover up to 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in back taxes from Apple. The Commission said at the time Apple had received “illegal” tax benefits from Ireland over the course of two decades.
Apple has Underinvested in Generative AI
In an age of exceptionalism and American protectionism BigTech is driving Generative AI to unimaginable heights and spending tens of Billions on Nvidia’s AI chips and supercomputer AI datacenters in the process. As of June, 2024 Apple has $61.80 B cash on hand. In May, 2024 Apple announced a $110 Billion stock buyback. This is a notable announcement, as it marks the largest share buyback in U.S. corporate history. A pity they didn’t use some of that for Generative AI integration. Apple feels like a laggard with this new technology.
I don’t actually think iPhones will come to be known as AI-native devices. At least not any time soon. Sure machine learning is already a big part of what they can do, and that’s the point. iPhone users know what to expect. A more powerful Siri experience is not at the end of the day going to be a deal-breaker. Nobody can convince me the iPhone 16 is built for Apple Intelligence in any ready product to consumer sense as of late 2024.
With iPhone sales generating $39 billion last quarter—accounting for roughly 60% of Apple’s revenue—the device remains a critical gateway to the company’s growing services sector, but Apple Services just like their AI have been disappointing on the whole. Can we accept that the best days of Apple are likely behind it?
If Meta and Google are still basically Ads companies, Apple remains an iPhone maker, on the whole. To even call these BigTech companies AI companies isn’t even technically correct. That Apple had to partner with OpenAI tells you all you need to know.
Given that Apple Intelligence is late the iPhones 16, it seems likely they under-invested in 2023 broadly speaking in Generative AI. Apple’s Services that involve entertainment have not done well. Apple’s history with Project Titan it’s smart car project also was a significant failure. Apple appears to be failing more than its winning. It’s performance and execution in Apple Intelligence is likely going to mirror that recent historical trend.
Apple Intelligence may just be a Gimmick for iPhone Sales After All – Hides Apple’s Challenges
It can improve the iPhone’s camera or have a few bells & whistles type features, but don’t tell me this is a Generative AI native company. While we can’t read too much into it, the iPhone’s market share has indeed been experiencing a decline in 2024. The huge amount of kickback money they get from Google to be the primary search is also likely to be ending soon due to Google’s own antitrust case. It was $20 Billion in 2022, and we can only imagine how much that is today. If you add up the Ireland EU fine, the buyback, and the Google issues, it’s a significantly less funds Apple has to play with.
While we don’t know the utility or convenience ceiling for Apple Intelligence for consumers in 2024 and won’t likely know the full extent of it all in 2025, it doesn’t appear to be particularly high. Probably not enough to upgrade to an iPhone 16 at least for a lot of people. In terms of marketshare, the iPhone 16 launch faces challenges such as delays in AI integration and increased competition from Huawei, which could impact Apple’s market position further.
As of July, 2024 Apple’s market share has been shrinking in China, down to 14% in second quarter compared with 15% in the first quarter and 16% a year earlier. Huawei seems stronger than the West had hoped for in recent months with a number of surprises. In the China market, Huawei’s new trifold premium smartphone both and the iPhones 16 are set to begin in-store sales on Sept. 20.
Huawei’s Mate XT also comes with artificial intelligence features. What might prevent China from building better Generative AI into their phones? Probably not Apple. Apple has claimed the A18 chip makes the iPhone 16 significantly faster than the iPhone 12. Until better reviews come out, the verdict is still open for the iPhone 16 and its Apple Intelligence.
TechCrunch said it best when they framed it as Apple Intelligent punting AI to the future. So much of this like other AIs, doesn’t really do anything. It does a few things, and some of those poorly. That’s not the product quality of Apple we used to know, they are in uncharted waters here, do Apples float?
Craig Federighi said it will “transform so much of what you do with your iPhone.” Does this sound transformative to you?
The capabilities:
Rephrase snippets of text
Summarize emails and messages
Generate fake emoji and clip art
Find pictures of people, locations, and events
Look up things
Tim Cook and people like Craig feel just past their prime and so does Apple’s ability to innovate or even keep up. Google’s efforts pre Gemini were extremely mixed as well and I’m not even going to try to talk about Meta AI and Amazon’s woeful integration of Generative AI. It’s hard to give Microsoft’s Copilot Era high marks in all of these rushed attempts. This is why frontier model builders like OpenAI and Anthropic are so valuable, they are building the products of tomorrow.
My Biggest Reservations about an iPhone 16 Upgrade for Apple Intelligence Features
It’s early days for Apple Intelligence and imho not something that warrants buying an iPhone 16. Here are some of my concerns:
Phased roll-out and delayed features
Impact on battery life is a red flag
Does not hold up to peers like OpenAI, Google, Anthropic or even Huawei
Siri enhancements are not ground-breaking
Integration with OpenAI but not Anthropic is worrisome
Limited device compatibility and slow software rollouts
Generative AI is late or buggy on the whole for the execution of Apple Intelligence
The world keeps trying to build shiny new AI products, but they are falling short of expectations of real customers. Consumers ought to be disappointed with this promise compared to the product today.
The iPhone is not an AI-enabled device in 2024. Maybe it will be in 2025 or sometime in the near future.
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