Own an outdated Mac or iPhone? To access Apple Intelligence, you must have a more recent device.
Apple stated that its “Apple Intelligence” capabilities will only be compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, in addition to iPads and Macs with M-series CPUs, when it made the announcement at last week’s Worldwide Developer Conference.
Many users were not pleased about this, accusing Apple of purposefully limiting Apple Intelligence to newer models in order to boost sales.
However, Apple has finally explained why the Apple Intelligence feature set is exclusive to newer hardware.
Unlike ChatGPT, Apple Intelligence—Cupertino’s take on artificial intelligence—isn’t an app or chatbot.
Instead, it’s an integrated artificial intelligence layer that’s incorporated into the more recent operating systems from Apple.
Apple Intelligence is a native app for your Mac or iPhone that is basically a variation of artificial intelligence.
Only a few Apple devices are able to execute it because it is an on-device application that demands a lot of computing power.
Although this disappoints a lot of Apple consumers, the reality is that in order to run Apple Intelligence, users must update to the newest Apple devices, which are either the iPad with the newer M-series chip or the iPhone 15 Pro.
This implies that it won’t work with an older iPhone 14 Pro Max or iPhone 15.
Among the various AI features offered by Apple Intelligence are an entirely new Siri, writing tools aided by AI, real-time conversation transcripts, and the capacity to design original emojis.
Since sales of Apple’s iPhone, Mac, and iPad have been slow recently, analysts are hoping that this strategy would encourage upgrades.
However, Apple does not believe that Apple Intelligence is a ploy to boost iPhone sales.
In response to concerns that Apple is purposefully limiting its intelligence to newer gadgets in order to sell more devices, Apple’s marketing chief, Greg Joswiak, said, “If we hadn’t been smart enough, we would have just done recent iPads and Macs.”
But the real question is whether Apple Intelligence will be available on the regular iPhone 16, which is expected to ship later this autumn, or if consumers will have to purchase the pro model in order to access the full range of AI features. Time will tell.