Rumor mill: Apple has remained on the sidelines as far as AI-driven options acquire weight within the premium cellphone market, with different tech giants unveiling not less than some type of GenAI providers. Whereas the Cupertino big plans to cautiously embrace AI, it dangers falling behind all through 2024 with no main design modifications on its upcoming telephones, probably resulting in a decline in iPhone shipments.
Sources have advised analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple has lowered its 2024 iPhone cargo projections, predicting a notable decline in comparison with final 12 months. The corporate would possibly see the largest drop of all the main cellphone gamers, not less than partially because of a scarcity of AI performance.
iPhone 15 shipments are anticipated to be down 10 % within the first half of 2024 in comparison with the iPhone 14 throughout the identical interval final 12 months. The upcoming iPhone 16 might even see a fair steeper decline of 15 % within the latter half of the 12 months in comparison with the iPhone 15 within the second half of 2023.
Conversely, Samsung has adjusted its cargo forecasts for the Galaxy S24 sequence upward by 5-10 % for this 12 months, betting on generative AI options as a key differentiator. The newest gadgets from Samsung and Google incorporate quite a lot of AI-based features to enhance searches, textual content era, translation, and picture manipulation.
Nonetheless, Apple might not launch an iPhone with comparable options till not less than 2025. The iPhone 16 is slated to introduce minimal design modifications in comparison with the lately leaked Google Pixel 9, however 2024 might mark the corporate’s preliminary foray into generative AI.
Apple is adopting a cautious technique with AI to sidestep the problems of hallucinations and ethics encountered by massive language fashions utilized by Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and others. Latest stories have instructed that Apple will unveil an upgraded model of Siri with iOS 18. Primarily based on the corporate’s proprietary LLM, it’s anticipated to debut at WWDC in June earlier than a public launch in September.
The forthcoming iOS replace could possibly be among the many most transformative within the iPhone’s historical past, but Siri is perhaps the only characteristic to profit from AI enhancements. Whereas Apple is exploring using an LLM for different functions like Pages, Keynote, and software program improvement, substantial developments in these areas are unlikely to materialize till after 2024.