Newsletter
Earlier this month at WWDC 2024, Apple boarded the AI bandwagon by introducing a new feature called Apple Intelligence. The Cupertino tech giant’s AI functionality will be available with the iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia updates. The brand’s new on-device & generative large-language models-powered AI feature works on all iPads and Macs with the M1 chip.
However, when it comes to the iPhones, Apple Intelligence is only supported on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models. Some believe that by not providing the new AI feature on the older iPhones, the company is forcing users to opt for newer models. However, it doesn’t seem to be the case as Apple has shot down these theories. The brand has explained Apple Intelligence requirements for the iPhone 15 Pro.
Apple explains the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max’s requirements for Apple Intelligence
In an interview with Daring Fireball’s John Gruber during WWDC, John Giannandrea, Apple’s SVP of Machine Learning and AI, explained Apple Intelligence requirements. When asked why the new AI feature was limited to the iPhone 15 Pro variants, Giannandrea said “you could, in theory, run these models on a very old device, but it would be so slow that it would not be useful”.
In the same interview, Greg Joswiak (Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing) refuted claims that these requirements are to sell newer models. He said, “No, not at all. Otherwise, we would have been smart enough just to do our most recent iPads and Macs, too, wouldn’t we?”.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are powered by the A17 Pro chip. It has a 16-core Neural Engine, which is 2x faster than the A16 SoC found on the iPhone 15/15 Plus. Both the Pro models have 8GB of RAM. It appears all devices compatible with Apple Intelligence must have at least 8GB of RAM.
Apple’s AI will be available for free on compatible devices this fall
Apple will start rolling out Apple Intelligence with the iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia updates. It will be offered for free to all compatible devices. The first public release of all these operating systems is expected to be released this fall, typically around mid-to-late September.