Apple on Monday presented its new range of iPhones, the first smartphones equipped with Apple Intelligence, its new generative artificial intelligence (AI) system, the star technology of Silicon Valley in which the Californian group has fallen behind.
“We are excited to introduce the first iPhones designed from the ground up for Apple Intelligence and its revolutionary capabilities,” said Tim Cook, the CEO of the Apple company, in a video released at the headquarters in Cupertino, California, and online.
To keep the suspense going during its conference entitled “It’s your time to shine”, the company then launched its new smartwatches (Apple Watch) and its new wireless headphones (AirPods), some of which will include hearing aids.
The Californian group thus intends to penetrate the health market even further, but it is especially expected in generative AI and the update of its voice assistant, Siri.
“Apple Intelligence marks the beginning of a new era for Siri,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s vice president of AI. He said the new AI system makes the assistant “more natural, more contextual, and more personal.”
Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence in early June, a year and a half after startup OpenAI kicked off the generative AI wave with ChatGPT.
Thanks to this technology, users will be able to “transform notes into well-written invitations” or create illustrations on simple request, explained Mr. Federighi.
They will see a summary of each email instead of the first two lines and will also be able to ask Siri more complicated questions, such as finding a photo in their albums by describing it out loud.
Competition
Apple is betting big on its iPhone 16. Its neighbor Google and especially the South Korean Samsung, the world number one in smartphones, have already launched handsets equipped with generative AI.
“These new iPhones are very important. They are Apple’s most profitable product category and a key part of its expanding universe of services and subscriptions, its second most profitable business,” said Gadjo Sevilla, an analyst at Emarketer.
Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Microsoft (OpenAI’s main investor) and Google have been offering and marketing similar tools for months, which make it possible to produce high-quality content on a simple query in everyday language.
These assistants, such as Gemini (Google), Meta AI or Copilot (Microsoft), are supposed to gradually become a kind of personal secretaries, available and well-informed, depending on their access to messages, calendar, photos, etc.
Apple, true to its principles on data confidentiality – which have contributed to its success – has insisted on this crucial aspect, especially since its new system is based in part on a partnership with OpenAI.
“Your data is never stored or shared with Apple. It is only used to respond to your requests, and in an industry first, independent experts can continuously verify this privacy promise,” Federighi said.
Progressive update
Apple needs a selling point to revive its phones, which have been losing momentum. For the April-June period, iPhone sales fell 1% year-over-year to $39 billion.
Some observers, however, have expressed doubts in advance about Apple’s ability to capitalize on generative AI.
“If Apple customers see little difference” between the new line and previous ones, “they won’t be in a hurry to upgrade,” said Dipanjan Chatterjee, an analyst at Forrester.
The operating system update with Apple Intelligence will be rolled out gradually, starting with the English version for the United States next month, to compatible devices.
In the European Union, the group has postponed indefinitely the launch of Apple Intelligence, due to “regulatory uncertainties” linked to new laws on digital markets.
The entry-level iPhone 16 will start at $800, like the base model last year, while the most expensive pro model, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, will cost a minimum of $1,200.
Across all brands, sales of smartphones powered by generative AI are expected to grow by 344% this year worldwide according to IDC and represent 18% of the total market by the end of 2024.