iOS 18 is expected to bring several new AI features to iPhones when it arrives at WWDC 2024 next month, but rumors have also hinted at an important detail: exactly which iPhones could and couldn't get these new tricks.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggested in his latest Power On newsletter that iOS 18's new AI features, which could include more natural Siri and voice memo transcriptions, may be restricted to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, plus the new series iPhone 16 and 16 Pro. .
Referring to the new AI features, Gurman stated that “most of the device's features will be compatible with iPhone, iPad and Mac chips released in the last year.” For the iPhone, that would mean the A17 Pro, which arrived in September 2023, but likely excludes the A16 Bionic, which arrived in September 2022.
Of course, these rumors only refer to AI functions that are processed on the device. We also expect cloud-based AI features as Apple is rumored to have sealed a partnership with OpenAI. Cloud-based features could presumably be available for any iPhone capable of running iOS 18. That would be ideal, as iOS 18 is now expected to support the same models as iOS 17.
For on-device AI features, there's likely a limit to software support, and these latest rumors suggest that even recent models like the iPhone 15 or iPhone 14 Pro could see some feature restrictions in iOS 18. that they can fully admit.
This is likely because the A17 Pro chipset in the iPhone 15 Pro made a significant jump in the number of operations it could handle per second (double that of the A16 Bionic). We've also heard rumors that the iPhone 16 series could get a significantly improved Neural Engine. A neural processing unit (NPU) powers artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks on the device, although the rumored A18 Pro chipset may be restricted to an iPhone 16 Pro series.
In any case, it looks like AI features will be Apple's next big reason for us to upgrade our iPhones, although fortunately, the rumored features don't sound so dazzling that they'll lure you into a premature upgrade…
Opinion: AI is unlikely to be a reason to upgrade
I'm planning to upgrade to an iPhone 16 Pro this year, but not for the AI features; Rather, it's due to the latest camera rumors and the fact that I skipped the iPhone 15 Pro last year to wait for a more refined version. Apple's optical zoom in a phone smaller than a Pro Max.
So far, I'm not too excited about iOS 18's rumored AI features. Apple's focus is likely to be on-device AI, and that is, by definition, much more limited than cloud-based AI, which OpenAI is rumored to supply in part.
Those rumored features on the device include minor quality of life improvements, including improvements to Safari, some photo retouching tools, and AI-generated emojis. I don't know about you, but I could probably live without AI emojis for a few years.
Of course, Apple could still release a new AI feature in iOS 18, but I have my doubts. Mark Gurman's newsletter has suggested that iOS 18's new AI tricks may come with “preview” labels to indicate that “the technology is not fully ready yet.”
Based on rumors so far, it looks like it will take at least another year for the AI features to fully develop and become upgrade-worthy temptations, like Apple's camera hardware has been in recent years. That said, it could still be a good year to upgrade your iPhone, and Apple will likely lay the hardware foundation in the iPhone 16 series for future AI features.
I'll be happy to future-proof my iOS garden with an iPhone 16 Pro in September, but the reason will be camera hardware rather than new AI tricks.
