The Cautious Apple Intelligence Rollout Risks Frustrating iPhone Upgraders

The iPhone 16 is set to launch without some of the most anticipated Apple Intelligence features, potentially disappointing customers who are looking to upgrade for the AI capabilities.

Apple’s cautious approach to AI rollout: Apple is taking a slow and measured approach to introducing its new AI features, even for developers:

• The first iOS 18.1 developer beta provides access to a limited set of Apple Intelligence features, such as writing tools, Siri improvements, and natural language searches in Photos.
• Some expected features, like the AI image generation tool Image Playground, were not included in the 18.1 beta.
• Apple is labeling all AI features as “beta,” similar to the original Siri launch, and is not planning to release a public beta of iOS 18.1.

Uncertainty surrounding launch timeline and features: There is considerable uncertainty regarding the launch timeline and the extent of AI features that will be available:

• Officially, Apple has only stated that Apple Intelligence will launch in “the fall,” which spans from September 22 to December 20.
• The full-fledged new Siri with ChatGPT integration has conflicting reports about its launch, with Bloomberg suggesting a 2025 developer beta and the Wall Street Journal claiming some features will arrive by the end of this year.
• Siri’s ability to perform actions within third-party apps is said to be coming next year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Potential for customer confusion and disappointment: The iPhone 16 may lack most AI features at launch, risking customer confusion and disappointment:

• Apple Intelligence is expected to be the biggest reason to upgrade to a new iPhone, with only the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max supporting all upcoming AI features.
• If the iPhone 16 ships with iOS 18.0, and iOS 18.1 is needed for even the limited selection of AI features currently available to developers, the phone may remain “disappointingly unintelligent” on day one.
• Apple’s challenge will be to communicate the AI capabilities and encourage upgrades without creating confusion or disappointing customers who expect a fully AI-enabled Siri out of the box.

Precedent for launching iPhones without headline features: Apple has previously sold iPhones without all of the headline features being immediately available:

• The iPhone 7 Plus was sold largely on its Portrait mode feature, which offered artificial background blurring to simulate shallow depth of field, but the feature wasn’t available until the iOS 10.1 release more than a month after the phone’s launch.

Analyzing deeper: While Apple’s cautious approach to AI integration is understandable given the potential for misuse and the need to ensure a high-quality user experience, the company risks losing ground to competitors who are more aggressively pursuing AI-powered features. The uncertainty surrounding the launch timeline and the extent of AI capabilities in the iPhone 16 may lead to customer frustration and hesitation to upgrade. Apple will need to carefully manage expectations and clearly communicate the roadmap for Apple Intelligence to maintain customer trust and excitement for the new features.