Apple on Monday unveiled its long-awaited, artificial intelligence-boosted iPhone 16 and promised improvements in its Siri personal assistant as it rolled out new software, beginning in test mode next month.
“The next generation of iPhone has been designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up. It marks the beginning of an exciting new era,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said at a product launch.
Apple and technology companies around the world are racing to add AI to products, and phones are expected to be among the most important battlegrounds.
The Cupertino, California-based company also is betting the AI feature will drive consumers to upgrade amid a slowdown in iPhone sales.
Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI software, will be used to improve Siri as well as enhancing features such as understanding and identifying objects captured by the phone camera, executives said.
Still, several analysts described the delays in features as keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines initially.
“You might see people wait a little bit to see how these things work out, how well they function, and then they’ll start to investigate it. But I don’t think we’ll see the mad rush that we’ve seen in years past,” said TECHnalysis Research founder Bob O’Donnell.
By comparison, Huawei’s website showed on Monday that it had garnered more than 3 million pre-orders for its Z-shaped tri-fold phone ahead of its official unveiling.
This underscores Huawei’s ability to navigate U.S. sanctions and solidifies its position against Apple in China, where consumers are hankering for more AI features and are willing to pay for them.
China offers particular challenges to Apple.
“Apple fell out of the list of top five smartphone vendors in China in Q2,” said eMarketer senior technology analyst Gadjo Sevilla.
“It was the first time that China’s domestic smartphone firms held all five spots. Since Apple Intelligence still needs to be approved by Beijing for a rollout in China, it will likely not initially be a key driver for adoption in the region.”
In China, Apple aggressively slashed prices earlier this year, prompted by government restrictions and increased domestic competition.
The iPhone 16 lineup is the first Apple smartphones designed around these AI features though those are expected also to be available on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the top-end versions of the previous-generation devices.
Rivals including Alphabet’s Google are also showcasing AI features to try to upend Apple’s dominance in the high-end smartphone market.
Google, developer of the Android operating system which competes with Apple’s iOS, focused its Pixel smartphone rollout event in August on AI features including Gemini Live, which allows users to hold live voice conversations with a digital assistant. Many of the AI features Google announced were also rolled out to the Android-based devices made by manufacturers such as Samsung and Motorola.
In June, one week after its developer conference, Apple said it would delay the release of AI-powered features in Europe due to European Union tech rules.
Huawei has scheduled an official announcement of its Mate XT Z-fold phone on Tuesday in China.
