Google and Samsung won’t lose any sleep over Apple Intelligence

Will iPhone owners accept being public beta testers for an AI strategy that's obscenely late to the party?

Google and Samsung won’t lose any sleep over Apple Intelligence

Apple’s upcoming iOS 18 update heralds a few major and many minor changes for Apple’s iPhone series. But besides the stuff Android has had for years, Apple Intelligence is undoubtedly the key announcement of the lot. However, there are a few caveats to Apple’s belated push for AI that should give us extra pause before jumping on the hype train.

First, you’ll need a top-tier iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to leverage the very best of Apple’s new features in a phone form factor, though that’s perhaps not super surprising as they have the best silicon. Apple is betting heavily on AI to encourage early upgrades, leaving iOS 18 with far less to offer the bulk of Apple’s current user base. But peel back the investor-schmoozing promises and media-friendly AI soundbites, and it’s pretty clear that Apple is still miles behind its AI rivals and has a significant gap to close before it’s anywhere close to parity with the market leaders.