iPhone flop thanks to AI delays?

After Apple revealed its AI platform—Apple Intelligence—and the planned release of several ground-breaking AI features at its Worldwide Developer Conference in June, investors anticipated that there would be a supercycle of orders for the new iPhone 16 (like there was with its predecessor), which is launching today. 

However, following Apple’s announcement that it was delaying the release of its key AI features, including the ChatGPT integration, Siri upgrade, and image-generation tools, which include the Image Playground app and the Genmoji capability (generates emojis from text prompts), experts have since backtracked on this outlook. 

Although the new iPhone 16 device will come with some AI features—most notably the prioritization of emails, notifications summaries, and automated call transcripts—the hotly anticipated ones aren’t likely to arrive until late this year/next, which many will wait for. Plus, none of the AI features will be available to EU customers, which is a large market for Apple. 

Apple is clearly prioritizing the long-term benefits of the seamless integration of new AI features into its products, over the short-term, quick sale of many iPhone devices.