Track Hyper | iPhone 16 Series: Insufficient AI Performance on the Edge

Author: Zhou Yuan / Wall Street News

Apple is set to release its flagship new product, the iPhone 16 series, on September 10th Beijing time, according to current official Apple announcements.

Wall Street News has exclusively learned from the supply chain that the inventory data guidance for the iPhone 16 series has been updated to 88 million units, roughly on par with the previous iPhone 15 series.

The biggest difference between the iPhone 16 series and the iPhone 15 series is that it is a "quasi" AI phone, but still not a "pure" AI terminal.

Why is that?

Although the iPhone 16 series will be equipped with Apple's AI chip - the A18, the Android camp had already launched AI edge chips last year, such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen3 and the MediaTek Dimensity 9300. Smartphones equipped with these two chips are hard to define as AI phones.

This is because the edge applications of AI phones are not impressive and are not essential for users in various scenarios. Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that Apple can launch an AI phone with applications and technological logic completely different from the Android camp.

More importantly, the iOS 18 to be carried by the iPhone 16 series does not include Apple Intelligence, and although iOS 18.1 includes Apple Intelligence, it will not be officially released alongside the iPhone 16 series on September 10th.

In the early hours of August 29th, Apple released developer beta updates for iOS 18 and macOS 15, covering iOS 18 Beta 8, iPadOS 18 Beta 8, macOS 15 Beta 8, etc. iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1 system Beta 3 were also released simultaneously.

These batches of operating system versions are still in the developer testing phase and have not entered the "Release Candidate" (RC) stage.

The so-called "RC version" is a version close to the final official version in the software and operating system development process, usually containing all the planned features to appear in the official version, having undergone thorough testing to ensure stability and performance.

The purpose of the RC version is to allow developers and testers to discover and report final issues before the final release. In Apple's iOS development cycle, the RC version usually means that the version is very close to the final official version.

Therefore, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 have not yet released the RC version, and there is still some time before the final version is released. The market expects Apple to release the RC version of these systems in the week of September 10th; as the first batch of iPhone 16 is expected to be launched on September 20th, some people anticipate that the official version of iOS 18 will be pushed around September 17th.

Another point not to be overlooked is that the official version of iOS 18 will not support Apple Intelligence in the EU and China regions, which is not good news for the shipment volume of the iPhone 16 seriesAccording to the statistical reports from IDC and Canalys, in the second quarter of this year, Apple's shipment volume in the Chinese market accounted for approximately 21.46% and 22.32% of its global share; in the first quarter of this year, these figures were 19.96% and 20.72%. Additionally, according to Canalys' statistical report, in the first quarter of 2024, Apple's shipment volume in the European market accounted for 14.57%.

Looking at the shipment volume in the first quarter of this year, Apple's shipment volume in the European region and the Chinese market collectively accounted for approximately 35.29% of its global shipment volume.

Currently, it is unclear why Apple does not provide Apple Intelligence in the European region and the Chinese market, and it is unknown when this regional difference in practice will be adjusted. One thing is certain, if this policy cannot be adjusted in a timely manner, there may be a 35% difference in the shipment volume data of the iPhone 16 series.

Furthermore, according to the Apple Developer Conference on June 10th this year (Apple WWDC 2024), the Apple Intelligence application feature announced—iOS 18 system will integrate ChatGP, and Siri in iOS 18 will interact with users through a mixed mode of text and voice, providing more accurate understanding and executing cross-app automation operations—whether it is app paths or technical strategies, it has not surpassed the "gameplay" framework that has long been released by the domestic Android camp.

If it is only this kind of AI application feature, it is still difficult to say whether Apple's landing of Apple Intelligence will arouse users' interest in switching phones. Because Apple has not put forward a groundbreaking edge AI application logic or technical framework, in terms of user attractiveness, it is still lacking at present