When Apple introduced iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, it needed to face an unpleasant fact: AI will trigger the largest fragmentation in iPhone historical past. Model-new units just like the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will change into out of date, at the least relating to AI.
Positive, Apple Intelligence continues to be in its early days, and it’s removed from the place Apple desires it to be. Nobody would blame you when you didn’t use a lot of the options of Apple Intelligence proper now. I say that as an AI fan in Europe who nonetheless doesn’t have Apple Intelligence help. It’s solely when Apple’s AI takes off that iPhone 15 customers will understand the variations.
Apple needed to face the music it composed. For years, the corporate optimized iOS to run on extra restricted {hardware}. The bottom iPhone 15’s 6GB of RAM was an enormous drawback for AI. However Apple additionally corrected course. All iPhone 16 fashions ship with new chips and 8GB of RAM. The iPhone SE 4 (or iPhone 16E) will get the identical high-end elements to make sure it may well run Apple Intelligence.
Apple additionally preemptively mounted the RAM drawback of Macs that may run Apple Intelligence. All MacBooks ship with 16GB of RAM proper now, whether or not it’s an previous M2 or M3 Air or the model new M4 MacBook Professional.
It seems Apple Intelligence may pose one other drawback that clients won’t see coming: It wants extra on-device storage. That may be an excellent cause to present iPhone 17 patrons an sudden improve that will ultimately transform an enormous worth reduce.
Apple’s AI imaginative and prescient features a massive give attention to privateness. Apple Intelligence will attempt to deal with requests on-device initially. If that fails, it’ll cross the duty to the personal cloud infrastructure constructed for Apple Intelligence.
Due to this fact, Apple Intelligence may want extra native storage with every replace that Apple releases. iOS 18.1 instructed us Apple Intelligence wants 4GB of storage on the iPhone. However, as 9to5Mac factors out, Apple has modified the minimal necessities for Apple Intelligence with the iOS 18.2 launch. Apple Intelligence now wants virtually double the storage, or 7GB.
Keep in mind that Apple isn’t completed releasing AI options to the iPhone. iOS 18.4 will convey an enormous replace by March that may allow the smarter Siri we noticed at WWDC 2024. Then, iOS 19 will convey further Apple Intelligence options to supported units.
I wouldn’t anticipate Apple Intelligence storage must preserve doubling, however I do see the AI needing extra cupboard space. Say it will get to 10GB or 15GB, that’s round 10% of the storage accessible on a 128GB iPhone that may help Apple Intelligence. There’s additionally the working system. iOS 18.2 takes up practically 24GB on my iPhone.
That shortly provides up, and also you’ll understand 128GB of built-in storage isn’t sufficient anymore. This can certainly influence your subsequent shopping for determination, as you’ll search 256GB or 512GB choices.
Right here is the place Apple can nip the issue within the bud if it desires to. The corporate might make 256GB the minimal storage tier for all iPhones.
Apple did it with the iPhone 15 Professional Max in 2023 with out elevating that mannequin’s worth. Technically, the Professional Max’s entry worth elevated by $100. Apple might do the identical factor with the iPhone 17 collection. The bottom iPhone 17 might pack 256GB of storage and begin at $899, the value of the present 256GB iPhone 16.
However what if Apple took the M4 MacBook Professional strategy? With the brand new laptops, Apple upgraded the RAM to 16GB with out growing the associated fee, which saved the consumer $200. What if Apple did the identical factor with the iPhone 17?
What if the bottom iPhone 17 mannequin began at $799, the identical worth because the iPhone 16, however got here with double the storage? Apple might use the identical technique for the iPhone 17 Air, which is able to exchange the Plus and take its worth tier.
Add the rumored ProMotion help coming to the non-Professional iPhone 17 fashions, and these units can be very aggressive.
I’d additionally anticipate Apple to maintain the Professional costs in place. The iPhone 17 Professional and 17 Professional Max would match the costs of their predecessors. On this state of affairs, Apple’s lineup wouldn’t have a 128GB iPhone 17 model. If that had been to occur, we’d have a wider hole between the iPhone 17 ($799) and the iPhone 17 Professional ($1,099).
Then once more, Apple might do nothing about it and simply go away the present storage tiers alone. In that case, it will be as much as the customer to resolve for themselves. This wouldn’t be the only option marketing-wise. The RAM improve for the M4 MacBook Professional acquired Apple loads of good publicity.
Additionally, boosting iPhone storage can be in Apple’s curiosity long run. It might be an funding in its personal future wants, as Apple would ultimately develop Apple Intelligence options that iPhone customers will need, options that will make them preserve shopping for iPhones and different units in Apple’s stock.
Extra instantly, elevating the iPhone storage would immediately influence iCloud+ cloud storage purchases. iPhone house owners will save extra information regionally, they usually’ll want extra storage for backups.
After all, all of that is hypothesis. The iPhone 17 storage tiers haven’t leaked, and they won’t for some time. However that doesn’t change the truth that storage could be an issue within the AI computing period. Not simply the iPhone however all of Apple’s units will want native storage assigned to Apple Intelligence. The identical may apply to competing units operating different AI platforms.
