Apple Intelligence will undoubtedly drive an iPhone ‘supercycle,’ but not yet – 9to5Mac
Apple is about to report its earnings for the all-important holiday quarter, and many onlookers hope to see a big Apple Intelligence impact on iPhone sales. Here’s why that’s not going to happen now, but it absolutely will in due time.After Apple first introduced its set of AI features last June, analysts started predicting that an iPhone supercycle was coming.Essentially, they expected AI to bring a big boost to iPhone demand and motivate device upgrades sooner than might otherwise be expected.When Apple last reported its earnings, the iPhone 16 line had just barely been released, and the first Apple Intelligence features weren’t available yet. So it was unsurprising that sales were about average for a new iPhone launch. There was a 5% boost, but that’s not exactly ‘supercycle’ levels of growth.This week’s earnings will give a much better glimpse into any potential AI impact.And while Apple is generally expected to report a strong quarter, consensus points to iPhone sales being solid but nothing extraordinary.To be fair, the iPhone’s success itself is extraordinary. Nothing else in Apple’s very profitable portfolio comes even close to matching iPhone sales.But it’s not unusual for the iPhone to do great. Growth is what matters most to Wall Street, and a big AI impact looks like it may not arrive yet.Don’t worry though, because that iPhone supercycle is almost certainly coming in the years ahead—it may just be more prolonged than expected.Apple Intelligence is a set of software features, but it’s entirely dependent on Apple building powerful hardware.We’ve already started to see the AI impact on Apple’s hardware choices:Rumors also suggest that Apple has some solid hardware advancements on the way.Later this year, the iPhone 17 Pro lineup will boast 12GB of RAM, and all iPhone 17 models are gaining improved cooling. We’ll undoubtedly see nice gains with the A19 chip series too, particularly with the Neural Engine.As someone who has followed Apple closely for many years, it’s rare to see such aggressive hardware advancements in such a short period of time.But Apple Intelligence demands it—not just for the current features, but also everything in the works for iOS 19, iOS 20, and beyond.In the next few years, iPhone hardware will have advanced significantly to power upcoming AI features.And the near-unprecedented hardware and software transformations will make pre-AI iPhone models feel dated fast.I’m genuinely curious what feature the author – or anyone else here – thinks will drive a “supercycle” of device upgrades.Just saying “AI” without explaining how you believe it can be applied in meaningful ways isn’t actually a compelling argument for most people. In fact, I’d argue that most consumers right now are turned off of products that rely on “AI” in their sales pitches, because they see through the hype and understand that it’s just the latest buzzword companies trot out when they don’t have any actually compelling argument for why you should buy the thing.So how will “AI” drive more frequent upgrades? How will this actually lead to real, noticeable quality of life improvements for users?Right now, the current Apple Intelligence features aren’t necessarily driving huge numbers of iPhone upgrades. Is AI making some impact? Sure, but not a ton.But in the next 2-3 years, I have no doubt that AI will become a huge upgrade motivator. The advantages offered by Apple Intelligence will be increasingly hard to deny. It’s just going to take a little time for that supercycle to arrive.Do you think AI will drive an iPhone supercycle? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:Breaking news from Cupertino. We’ll give you t…Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.Manage push notifications
