Apple clarified why older iPhone models and the Vision Pro mixed reality headset won’t get Apple Intelligence AI features. Reports come from the WCCF Technology portal.
At WWDC 2024, Apple announced that Apple Intelligence will be available only on iPhone 15 Pro, iPad, and Macs that run Apple’s M1 chips and newer. The company notes that the neural processing unit in the M1 is on par with the NPU in the A14 chip used in the iPhone 12 in terms of performance.
However, Apple explained that the M2-based Vision Pro does not support Apple Intelligence because the headset’s NPU is already handling AI tasks such as object recognition and gesture tracking and has no spare processing power for additional features.
A similar scenario applies to older iPhone models. While their NPUs are roughly as capable as the M1’s, the demand on NPUs in laptops and tablets is typically lower than in smartphones. Additionally, older iPhones may have less than 8GB of RAM, which can limit support for new features.
Apple Intelligence support is expected to arrive on the iPhone 15 Pro and other Apple devices in late 2024. Some AI functions are also anticipated to roll out next year.
Earlier reports noted that a Russian designer had revealed designs for the entire iPhone 16 series.