Apple's Next Product Category

watch out, Amazon.

Author

Brandon Butch
July 05, 2024 • 📖 Read time: 9 minutes

MacRumors

Welcome back! 🍎
Here’s the latest with Apple.

  • Apple Intelligence = paid service?

  • Apple’s next home accessory

  • iPhone 16 details

  • & more!

📖 Read time: 3.8 minutes

📊 Poll

Last week, I asked: Do you think RCS will solve all of the issues with messaging Android users?

Wow, this is the closest poll yet!

Here are some of my favorite replies:

Yes - “With better quality of videos and photos between apple and android, it’ll make sending high quality files much better. Once the update is rolled out to all IOS devices, I feel like groups with Android will not be as bad!”

No - “It will solve a lot of problems, but not all. The blue bubble bullying in schools will still continue in the US. I imagine Apple will keep holding back certain features, to keep leverage with iMessage (which, by the way, is a dead animal outside of the US). And not to mention, it is still not interoperable with other messaging platforms, although that might be more of a burden for RCS than Apple.”

This week: Would you pay monthly for Apple Intelligence if it were impressive enough? If so, which features would be worth it?

Would you pay for some Apple Intelligence features?

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🗞️ The Latest

⚙️ Apple Intelligence = Paid?

Apple is working on bringing Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro, but not the HomePod. Apple is also planning to charge a monthly fee for some AI features.

  • Apple is planning to bring Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro headset, but not in 2024.

  • The headset has 16GB of RAM, so it will have no problem running any AI task thrown its way. Apple knows this and will likely position the Vision Pro as a productivity machine.

  • The HomePod, however, is not expected to feature Apple Intelligence. Instead. Apple will put the AI features on "an entirely new robotic device with a display that includes Apple Intelligence at its core."

Paid AI Features

  • Apple eventually plans to turn some of its AI features into paid services, similar to iCloud+ subscriptions.

  • Apple Intelligence will be free to start but Apple's long-term plan is to launch something like "Apple Intelligence+” — with extra features that users pay monthly fees for, just like iCloud.

  • On top of the fee for the user (you & I), Apple will get a cut of the subscription revenue from every AI partner that it brings onboard.

  • It’s also expected that Apple will agree on a deal with Google and Anthropic to offer their AI services through its devices. Google’s announcement is expected at the fall launch of Apple Intelligence.

My take: I’d expect most of the AI features to remain free for life but some of the more sophisticated functions and the ability to choose between different models will likely require the AI+ subscription in the future.

Also, don’t ignore those last 2 bullet points. Taking a small cut from every AI partner is huge for Apple, especially when one of those partners is Google!

🏠 Apple's Next 'Home Accessory'

MacRumors

Apple is actively working on their long-rumored “HomePod with a screen” accessory and it might be coming later this year!

  • Code found on Apple's backend confirms a device with the identifier "HomeAccessory17,1." That’s a new identifier category.

  • The “17,1” in the identifier name suggests that it could include Apple's A18 chip coming later this year.

  • The code also indicates that it will be running a software variant of tvOS, just like the current ‌HomePod‌s. homeOS?

  • Apple has been exploring a 3-in-1 device that combines the Apple TV, HomePod, and FaceTime camera. Another concept was a HomePod with a screen that “swivels like a robotic arm.”

  • Apple will allegedly put AI features on this device aka "an entirely new robotic device with a display that includes Apple Intelligence at its core."

My take: I’m excited for a new Apple product category and this could be a kitchen essential if it does what the Amazon Echo Show does, but better.

And how can it do it better? Apple Intelligence, of course!

I think Apple will stick with the "robotic arm” concept, as they launched DockKit last year, which allows motorized stands to track subjects in video frames.

📲 Fresh iPhone 16 Details

MacRumors

The iPhone 16 is expected to be a major seller for Apple and the increase in supplies from the supply chain supports this thought.

  • Apple upped its order of next-gen TSMC chips (A18) to 90-100M units.

  • That’s compared to last year’s 80-90M initial chip order volume for the iPhone 15 series.

  • This indicates that Apple is anticipating higher demand for the 2024 iPhone lineup.

The Same Chip for All Models

  • Code discovered in Apple's backend confirms that Apple plans to release four iPhone 16 models this year and all will have the same A-series chip.

  • The code includes the iPhone 16 identifiers as iPhone17,1 through iPhone17,5.

  • All five of these identifiers start with the same number, which suggests that Apple will use the same chip in them.

  • Apple will still likely have A18 and A18 Pro chips to differentiate the base model and the “pro” models. This could be done by offering more GPU cores for the Pro.

My take: This is exciting news for those planning to upgrade to the iPhone 16! Since all models will share the same A-series chip, you likely won’t need the “pro” phone to take advantage of Apple Intelligence.

I see Apple Intelligence being Apple’s main selling point for the 16 and 16 Plus. I wouldn’t expect a big difference from the 15.

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