I doubt you could go to a tech-focused show without someone talking about artificial intelligence. At MWC 2024, the likes of Qualcomm championed AI in phones, cars and more, while Samsung had its range of Galaxy S24 phones present and correct to show off the Galaxy AI features they come with.
Now AI has probably been around for years, in one form or another. Of course, we don’t have true general AI with human-level intelligence or cognitive power. But machine learning algorithms have been providing musings and streaming recommendations for a while now, translating text and figuring out what’s in photos. Yet 2023 saw the rise of generative AI, where smart software can produce things based on instructions and inferences, rather than simply working with what it already has.
For everything from coming up with vacation plans to creating content, generative AI – powered by the likes of ChatGPT – has become a big deal. In consumer technology, you only have to look at the smart photo editing and language recognition features of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro to see such AI in action.
So it’s no surprise that the still-rumored iPhone 16 is tipped with generative AI features, with Apple likely to be fashionably late to the show by introducing a new level of AI-powered smartphone tools.
But I’m not concerned with that.
Stick to the point
Of course, AI has played a role in iPhones for centuries, with the Neural Engine on Apple’s A-series chips powering machine learning algorithms, and the Semantic Rendering making the iPhone consistently on our list of the best camera phones. However, I’m not too keen on Apple delving deeply into generative AI.
Apple’s phone photography itself is hardly “real,” given the way its camera system captures data and images before pressing the shutter button, stitching together multiple shots. You’re not likely to get the exact scene you’re photographing as a perfect snapshot in a split second.
Still, the image processing applied often felt like the most realistic of all the phones I use; iPhones have no trouble leaving dark areas dark and highlights blooming in all their glory when the scene calls for it. And this is one of the main reasons why I use an iPhone 15 Pro Max despite the temptation of Android.
While iPhones have no shortage of editing options or filters, I usually enjoy the photos they take in their default settings (or at least in certain modes) that are very Instagrammable or reach a standard where it’s fine to post them on this website . The idea of having more AI technology to tamper with these photos and move away from the realism that I believe anchors iPhone photography doesn’t excite my phone-loving synapse.
I’m fine with generative AI on Pixel phones, as they’ve always seemed like a testing ground for tech innovation; Additionally, Google does a good job with AI tools and integration. And on Galaxy phones, generative AI kind of fits with the whole maximalist “here’s a feature for everything” vibe that I think Samsung’s flagship phones have.
I wouldn’t object to a smarter Siri and other behind-the-scenes optimizations made possible by smart processing. But I don’t want a next-generation iPhone to be crammed with generative AI that manipulates photos beyond realism or offers too many suggestions.
That’s because I view iPhones as inherently practical devices; something that’s simple and somewhat manual to use, where I give it permission to pull data from text when it needs to, rather than an AI-powered assistant or interface trying to do everything for me. I think Apple’s emphasis on arguably limited interfaces and customization, combined with a well-curated app store, reflects this sentiment. The iPhone is an everyday tool you use, like a watch, and not a super smart gadget.
Conversely, the design and intention behind some of the best Android phones is intended to be more like gadgets that you can interact with and manipulate into what you want. That’s fine with me, and there’s room for Androids like that in my life.
But my appreciation for iPhones comes from their simplicity, privacy, ease of use, and stylish tool-like functionality. This makes them feel boring compared to their Android counterparts, but that quietly appeals to me when I just want something to get things done without a bunch of AI stuff getting in the way.
Apple has a reputation for fine-tuning existing technology to make the user experience super smooth. So there is a good chance that this is possible with generative AI.
But right now I feel like generative AI isn’t as capable as I’d like – even Google’s Magic Editor isn’t that robust in my experience. Instead of getting carried away with the AI hype, I’d like to see the next generation iPhone focus on offering more of what Apple is known for: a phone that “just works.”