Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is reportedly focusing more on artificial intelligence and software as its hardware innovation slows down.
What Happened: In his latest weekly "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman said that Apple's devices are now designed to last longer, making it harder to entice consumers to upgrade regularly.
The company's latest report on product longevity reveals that devices from as far back as 2017 can still run Apple's current operating systems.
This trend has led to a decline in sales over the past six quarters, but it has also opened up opportunities for Apple to focus on software and AI. The upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, for instance, will not feature significant hardware changes but will require a recent model for users to access new Apple Intelligence features.
Apple's AI capabilities, including an upgraded version of Siri, are expected to be a major selling point for the iPhone 16. Similarly, new software enhancements could encourage Mac and iPad users to upgrade their devices.
"Though Macs from seven years ago will still run the next version of the Mac operating system — macOS Sequoia — features like iPhone Mirroring and Game Mode require newer hardware," the analyst noted.
As hardware upgrades slow down, Apple is also expected to rely more on service fees and subscriptions for revenue. The company is exploring the potential of turning AI features and other software into paid services, which could eventually lead to offerings like "Apple Intelligence+," Gurman noted.
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Why It Matters: Apple's choice to restrict features such as a supercharged Siri, image editing enhancements, and text-related improvements, to its latest iPhone models has ignited debates about the company's intentions and the effects on its user base.
Earlier this month, Apple's top executives said that limiting Apple Intelligence features was not a tactic to boost iPhone sales. The features, part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, leverage on-device, generative large-language models to enhance the user experience across Apple devices.
"You could, in theory, run these models on a very old device, but it would be so slow that it would not be useful," said Apple's AI/machine learning head John Giannandrea.
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据报道,随着苹果硬件创新放缓,其正在更加专注于人工智能和软件。
发生了什么:在他最新的每周"Power On"简报中,彭博专栏作家马克·格曼表示,苹果的设备现在设计得更耐用,这让吸引消费者定期升级变得更加困难。
公司最新的产品寿命报告显示,2017年的设备仍然可以运行苹果的当前操作系统。
这种趋势导致过去六个季度销售下降,但也为苹果专注于软件和人工智能开辟了机会。例如,即将推出的iPhone 16系列不会有重大的硬件改变,但用户需要使用近期型号才能访问新的苹果智能功能。
苹果的人工智能能力,包括升级版的Siri,预计将成为iPhone 16的主要卖点。同样,新的软件增强功能可能会鼓励Mac和iPad用户升级其设备。
分析师指出:“尽管七年前的Mac仍将运行下一个Mac操作系统 - macOS Sequoia,但iPhone镜像和游戏模式等功能需要更新的硬件。”
随着硬件升级放缓,苹果预计将更多地依赖服务费和订阅费用来获得营业收入。该公司正在探索将人工智能功能和其他软件变成付费服务的潜力,这最终可能会导致“Apple Intelligence+”等产品的推出,格曼指出。
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为什么很重要:苹果选择将超级Siri、图像编辑增强和与文本相关的改进等功能限制在其最新的iPhone型号上,引发了有关公司意图和对其用户群的影响的争议。
本月早些时候,苹果的高管表示,限制苹果智能功能并非为了提高iPhone销售额。这些功能是iOS 18、iPadOS 18和macOS Sequoia的一部分,利用设备内、生成大型语言模型来增强跨苹果设备的用户体验。
苹果的人工智能/机器学习负责人约翰·吉安德里亚说:“理论上,您可以在非常老的设备上运行这些模型,但速度会非常慢,无法发挥作用。”
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