In a world where technology is increasingly conspiring to steal our focus and attention, my goal is to teach you how to be more productive with Apple technology. I want to help you achieve what is most important to you and enjoy your life at the same time using technology instead of becoming another one of its victims. Pretty much everything I make points at that North Star. I believe in this message so much that I’ve staked my livelihood on it.
Apple Intelligence and the iPhone
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Hello Friend, The technical reason appears to be memory. No existing iPhone except the iPhone 15 Pro has enough memory to hold the Apple Intelligence model and leave enough of it to get any work done. The deeper question is why Apple didn’t put more memory in earlier phones. I’ve got three potential explanations: The FumbleWith the AI boom of 2024, I expect Apple was pressured to release Apple Intelligence a year earlier than they actually wanted to, and they had not started ramping up iPhone memory soon enough to make this available on prior phones. They didn’t see ahead to realize what a big deal AI was going to become on Wall Street, and now they are rushing. In my mind, that still is the most likely explanation. The Capitalist ExplanationI’ve heard this one a bunch. People are speculating that this was intended to drive up new iPhone sales. The idea is that people will shorten their upgrade cycles to get Apple Intelligence. Maybe that's the case (although I have my doubts), but it doesn't really seem consistent with the overall picture. Apple made Apple Intelligence compatible with all of the existing Apple silicon Macs and iPads. If they were being that devious to drive iPhone sales, why not do something similar to the Mac and the iPad? While companies, including Apple, are capable of such decisions, this does not feel like that (to me). The Server LoadAnother possible explanation that occurs to me is that it was intentional. Not to sell more phones, but to limit the server load. When Apple Intelligence rolls out, it's going to be used by a lot of Apple device owners. The iPhone, in particular, is an incredibly popular device, with billions of them in circulation. Maybe Apple is concerned that Apple Intelligence servers will fail with that sort of initial load. (Remember the disastrous MobileMe launch?) The server load explanation makes more sense to me than the capitalist one. If Apple knew that Apple Intelligence was on the way but worried about their ability to keep up with the server load, I could absolutely see them limiting compatible iPhones. That’d be the easiest way to give Apple Intelligence a fighting chance. Still, if I had to pick just one, I'd say Fumble. Your pal, David p.s. The 6-part webinar series for the OmniFocus 4 Field Guide has been going great. The first 3 webinar recordings have already been added to the course, and there are two live sessions left, so it’s not too late to join.
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David Sparks (MacSparky)
In a world where technology is increasingly conspiring to steal our focus and attention, my goal is to teach you how to be more productive with Apple technology. I want to help you achieve what is most important to you and enjoy your life at the same time using technology instead of becoming another one of its victims. Pretty much everything I make points at that North Star. I believe in this message so much that I’ve staked my livelihood on it.
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