Artificial intelligence (AI) has joined the lexicon for the various now-viral applications of machine learning software. Now, Apple has arrived, unsurprisingly, fashionably late with its own implementation of AI that's slated to hit hundreds of millions of users. Apple announced in iOS 18 that it will be introducing Apple Intelligence to its new line-up of devices while also outlining what older generation iPhones will get the new features.
Simply put, to use Apple Intelligence, you will need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, which are both under a year old at the current time of writing. As for Mac users, Apple states Apple Intelligence will work on Mac's using Apple Silicon, which is models 2020 and up. So, why this gatekeeping of new AI features from older generations? This problem can be viewed in multiple ways.
A common take would be to suggest Apple simply wants to increase its bottom line by enticing consumers with new features that are locked to the latest generation devices to sell more units. While that is certainly happening, there is also a very real hardware limitation for AI features, at least according to Apple and, separately, Microsoft with its Copilot+ PCs . According to both companies AI features require new hardware called an NPU, or a Neural Processing Unit, which is only found on the latest generation Apple devices.
The addition of this NPU, alongside other components such as a GPU, CPU and RAM, make for an Apple Intelligence-compatible device. Howe.
