Artificial intelligence has started entering the minutest aspects of our personal and professional lives. What was once a thing of the sci-fi world for writers to imagine now thrives not just in a fictionalized landscape but in reality.
Today, AI is within everyone’s reach and anyone with fundamental knowledge of how software and systems work can leverage it to fit their needs and serve their purpose.
For instance, in the latest example of the all-pervasive nature of AI, iPhone 16 and Pixel 9, the most recent versions of two of the most sought-after smartphones, have come custom-built for AI.
When you look through the specs of all iPhones released so far, both iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro come with the tag, ‘Built for Apple Intelligence.’ Similarly, as per Google’s own detailed outlining of the Pixel 9 phones, the series comes with Gemini, introducing a whole new level of AI assistance.
In the next segment, we will explore this shift where manufacturers are keen to introduce fully AI-enabled phones.
Manufacturers Shift Towards Fully AI-Enabled Phones
The smartphone industry has been experiencing a lull. There were reports suggesting that these devices—once thought to be the most critical signifier of our times—were slowly becoming uninspiring.
Nevertheless, no one could ignore their dominance, with more than 3 billion smartphones in operation globally. What started shifting the focus back to smartphones was the emergence of AI-powered devices.
While AI wasn’t conceptually new to manufacturers, it was revitalized with the introduction of ChatGPT and the immense potential of Generative AI.
According to reports, Gen AI-powered smartphones are poised to become the fastest-growing segment in the smartphone category, surpassing non-AI-enabled devices. Between 2023 and 2028, Gen AI smartphone shipments are projected to grow from 51 million units to 912 million units, registering a CAGR of 78.4%.
Though we will discuss the features and usefulness of these devices in detail in the coming segments, AI-enabled smartphones are expected to disrupt various use cases and adoption areas, including work environments, healthcare and well-being, education, entertainment, and mobility.
But before we delve deeper into usability and benefits, we shall first explore the features of the iPhone 16 and Pixel 9 to understand the extent and implementation of AI integration.
The AI Spec Sheet With Enhanced Features for iPhone 16 and Pixel 9
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 comes with the Beta version of Apple Intelligence, which is set to open up ‘new possibilities.’ As stated by the company, the iPhone 16 is built for Apple Intelligence, the company’s personal intelligence system that helps users write, express themselves, and get things done effortlessly.
At the launch event of the iPhone 16, all decked up with advanced AI integrations, the Apple CEO spoke in the most optimistic tone about the possibilities. He said:
“We are excited to introduce the first iPhones built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence and its revolutionary features.”
He expressed hope that the powerful personal AI system of Apple Intelligence will have a ‘tremendous impact’ as “for years, artificial intelligence and machine learning have been crucial in delivering many features you (users) love.”
In summary, Apple Intelligence comprises three components: productivity-boosting tools, visual expression tools, and enhanced personal assistance services.
With productivity tools, users can generate summaries of their transcripts. Capturing these notes and generating the transcripts is as simple as hitting the record button.
Moreover, in the area of writing, these tools can proofread the text and rewrite different versions until the tone and wording are just right! The tools can also do message prioritization by elevating time-sensitive messages to the top of one’s inbox.
In terms of visual expression tools, Apple’s intelligence has achieved a great deal. For instance, it is now possible to create images that are both original and personal. The Image Playground app allows users to generate unique images in seconds based on a description, a concept, or even a person from their Photos library.
Additionally, users can experiment with these images in styles like animation, illustration, and sketching. The AI integrations also enable the creation of conversation-matching emojis called Genmojis.
Moreover, with the Clean Up function, users can now remove distracting background objects from photos with just a tap.
When it comes to enhancing personal assistance, AI introduces Siri to a new era altogether, with richer language understanding and an enhanced voice. Siri has become more sophisticated in conducting day-to-day activities, such as scheduling a text message to send later and much more.
Furthermore, the AI features empower Siri with an understanding of the user’s personal context, allowing it to become uniquely helpful. For example, Siri can now seamlessly locate the user’s passport number at the time of booking a flight without compromising privacy.
Lastly, hardware-wise, the iPhone 16 comes equipped with an A18 Chip, custom-built for Apple Intelligence, which is two generations ahead of the A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 15. The chip is meant to handle IQ and powers next-level camera features like photographic styles and camera control with exceptional power efficiency to extend battery life.
Now, let us look into the impact of AI integration in Pixel 9.
Pixel9
Google has officially published a list of 14 new features in its Pixel devices, including smartphones, watches, and earbuds that hold the potential of AI in them. For instance, Gemini comes as a personal assistant in these phones, which is intricately integrated with Google apps and Android and can handle complex queries without hand-off to third-party AI providers.
Pixel 9 also comes with a host of photo-enhancement tools. The Add Me feature, for instance, uses augmented reality and AI to help capture perfectly complete group photos. The Magic Editor allows users to re-imagine their photos using generative AI, while Auto Frame helps recompose images and put a better focus on the subject.
The all-new powerful Pixel Studio comes empowered with a first-of-its-kind image generator powered by an on-device diffusion model running on Tensor G4 and Google’s Imagen 3 text-to-image model in the cloud. It helps users bring ideas to life with easy-to-use prompting, style changes, personal stickers and on-device editing.
The new Pixel Weather app leverages AI to offer more accurate forecasts. The Pixel Screenshots app helps save, organize and recall information from screenshots, while a new feature called Call Notes helps save a private summary of conversations after a phone call. Google Keep helps create a list of things for whatever the user might need, including a weekly grocery shopping trip for a family of four or a to-do list for an upcoming camping trip.
Like the iPhone 16, the Pixel comes with robust hardware updates to accommodate AI. The Google Tensor G4 is claimed by Google as its fastest, most powerful chip yet, custom-built for advanced AI like Gemini, and helping Pixel run quickly and smoothly.
As per numbers published by Google itself, the Tensor G4 makes browsing the web 20% faster and launching apps 17% faster on average.
While all these enhancements and feature integrations would be a treat to experience, there might come questions in one’s mind on the necessity of all these. Is it really helpful to have all these features on one’s phone? Do they improve productivity? Do they really make our lives easier? Or, are they mere enhancements to make the smartphones sell more? A bait to entice consumers to go for one more smartphone purchase?
Useful or Gimmick?
One fact that we must never lose sight of is the glaring presence of AI in our everyday lives. According to estimates, the generative AI market is all set to grow from a market size of US$5.51 billion in 2020 to over US$356 billion in 2030.
Such growth is nearly impossible to register without GenAI spreading out to every nook and corner of our lives. Smartphones, one of the most crucial devices of our modern-day lives, must not stay immune to it; however, whether the adoption is meant to be a marketing gimmick, only time will tell.
So far, industry experts have developed strong grounds to justify AI adoption in Smartphones. Here, we will examine these driving factors in brief.
With AI and Machine learning, it is possible for smartphones to become more perceptive about human behavior and its patterns without the system requiring resource and power-intensive explicit programming.
The AI is capable of analyzing data and making increasingly accurate predictions.
The Deep Learning qualities of an AI-powered system make it possible to utilize complex algorithms well. It can work similar to the way the human brain functions. This quality makes it possible for a smartphone AI to recognize complex patterns, including faces in photos or voices in recordings.
Finally, the Natural Language Processing capabilities of AI help make powerful voice assistants and chatbots that can easily understand and respond to the user’s natural language.
Now, the question is, how do all these AI enhancements make our lives better? How are they useful?
Well, for starters, they come together to make more helpful and useful virtual companions who can understand commands better and take appropriate actions. These actions may include setting a reminder, making a call, or getting directions. Everything with just a voice command. In this world of apparent clutter and chaos, these AI enhancements help make systems and devices more sensitive and can make recommendations in a more personalized way.
These recommendations might include picking up interest-based news articles, purchasing history-compatible shopping lists, and much more.
Having smartphones custom-built for AI also means more efficient usage of resources as the AI can analyze usage patterns and optimize battery consumption. It can learn the nuances of how the user typically uses his device and make processes optimized to extend battery life.
AI incorporation also makes smartphones more entertaining, engaging, and satisfying for the user by helping them to automatically adjust settings for optimal photos, suggest filters and edits based on the scene, and remove unwanted objects.
Smart lock screens and accurate weather prediction tools also look after the aspect of safety and security.
AI is also helping smartphones to go beyond the realm of convenience and become devices that are vital to our health and wellness as these devices can analyze health data and offer personalized health insights if provided with the necessary permission. They can track sleep patterns, monitor heart rates and suggest optimized diets.
With all these helpful features a voice or text command away, it is absolutely possible to think of AI-powered smartphones as something absolutely useful that will go a long way in making our lives better.
However, we must not forget that purchasing a new smartphone requires money. Buying a high-end AI-compatible smartphone is even more expensive at this point. Therefore, many consumers are searching for ways they can turn their existing regular smartphone into an AI-enabled one.
How to Update or Upgrade?
iPhone 16
For Apple consumers, it is possible to get $180 to $650 in credit when they trade in iPhone 12 or higher, or up to $1,000 in credits to put toward iPhone 16 Pro with a carrier promotion. Apple Intelligence will be available as a free software update and the first set of Apple Intelligence features will be available in beta from October as part of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.
It will be available on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPad and Mac with M1 and later, with device and Siri language set to U.S. English. Additional languages and platforms are coming over the course of the next year.
Later this year, Apple intelligence will also add support for localized English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. and will expand to more languages, including Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish.
Pixel 9
For Pixel Phones, there are regular software updates that include security enhancements, new features, operating system updates, bug fixes, and more. Pixel updates for 7 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the US. For instance, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold come with guaranteed security updates until at least August 2031 and may also include new and upgraded features with Feature Drops.
Apart from updating or upgrading a product line to the next version, an efficient way to start using AI on your phone is by using chatbots as an alternative to search engines. Open AI’s ChatGPT is immensely popular and has now become almost synonymous with AI. Microsoft has incorporated GPT-4 into their Bing app, which allows users to make side-by-side comparisons of search vs chatbot results. Apart from that, Microsoft also has its chatbot called Copilot.
Apart from the two models we have already highlighted, in the days to come there will come many devices with similar capabilities.
The market will become more inclusive, accessible, and democratic. Some of such competitors include Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, etc. Samsung’s product, for instance, comes with a transcription summariser built into the voice recorder, real-time voice translation, and Circle to Search, a tool developed by Google that allows users to draw a circle around anything on screen and search it on Google. Xiaomi’s candidate features AI-generated subtitles for video calls and an AI Portrait feature that lets users take a selfie and add a different background.
The list of features and the volume of benefits to derive from them will only increase in the days to come. However, companies must be utmost careful in their AI deployment so that there is little invasion of user privacy and zero compromise with data security and integrity.
Can You Turn a Regular Smartphone into an AI-enabled Phone?
Although device manufacturers may not offer an option to turn old phones into AI-enabled devices (atleast for now), there are other effective ways. For example, users can add advanced AI to their phones using existing apps and services.
Google Assistant and Siri, available on most platforms, enable voice-activated task management. Additionally, AI-powered camera apps detect scenes and enhance photos in real-time.
One can also use Google Lens for instant translation and object recognition, enhancing the phone’s functionality. To automate settings based on user behavior-improving functionality, users can look into IFTTT and Tasker.
Ultimately, these changes can make older smartphones smarter with AI-like capabilities.
Long-term Outlook of Apple and Google’s Foray Into AI-enabled Phones
Despite a drop in stock price following the launch of Apple’s AI-enabled iPhone 16, there’s no denying that this launch is a positive development and will boost the company’s long-term attractiveness and add to its revenue.
In 2023, Apple earned $97 billion on $383.29 billion in revenue, with iPhone sales contributing $201 billion to their revenue. Meanwhile, Services, including digital content and cloud services, earned Apple $85 billion.
Similarly, the news about Google’s (Alphabet) Pixel 9 launch will contribute to long-term optimism toward GOOGL stock. However, unlike Apple, a significant portion of Google’s revenue comes from its advertising & related services.
Revenue-wise, Alphabet earned $307.39 billion in 2023, up 8.68%. The company’s net profit was $59 billion, primarily from Google’s advertising and cloud services.
Conclusion
With the introduction of Apple Intelligence and Google Gemini, the iPhone 16 and Pixel 9 are significantly enhancing user experiences through AI. These AI-enabled smartphones particularly excel in photography, productivity, and personal assistance. By positioning their AI-powered devices for long-term growth, these companies reflect an industry-wide shift toward AI integration.
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