Apple explained: Why doesn`t Apple Intelligence work on older devices?

iOS 18 artificial intelligence features introduced as Apple Intelligence are only available on iPhone 15 Pro. So why can't it be used on older devices? Explanation came from Apple for the restriction.

Apple offers a new personalised AI experience called Apple Intelligence, which uses large on-device language models in iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia. However, the new AI features are limited to certain devices. iPhone requires iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max on the iPhone side, and iPad and Mac require a model with M1 or newer processor. So, why doesn't Apple Intelligence, which has revolutionised Siri, work on older devices? For those who wondered about this, a statement came from Apple.

Apple: Technically possible but not useful

John Giannandrea, Apple's head of artificial intelligence/machine learning, says that running large language models is computationally expensive and requires a lot of processing power and bandwidth, and that running large language models on older devices is technically possible but would be too slow to be useful.

Apple: Not a plan to sell new iPhones!

Greg Joswiak, Apple's chief marketing officer, says this limitation is not a plan to sell new iPhones, noting that the latest iPads and Macs also do not support Apple Intelligence.

Craig Federighi, Apple's head of software engineering, said the company is always trying to bring new features to older devices, but Apple Intelligence requires certain hardware to work properly. iPhone 15 Pro models use the A16 Pro chip with 16-core Neural Engine, which is much faster than the A17 chip found in older models. Federighi also points out that RAM is another factor, with all compatible devices having at least 8GB of RAM.

While Apple Intelligence will be limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16 series to be introduced in September, the iOS 18 update will bring many new features to older devices. iPhone XR and newer models will be updated to iOS 18 in September.