Apple has rarely used software features to differentiate product hierarchy levels. They cut features on older models, not newer ones. When they release a new product that can't use all the features of the OS, people ask why and Apple does not want to tell them the hardware isn't up to the job any more than they want to tell them its so they can charge more money. It's not like it's a pro feature that only hardcore users would want or need. It's a core feature that everyone will want. It's not a super high quality camera or a top binned CPU.
So, imma break it down paragraph by paragraph.
“Rarely use“ doesn’t mean they will NEVER use. Apple has surprised us from time to time when cutting Off devices from latest iOS support, latest example being A10X iPad not supported while A10 does. But put that aside, Apple always wants as many people buying higher end devices as possible.
As for the AI “everyone will want it”, I highly doubt it. iOS nowadays have tons of features general public don’t know or don’t use, for example the preserve camera Setting feature to lock some of them so they don‘t go back to Apple default. I have a hard time believing “everyone will want AI on their device”. Even on this very forum I can see some people wanting to know if there is a way to “turn off AI”, which speaks for themselves.
AI is a core feature in Apple’s mind yes. It’s not a core feature in everyone‘s mind.
Ai isn't a pro feature, it's all about core apps like your calendar and reminders but much more importantly, it's about search. AI gives Apple a path to circumvent search queries around Google and send them wherever they choose instead. This is an opportunity they thought they'd get with Siri but Siri search was clunky and slightly annoying. Adding AI makes it much more usable. Don't underestimate the value of searching the internet. It's how Google pays for everything they do. Apple will want to spread this far, wide and fast.
I can't think of a time they've released a new product that couldn't handle an OS feature due to inadequate hardware. I do not see them starting here.
AI might not be a pro feature in your mind, but even if you just talk about search, it is still quite an advanced feature compared to “math notes” which school kids can benefit from greatly. Unlike traditional search, you have to know how to carefully construct your query to get the best result possible, since there is no script/syntax to follow along. Besides, if search is the cornerstone of AI, Apple doesn’t have to limit AI search behind
8GB of RAM no, Considering searching Google means query is guaranteed to be sent to servers for processing?
However, let’s say 8GB of RAM and M1 are given to base model devices, same as base model M3 iPad Pro released not too long ago, what would people think? Oh and M1 is a variant of A14, and current base model iPad is also on A14, meaning little performance gain for 8GB of RAM and a brand new SKU. I wonder what would people think when they buy current iPad a couple of days/weeks prior to that assumed refresh.
Nor do I see any likelihood of a catastrophic rollout by giving it to all new models. Doing a lot of the work on-device mean that there will be less strain on the AI servers and less traffic over the network. It's not like every Apple customer is going to go out and immediately buy a new model anyway. People use this kit for a long time, though the days of 10 year lifespan iPads was only ever the iPad 2. None of the others stayed current/useful anywhere near as long.
If you have seen the CloudStrike and Microsoft fiasco and the global fallout of our digital world, you will know why I support a staged rollout instead of rolling out all at once. AI change is big for Apple, and generally tweaking AI is akin to play with a black box. You don’t want a rouge AI spitting out dangerous nonsense and controversial news dominate headlines, social media platforms and more, hurting the pretty much the last chance to salvage Siri.
While you are right That many, if not most people would not go rush out and buy a new iPad just for the sake of AI anyways, this further proves that staged rollout is better than releasing all at once to everyone. Who knows, maybe some bits of AI can be released to slightly less RAM machine later.
Apple's implementation of AI is different because it's much more on device than other vendors who offload everything to the cloud. Many users will like this fact but many more will not care at all. Which means they need to compete when Samsung or Google copy it with a cloud-based facsimile that works on every Galaxy/Android phone without any gatekeeping.
Apple Intelligence could drive a lot of sales if people are getting it and raving about it. It won't drive many if the half-assed spamdroid version has been more widely available for 6 months.
Exactly because it is on-device, more care and attention is needed so the negative impact doesn’t get out of control, unlike cloud-only version which only the AI cloud need to be thoroughly tested and checked, less work too. Fortunately Apple doesn’t have a ton of different processors to worry about, but still a lot of work To do, something Apple has proven themselves not very good at When rolling out other features.
As for driving sales, I’m sorry but I bet there are enough people out there fearing AI in general that they’d prefer a device that lacks such support or at least can be fully turned off.
To address the last point of “tech illiterate”, in general it means people who just uses their device to get the job done, rarely or never visit tech website like MacRumors for latest tech news etc. My boss cant even distinctively tell which generation of iPhone he is having right now sometimes, which speaks for themselves.
