I have a 12 Pro and will be upgrading to a 17 Pro this fall. I always look for significant spec jumps when determining when to upgrade. For me, the addition of 5G and the 50% increase to RAM (4 to 6GB) was the main driver of me upgrading from my 6s to a 12 Pro. The 17 Pro is getting a 50% increase (8 to 12GB) and that’s enough for me to finally upgrade and feel confident that I’ll get years and years of use just like I have with my 12 Pro. Apple Intelligence doesn’t factor into that decision but will be nice to have and could prove to be useful once the technology is sorted out and matures.
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iPhone 14/Plus Would you upgrade your iPhone 14 or lower for Apple Intelligence?
- Thread starter VitoBotta
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No, we could possibly be years away from it being a mature technology worth using and many people don't trust it now if ever. AI has not been a reason to upgrade so far.
I will be upgrading from an iP14 to the iP17 this September, but not because of AI. I use some of the summaries but nothing else. I’ve tried DeepSeek and CoPilot but don’t get much use form them either. I am looking forward to a much nicer iPhone - display, camera, better radios. Also, the 14 is new enough to make it worthwhile to pass on to a family member.
Definitely not, Apple Intelligence is pretty much non-existent and what there is of it doesn’t particularly work that well. Upgrade if you need a new phone if your phone is working fine then you don’t need to I found ChatGPT worked for me perfectly it did everything I needed gave me the answers to the things I wanted and since Siri can’t actually answer a question without linking to ChatGPT there isn’t much point in hoping Apple is gonna get drastically better in the next year. I hope to be proved wrong but I wouldn't buy a phone based on it.
If others enjoy AI, I don’t want to rain on their parade. But - for me - given what’s being offered with AI so far… there’s no way I would upgrade specifically for AI. In fact, all of my current Apple gear was purchased in 2024 or 2025. And I have AI turned off on each and every device.
I will replace the battery, my launch day 13 PM is around 83%. I have an M1 iPad Pro that still runs great. I like the writing tools and calculator on iPad, summary is nice, I have lot of notes.
All the AI tools are downloadable and work even on my old 11 Pro. Animojis, image playground and object removal are not worth $$$$. I will probably upgrade to 17 Pro but for the reason of better camera system, not for the AI
Even iPhone 17 doesn't come with 1.0 AI.
That's why Apple is naming it iOS 26. The complete feature set isn't expected until 2026.
That's why Apple is naming it iOS 26. The complete feature set isn't expected until 2026.
No. I don't plan to upgrade my iPhone 14 Pro to a newer model anytime soon. I did upgrade my wife's iPhone 13 Pro to a 15 Pro, and as far as I can tell it is not a great improvement over my iPhone 14 Pro other than Apple AI. But even AI my wife nor I want to use in our iPhones and macBooks, not even in our iPads
I don't see any need to allocate more iPhone memory and also battery power consumption to Apple AI. Her iPhone 13 Pro was doing quite well relating to battery power consumption, but her 15 Pro is quite a "battery hug". She has to charge her iPhone 15 every two days when capacity is around the high 30%, and I charge my iPhone 14 every 4 days when the capacity is around below 40%. The lower the battery's capacity remaining in the phone, the hotter it gets when charging it.What I did was to watch several videos about how to extend the iPhone's battery life by disabling a great number of settings, including Apple analytics, tracking, and so on, even AI is she does not need or want. I did the same with mine.
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Are you getting a good deal through your carrier?
I have been contemplating doing what you have put forward because my carrier’s deal is really good as long as I don’t change carriers going forward. If I do change carriers, I would have to pay off the original, full retail price of the phone.
EDIT: I have the 14 Pro and would move to the 16 Pro.
Changed wording.
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I won’t “upgrade” my 12 mini for Apple intelligence
If they ever made another mini I would for a nicer display
If they ever made another mini I would for a nicer display
I swapped my 14 PM in December 2024 with AC+. I thought about sell it to a colleague and upgrade to 16 pro, but my colleague decided for a new 16e.
If I will upgrade to 17 series I think it will only be because of battery failure from the 8 plus that my mum is still using: if needed I will give to her my 14 PM and will buy a new one for me.
If I will upgrade to 17 series I think it will only be because of battery failure from the 8 plus that my mum is still using: if needed I will give to her my 14 PM and will buy a new one for me.
Call me a deluded old fool, but I recently upgraded from an SE2 to a 15 (deliberately eschewing anything newer with enough RAM to handle Apple 'intelligence', as I'm simply not interested in it). I have USBC, Dynamic Island, no Action Button, a phone that I charge every three days (I guess I'm on the lighter end of the user scale), and I'm very happy. It was brand new on purchase (though I guess it had been sitting in its box for a while), and was cheaper than a 16 / the same price as the Apple Intelligence-tastic (but not as specced out) 16E.
I call you a smart buyer. You shopped for and purchased what you need in a phone. That's wisdom, not delusion my friend.
My 12 Mini is still going good, enough battery to stream Apple Music to my BT speaker all day at work (8hrs) but I am considering an upgrade to the 15, because it doesn't support AI. I'll worry about my next upgrade in about 6 years.
Where will they put the front camera? (The earpiece speaker in later models is now sitting between the metal frame and display. You have to really look for it)
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Type to Siri was available before AI and personally, it’s much faster and convenient to just open the ChatGPT app. Little to no waiting time, little chance it misunderstood me, ability to inquire further, the response doesn’t disappear after a short while, no „here is what I found on the web“.
I might use Siri more if it supported the ability to use it with a different language than the system language. I enjoy having my phone set to English because that makes troubleshooting and helping people online much much easier, but I’d like to have Siri set to German because most things I want to know in a jiffy come up during conversations and arguments with friends and family.
I can already type to Siri in German, I can dictate in German, I can talk to ChatGPT in any language and it understands me. Maybe that will be possible the day the Action Button has more than just the long press option…
I'm using an iPhone 11 while saving up to fix the screen on my iPhone 14. I expect to keep using my 14 for another couple of years. It's a really nice phone, and I love it.
AI is not a reason to upgrade. It's not even at the top of the list of features I'll compare when deciding which device to get! AI is a tool for developers to leverage to make better programs. In this context, I care about AI the same way I care about which language was used to code the software.
AI is not a reason to upgrade. It's not even at the top of the list of features I'll compare when deciding which device to get! AI is a tool for developers to leverage to make better programs. In this context, I care about AI the same way I care about which language was used to code the software.
I’m planning to upgrade to a 17 Pro Max from my 13 Pro this year — not because of the new AI stuff, but mostly because my current iPhone is definitely starting to show its age. Battery life has been pretty bad recently, and I’ve noticed some occasional stuttering across the system and apps too. Low-key I also want a bigger screen. As for the Apple Intelligence, I mostly just use ChatGPT anyway, so this isn't really a big deal for me
We’ll keep our two iPhone13minis for awhile longer; we don’t see AI as an update driver for either of us. Now if there were to be an iPhone17mini…two immediate buys.
I wouldn't in Apple Intelligence's current state. If I need to use it for some reason, I have access to it on my iPad and Mac.
I do kind of regret not being able to use workout buddy, but even that I can probably hold off on until I really need a new iPhone.
My trade-offs would be replacing 10 years of cumulated lightning accessories my spouse and I have for our devices, including my $140 keyboard case I still regularly use.
I just replaced the battery in my 14 Pro, I plan on using it at least until the iPhone 18 releases, if not longer.
I do kind of regret not being able to use workout buddy, but even that I can probably hold off on until I really need a new iPhone.
My trade-offs would be replacing 10 years of cumulated lightning accessories my spouse and I have for our devices, including my $140 keyboard case I still regularly use.
I just replaced the battery in my 14 Pro, I plan on using it at least until the iPhone 18 releases, if not longer.
Apple intelligence would not be a reason or consideration when I upgrade my iPhone.
Hardware improvements and software support would be the reason I would go from an iPhone 11 Pro Max to something newer.
Off topic: Project Indigo requires iOS 18.5 or later. iPhone 11 Pro Max can update/upgrade to iOS 18.5 but the app will only work on iPhone 12 Pro and newer and iPhone 14 and newer.
Hardware improvements and software support would be the reason I would go from an iPhone 11 Pro Max to something newer.
Off topic: Project Indigo requires iOS 18.5 or later. iPhone 11 Pro Max can update/upgrade to iOS 18.5 but the app will only work on iPhone 12 Pro and newer and iPhone 14 and newer.