iOS 18's AI Features Could Revive iPhone Sales in China
iOS 18's rumored AI features could revive faltering iPhone sales in China, according to DigiTimes.
In a paywalled report, DigiTimes explains that despite the Chinese market pivoting toward high-end devices, iPhone sales have reportedly struggled since the start of 2024 in the region against rival brands offering generative AI features and foldable displays.
In December 2023, Apple reportedly saw a 13% decline in revenue in China, following months as the top smartphone brand in the country by shipments, and there have been further reports of even more severe declines of up to 40% in recent weeks. Chinese consumers apparently see Apple's diminutive selection of AI features as contradictory to its image as a pioneering brand.
DigiTimes reiterated previous rumors suggesting that iOS 18 will contain a number of new AI features, but cautioned that Apple needs to make significant progress in the AI space to meet consumer expectations and revive the company's popularity in China amid fierce competition from brands like Huawei, which are heavily investing in AI research and development.
On an earnings call earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company was working on generative AI and would share details "later this year." Apple is expected to preview iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June, and the update should be released in September. Some new AI features could be exclusive to the iPhone 16 models later in the year, with the lineup rumored to get a "significantly" upgraded Neural Engine.
Popular Stories
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports.
The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings.
iOS 26.4 will...
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below.
Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle
Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
