Questions about the reasons why Apple Intelligence doesn’t work on older iPhones have been raised, with the company explaining that the answers would take too long because the chips aren’t powerful enough. However, many people wonder why Apple Intelligence servers are not used when older devices are not up to the task. Apple has made some clarifications on this.
Why Apple Intelligence doesn’t work on older iPhones: Chip power and server utilization
Apple’s explanation for why older iPhones cannot use Apple Intelligence is that they are not powerful enough. In John Gruber’s discussions with Apple, it was pointed out that the design of Apple Intelligence is completely different between models that work on the cloud and models that work on the device. Because it’s a model that determines what tasks can be done on the device, older iPhones can’t do that.
Many people question why everything isn’t done on Private Cloud Compute if the device isn’t fast or powerful enough. This is already used for many Siri requests. But Apple Intelligence’s complete reliance on computing power in the cloud would significantly increase server demand and exceed Apple’s current capacity.
Another surprising development is that Apple Intelligence will not be supported on Vision Pro. Although Vision Pro has the powerful M2 chip, it is already reportedly running close to the limits of its capacity. Vision Pro makes heavy use of the M2’s Neural Engine for real-time processing purposes. Therefore, there is not enough spare capacity for Apple Intelligence.
Apple’s failure to support Apple Intelligence on Vision Pro is disappointing, given that the platform is designed almost exclusively for AI. But future products like Apple Glasses are sure to include the technology.
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Gruber also notes that constantly asking for permission to switch to ChatGPT can be annoying for users. For now, Apple does not offer an “Always allow” option. This means that users will have to give permission every time, but this may change in the future.
In short, Apple Intelligence doesn’t work on older iPhones because their chips aren’t powerful enough, and doing all of this over the cloud would increase server demand too much. Vision Pro doesn’t support Apple Intelligence for the same reason.
