73% of iPhone Owners Say ‘No Thanks’ to Apple Intelligence: New Data Echoes CNET’s Findings
As Apple launches its latest Apple information iPhone features iOS 18.2a new survey from a trade magazine sales cell shows that 73% of iPhone users and 87% of Samsung users claim that new AI features add “little to no value” to their phone experience.
The new report echoes a similar survey conducted by CNET in late August 2024, which found that battery life and storage capacity were more important factors in people’s purchasing decisions to upgrade their smartphones. Gen Z is more willing to pay for AI than Millennials, Gen X or Baby Boomers, and they are less concerned about privacy risks. Here’s everything CNET’s investigation found.
Key takeaways from CNET’s investigation:
- A quarter of smartphone users (25%) find AI features unhelpful, 45% are unwilling to pay a monthly subscription fee for AI features, and 34% are concerned about privacy issues.
- Just over half (52%) of smartphone owners have no interest in purchasing a foldable phone.
- The top motivation for U.S. adult smartphone users to upgrade their devices is longer battery life (61%), followed by more storage (46%) and better camera features (38%). Only 18% said their primary motivation was AI integration.
As smartphone makers like Apple, Google and Samsung increasingly focus on artificial intelligence features in their latest devices, a CNET survey found that a quarter of smartphone owners don’t find these features particularly useful, with just 18% said AI integration was their main motivation for upgrading their phones.
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CNET respondents said the top motivations for buying a new device are longer battery life (61%), more storage (46%) and better camera features (38%).
This comes as Apple launches its latest batch of products Apple information Features and iOS 18.2includes ChatGPT integration for Siri and the ability to create custom emojis Genmon Temple and a tool called “Text to Image” Image Playground. The iPhone maker launched its first set of AI features in October, including A smarter Siri, AI-driven writing tools and photo editing. Apple Intelligence is available at iPhone 15 Pro models and iphone 16 product lineup (as well as iPad and Mac models with M1 chips and above). iPhone 16 users can also visit visual intelligencea visual search tool that helps identify objects and places around you and displays any relevant information.
Google is also investing heavily in rolling out AI features Pixel 9 August series, spending a lot of time on keynotes Discuss new features in Gemini like livewhich lets you have natural-sounding back-and-forth conversations with your virtual assistant. in July Unpack During the incident, Samsung also touted Galaxy Artificial Intelligencewhich simplifies tasks like translating messages and editing photos.
These new features rely on generative artificial intelligence, which itself has been embedded in smartphones for years, to generate text or images or augment digital assistants. For example, your phone camera uses AI to process images and blur the background in portrait mode, while Siri and Google Assistant have always been AI-based (albeit using less advanced versions of the technology). Because this new wave of AI introduces ways to accomplish tasks more explicitly on your phone, rather than incorporating existing functionality, it may take some time for people to get used to it.
Artificial Intelligence could soon cost you – but not everyone is convinced
As tech giants continue to roll out these AI features, consumers may soon have to pay a price if they want to keep using them. Samsung’s website says its Galaxy AI features “will be available for free on supported Samsung Galaxy devices through the end of 2025.” To take full advantage of the power of Gemini in Google apps, you need to subscribe Gemini Premium. Apple will probably do the same one day Some iPhone features powered by artificial intelligence require fees.
many Consumers are not sold. In a CNET survey in September, nearly half of smartphone owners said they were unwilling to pay extra to use artificial intelligence on their phones. That’s not surprising, considering subscription fatigue is already frustrating people. other CNET Research A survey from April found that U.S. adults spend an average of $91 per month on subscription services. Two-thirds of respondents said at least one of their subscriptions had become more expensive in the last year. Adding an additional monthly fee may not be all that attractive.
Still, some people are eager to take advantage of AI on their phones, with Gen Z and Millennials the most enthusiastic: CNET’s survey found that 20% of respondents from each generation said they were excited about AI capabilities , and found them helpful. Additionally, 15% of Gen Z and 16% of Millennials use AI on their phones to perform tasks such as photo editing, image creation, and summarizing or writing text. Additionally, 20% of Gen Z and 19% of Millennials regularly use AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini on their smartphones.
Privacy remains a key issue when it comes to artificial intelligence, with a third (34%) of smartphone owners surveyed by CNET saying they were uncomfortable with it. Tech giants are increasingly taking privacy issues seriously in keynotes focused on artificial intelligence. in its Global Developers Conference For example, Apple noted in June that many of its AI model runs on deviceis generally considered more private because the information does not have to be transmitted over the Internet. When a task requires more computing power, relevant data is sent to Apple Silicon Serverand the data will not be stored or could be used by Apple, the company said.
The biggest reasons to upgrade your smartphone
With AI being one of the last reasons consumers want to upgrade their smartphones, other considerations like longer battery life, more storage and better camera capabilities still dominate CNET’s survey. Other motivating factors include phone display and screen size (32%); maintaining the same ecosystem, such as iOS or Android (24%); and phone color (10%).
Due to the high cost of the device (many flagship phones cost between $800 and $1,200), consumers may not want to Upgrade their equipment frequently. According to our survey, 44% of people claimed that they would only buy a new device if their current phone broke or needed to be replaced. Additionally, 30% of people keep their devices for three years or more, while 18% upgrade every two years and only 8% buy a new phone every year.
Fortunately for consumers, Apple didn’t implement a price increase iphone 16. Still, iPhone users hold on to their devices longer than other smartphone owners. One-third will wait three years or more to upgrade.
The foldable phone hype isn’t here yet
Companies like Google and Samsung continue to launch foldable phones, the latest being Pixel 9 Pro folding screen and Galaxy Z Flip and Fold 6respectively. Consumers remain lukewarm on the concept of foldable handheld devices. More than half (52%) of smartphone owners say they are not interested in buying a foldable phone, while 13% say they would be interested sometime in the next two years.
This gives Apple, which has yet to enter the foldable phone space, an opportunity to capitalize on this interest. Experts have long speculated that Foldable iPhone could spur wider adoption of foldable smartphones. If it does happen, it could be a few years away.
methodology
Unless otherwise stated, all data comes from YouGov Plc. The total sample was 2,484 adults, including 2,387 smartphone users. The field survey was conducted from August 28 to 30, 2024. The survey is conducted online. These numbers are weighted and representative of all U.S. adults (18 years and older).
