At Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple finally unveiled its long-awaited overhaul of Siri, positioning the virtual assistant as a serious contender against ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, and Claude. The new Siri AI promises deeper on-device intelligence, better context awareness, and advanced features that could redefine how we interact with our iPhones. There’s just one catch: a huge chunk of Apple’s installed base simply can’t run it. According to a Morgan Stanley research note released Tuesday, more than 850 million iPhones are incapable of handling basic Apple Intelligence queries, while over 1.3 billion devices won’t support the most advanced Siri capabilities. The bottleneck? Hardware — specifically chip architecture and memory. Advanced features require 12 GB of unified memory to manage the heavy on-device processing Apple Intelligence demands. For millions of users rocking older iPhones, the shiny new Siri will feel more like a tease than a transformation. The Upgrade Incentive in Disguise Morgan Stanley analysts point out a key tension: selling hardware on the strength of software has always been challenging. Yet they also note that AI accessibility ranks among the leading drivers of smartphone upgrades. In other words, the very limitations that frustrate current owners could become powerful motivation for the next purchase. Apple is betting that the promise of a truly intelligent Siri — one that runs smoothly, privately, and powerfully on-device — will convince users it’s finally time to trade in their aging devices.This strategy isn’t new for Apple. The company has long used generational leaps in performance, camera quality, and now AI as catalysts for refresh cycles. With iPhone sales facing pressure from longer replacement cycles in recent years, a compelling AI experience could be the spark needed to accelerate upgrades. What This Means for Users and Apple • For existing owners: Many will get a taste of the new Siri, but the full experience — especially the most impressive on-device AI features — will remain gated behind newer hardware (likely iPhone 16 series and beyond with sufficient RAM and neural engine power). • For Apple: It reinforces the value of the premium ecosystem. While the company faces criticism for fragmenting the experience across its user base, the move could drive stronger hardware revenue in the coming quarters. • For the AI race: Apple is playing catch-up in some areas but doubling down on privacy and on-device processing. Whether that’s enough to win users away from cloud-heavy rivals remains to be seen. The long-delayed Siri overhaul was the centerpiece of WWDC26 for a reason. Apple isn’t just updating an assistant — it’s trying to future-proof its most important product line in the age of AI. MacDailyNews Take: Apple has successfully used similar generational leaps before — from Retina displays to advanced cameras to 5G. Now, Siri AI is stepping into that role as the must-have reason to upgrade. For hundreds of millions who’ve been holding onto an older iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the new Siri AI might be the biggest upgrade impetus yet. Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon. The post Apple’s Siri AI could spark a massive iPhone upgrade wave appeared first on MacDailyNews. You're currently a free subscriber to MacDailyNews. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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