Apple has lofty goals for AI. They could take some time.

The fourth fiscal quarter was good at Apple, especially the sales of iPhones, which was a plus 6% compared to the same period last year. This uptick indicates a positive trend for the flagship product of Apple. Looking ahead, though, the company forecast that its total revenue growth for the December quarter could fall in the low to mid-single digits.

This projected growth is way below the consensus market expectation of about 7%. Analysts at Jefferies said the momentum in iPhone sales may not be carried into the next quarter. They attribute this growth to the fact that the iPhone 16 launched earlier compared to the iPhone 15 last year, and production for the iPhone 16 started several weeks earlier than it did for the iPhone 15.

Besides the sales result, there’s an emphasis that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook gave regarding the role of artificial intelligence in its future. He believes incorporating AI into Apple’s product stable will represent a major leap for a company that has been slower than rivals to broadly adopt the use of AI technologies.

After some delays in the rollout, the company this past Monday began introducing its AI features—termed Apple Intelligence—to users who own either the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16. Apple has opted to release these several new AI features over time; the company is reportedly going to release more in December. But all of this will start paying serious dividends in 2026 or 2027, which suggests that plans of Apple Intelligence driving a major upgrade cycle are probably misplaced today.

While analysts are skeptical of any immediate good tidings for such AI development, it isn’t all skepticism—some optimism has been held about its future updates and their effects. According to Gil Luria, a managing director and senior software analyst at D.A. Davidson, Apple Intelligence could be a strong driver for the sale of the iPhone 16, especially when there are more features on it.

Bank of America research analysts said this could further catalyze sales of iPhones through 2025 and beyond. Analysts at Wedbush, led by Dan Ives, long-time proponents of an AI-driven upgrade cycle for the iPhone, came away with even greater conviction after the September quarter results. They also believe that this could light the fire on a multiyear upgrade cycle, driving iPhone growth into the high single digits with Apple Intelligence.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to follow my whatsapp channel