Crossing the AI threshold: redefining how consumers use their mobile devices

As we reflect on the recent launch of the iPhone 16 Pro, there is no doubt that Apple has delivered yet another technically impressive device, packed with iterative improvements in hardware and software. But the conversation around this latest release extends far beyond improved battery life, camera enhancements, and design tweaks—it is also about the transformative power of AI and its potential to redefine how consumers interact with their mobile devices.

With its promise of Apple Intelligence, the latest generation of iPhones has set the stage for what could be a pivotal shift in mobile technology. While AI has long been used behind the scenes in smartphones, quietly optimizing processes such as battery life, predictive maintenance, and app performance, we are now standing at the threshold of a new era—one in which AI will move from the background to the forefront of the mobile device user experience.

AI’s role in mobile devices today: optimization without awareness

Until now, AI has played a vital but largely invisible role in enhancing smart device performance, with AI-driven algorithms helping to manage power consumption and ensuring that consumers’ devices can last longer between charges. Smartphone cameras have long been using AI to recognize scenes and adjust settings automatically, or facilitate predictive text, which helps users streamline typing, autocorrect errors and anticipate common combinations of words. These features have all resulted in a better user experience and enhanced the value of phones and tablets, but they have not fundamentally changed how users interact with their devices.

In fact, most consumers are unaware of the significant role AI already plays in these background tasks. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about half of Americans are aware they are interacting with AI within their lives weekly, and only 27% understand that they are interacting with AI constantly or several times a day. That is precisely the challenge AI must…