Tech iPhone 16 Japan debut without Apple Intelligence

[thomas]

Japanese iPhone 16 buyers will get their hands on the new device later this month. However, they'll have to wait until 2025 to experience the full capabilities of Apple's new AI feature, Apple Intelligence. This feature analyzes text and photos and helps with tasks like rewriting and summarizing text, creating images and emojis, and improving Siri.

While Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the iPhone 16's design for this feature, the rollout prioritizes English (next month) followed by other languages (December) before reaching Japan next year. This delay comes alongside rising iPhone prices in Japan due to the weakened yen (JPY 109/USD in 2021 vs. JPY 143/USD now). The iPhone 16 Pro will cost JPY 159,800 compared to the iPhone 12 Pro's JPY 106,800 in 2020, with the base iPhone 16 starting at JPY 124,800.

" In Japan, few people buy iPhones for their advanced technology," said IDC Japan analyst Masafumi Inbe. "The iPhone is ingrained in the culture, and buying an iPhone's just the 'normal' thing. Then, they are taken in by Apple's ecosystem of the Apple Watch, AirPods, AirDrop, iCloud, etc. and continue repurchasing the iPhone." "Japanese consumers do not buy iPhones at a fixed price and usually purchase them on a contract from a telco, and hence few consumers are aware of the rising price of iPhones," Inbe added. "Also, Apple's older models are quite popular with consumers and offer attractive discounts. In other words, their consumption behaviour is less susceptible to price increases." In Japan, 53% of smartphones sold in the second quarter of 2024 were iPhones, according to IDC, with shipments increasing 9% yearly to 3.61 million units. Its closest competitors were Sharp, which had 11%, and Google, which had 9%. Apple "continues to dominate the Japanese market," said Counterpoint Research analyst Varun Mishra. Counterpoint puts Apple's Japan market share at 44% in the second quarter. It estimates the peak of this at 65% in the first quarter of 2022. According to rankings from BCN, a research firm, the two-year-old iPhone 14 is the best-selling model in Japan so far this month. The top six spots on the list are occupied by versions of the iPhone 14 and 15 offered by SoftBank, KDDI and NTT Docomo.

iPhone 16 to land in Japan without Apple Intelligence

The new feature, which uses generative artificial intelligence to analyze text and photos, will only be activated in 2025 in several markets, including Japan.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Apple unveils iPhone 16 powered by generative AI | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

US tech giant Apple has unveiled new iPhone models with generative artificial intelligence features.

www3.nhk.or.jp