Mark Gurman, a well-known Apple (AAPL.US)      insider and journalist at Bloomberg, said AI features of iPhones will only be launched slowly and in phases, implying that there will not be a new cycle of super upgrades for the iPhone 16.

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Apple's fall launch event will be held on September 9 US time (1 am Hong Kong time on September 10). Gurman said it's simply not possible for the iPhone to have a super-cycle this year, as China's smartphone market remains weak and many other consumers around the world are spending less. However, the bigger problem may come from Apple's technology itself, as the new iPhone will look almost identical to last year's model, with only a few minor camera upgrades and other features, and Apple Intelligence isn't yet fully-fledged, with many features missing within the initial version. ChatGPT won't be integrated into iPhones until later this year, and all the major new Siri features will not be available until next year.

Gurman added that Apple Intelligence will not be available in the European Union for now and is not yet ready for launch in China.

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