In iPhone 16's new ad, Apple Intelligence steals the show — and the cat

The world is abuzz with chatter on AI (Artificial Intelligence). It has become not only the focus of numerous explainer articles across the internet and how-to guides on social media but also features as the antagonist in several popular films (notably, 'The Entity' from Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning). 

AI's omnipresence is hard to miss, and one realm where its dominance is particularly profound is the modern smartphone. In its latest iPhone 16 ad, Apple highlights how AI has become as essential to smartphones as cameras and touch screens once were.

The ad features a man, a woman, and a cat. An Apple iPhone 16 is used to click a picture of the woman reading alongside the cat, Garrett. The man then uses AI to erase the cat out of the photograph, only to bring it back to appease the clearly displeased woman. AI saves the day.

In this context, AI also refers to Apple Intelligence — Apple’s own AI software built into iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. Launched in June 2024, Apple Intelligence gives the iPhone a more context-aware Siri in addition to features such as writing tools, summarising tools, generative tools for emojis and images, along with ‘Clean Up’ tools with AI erase, as shown in the ad.  

Many top players in the smartphone industry have now made AI a staple in their marketing mix. A recent example is Oppo India’s Aawara Hoon campaign for its OPPO Reno14 Series featuring image enhancement tools powered by AI. 

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Galaxy AI is to Samsung what Apple Intelligence is to Apple. It is a suite of on-device AI features such as Circle to Search (on Google), live language translation, AI-driven photo editing, etc.

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OnePlus AI, the company's new suite of AI tools, also features heavily in its new smartphone ads. It includes tools such as AI VoiceScribe (for recording, summarising, and translating calls/meetings) and AI Call Assistant (real-time translation and automatic call summaries). 

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India's top-selling brand, according to The Indian Express, Vivo's latest smartphones incorporate advanced AI features. These include AI Erase for photo editing, AI Transcript Assist for converting audio to text, and live call translation for facilitating real-time multilingual conversations. However, it is important to note that Vivo does not possess its own proprietary AI; instead, it utilises Google’s Gemini AI.

Phones that flipped, slid up, swivelled or had a stylus used to be all the rage when smartphones were gaining popularity in India. However, unique form factors no longer give you the competitive edge. Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI and OnePlus AI will now settle the contest among themselves.