Apple Looks to Apple Intelligence as Chip Performance Lengthens Upgrade Cycles

Since Apple introduced the M1 in 2020, Apple Silicon has sharply improved MacBook performance and energy efficiency, extending the useful life of older machines. Apple’s certified refurbished products and the secondhand market also offer lower-priced alternatives that eat into demand for new devices. Longer replacement cycles mean that larger hardware upgrades can paradoxically take longer to translate into sales.

Attention has now shifted to Apple Intelligence, the suite of AI features unveiled at WWDC on June 10, 2024. On Macs, it is limited to models with the M1 or later. Generative AI and on-device computing also increase memory requirements, potentially encouraging users to upgrade. The reports provided no sales figures or replacement-cycle data, so any boost to demand remains an expectation rather than evidence of a confirmed sales recovery.