Apple just posted its best iPhone quarter ever… without a fully baked AI product. In a market obsessed with artificial intelligence, that is a pretty loud statement.
Despite years of chatter about Apple lagging in generative AI, iPhone revenue hit an all-time high in the fiscal first quarter. And when CEO Tim Cook explained what fueled the surge, AI didn’t even make the highlight reel. He pointed to the display, camera, performance, selfie camera, and design. In other words, the same fundamentals that have always sold iPhones.
Turns out, cracked screens beat chatbots
While Apple is expected to roll out a more advanced AI-powered Siri soon, current sales suggest customers are not upgrading for virtual assistants. Data shows only a small slice of buyers upgrade for new features, while more people replace phones because their old one broke, slowed down, or simply aged out.
That lines up with the post-pandemic upgrade cycle. Millions of people bought new phones during the 2020 to 2021 boom, and those devices are now hitting the typical five-year replacement window. The driver is not futuristic AI. It is batteries that do not last, screens that are cracked, and software that feels sluggish.
AI hype lives on Wall Street, not in checkout carts
Yes, AI will likely become a standard part of smartphones over time. And competitors like Google and OpenAI already offer more advanced conversational tools. But Apple’s results suggest that, today, AI is more of an investor narrative than a consumer purchase trigger.
People are not rushing to spend over a thousand dollars for a smarter Siri, especially one that is not fully here yet. They are buying because their phone is old and it is time.
Ironically, even with record sales and profits, Apple’s stock dipped after earnings. The market may be chasing AI dreams, but Apple just showed that boring, old replacement demand still pays the bills.