Apple to Launch iPhone 17 Next Month

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Aug 27, 9:15AM EDT

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has announced a September 9 launch for the iPhone 17.
But its AI-based iOS is not due out until next year.

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Apple to Launch iPhone 17 Next Month — © Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News via Getty Images

The press invitations have gone out. The meeting date on which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) is going to launch the iPhone 17 is September 9. If the company does not change its schedule, it will not have Apple’s AI-based iOS, which is not supposed to be released until next year. That means a thinner profile and a powerful chip will need to prevail.

Apple, it is rumored, does not even have a finished artificial intelligence product. The rumor is that it is negotiating with Google to use its Gemini product, which is considered one of the most advanced AI platforms. Gemini is currently used on Google search pages. It is still shocking that Apple does not have an AI product of its own. Several of its top AI engineers have been lured away by companies such as Meta, which is offering pay packages in the tens of millions of dollars to these engineers. The brutal race is a sign of how important AI is expected to be for consumers and businesses.

Apple says the debut will be “jaw-dropping.” Bloomberg reports it will be nothing more than a miniature MacBook Air. It will have better battery life and a more powerful chip. These have been components of most new iPhones.

Very few observers believe that chips and cameras will carry iPhone sales anymore. Apple’s primary competitor, Samsung, already has an AI feature and a foldable phone, which has become popular. The iPhone 17 is not expected to be foldable.

Apple also has to convince buyers that, among the most expensive smartphones on the market, it is worth an upgrade. iPhone 16 prices start at $799 and range up to $1,099. When carriers sell these, the price is spread over several months. China is also a critical market. The largest smartphone companies there also have AI-powered operating systems.

Apple has to convince customers that the AI-powered iPhone is worth the wait—until next year. A better camera and chip are something most customers have not cheered in new iPhone generations. There is no reason that will change. At some point, it will not be enough of an engine to keep iPhone sales high.

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.