AI falls low on user wishlists for smartphone upgrades. See what they really want.

With Apple Intelligence features coming out to much fanfare, it seems smartphone users don’t actually rank AI very high on their wishlists when considering smartphone upgrades, according to a new survey out Friday. With AI low on smartphone upgrade wishlists, what do they crave? Much higher among their hopes are longer battery life, more storage and better cameras. You know, the “classics.”

AI low on smartphone upgrade wishlists: Study finds smartphone users care more for basics when upgrading

So most consumers, when considering smartphone upgrades, aren’t very excited about AI offerings from the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung, according to a CNET survey. And that’s even more true if the AI features require payment, as they shall soon enough. And of course that includes the Apple Intelligence features expected in next week’s iOS 18.1 and related software updates that Apple hopes will change people’s lives.

Consumers not (yet) hot about AI

In fact, the survey found just 18% of all respondents and 20% of iPhone users say AI integrations are their main motivator for an upgrade (25% say they don’t find AI features helpful). The number indicating level of interest is higher among teenagers, at 30%. But when it comes to the likelihood that AI features will soon cost money, almost half of respondents, or 45%, said they’re not willing to pay. Perhaps that will change as they come to enjoy and even depend upon AI features.

In another related tidbit, just over a third or respondents expressed concern over privacy when it comes to AI features, at 34%.

So what really excites consumers about a new smartphone? You can probably guess. It’s the classics that go way back: longer battery life (61%), more storage (46%) and improved cameras (38%).

Clues about the folding phone market

And another part of the survey covered folding phones, which Apple has yet to produce while competitors like Samsung keep pumping them out. Opinions on the prospect of Apple joining the market seem to vary. But, at any rate, the survey shows just over half (52%) of smartphone owners say they’re not interested in buying a foldable phone, while 13% say they’d be interested sometime in the next two years. That seems to suggest nearly half of consumers would consider it at some point.