Sales of Apple iPhones dropped the end of last year, as the tech firm's roll out of new artificial intelligence (AI) features was met with a lukewarm response. Chief executive Tim Cook said the new features helped to drive stronger sales in the countries where they were available, such as the US.

Apple's latest iPhones are flying off the shelves in some markets, and not in others. Apple CEO Tim Cook says this all comes down to where Apple Intelligence is available, and where it isn't.

Apple on Thursday disclosed its iPhone sales dipped slightly during the holiday-season quarter, signaling a sluggish start to the trendsetting company’s effort to catch up to the rest of Big Tech in the race to bring artificial intelligence to the masses.

Apple has kicked off iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and MacOS 15.3 with one significant change affecting AI. Since its debut, Apple Intelligence has required the extra step of actually turning it on or opting in. But with the new versions, Apple's AI feature is enabled by default for eliglble devices.

Fortunately, it's super easy to turn off, but it goes to show that Apple Intelligence is here to stay in the walled garden.