Apple has a significant upgrade in the works for the iPhone 16‘s microphone, in an effort to improve the Siri AI experience, says Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo’s comments come in his latest Medium post. Kuo says that “strengthening Siri’s hardware and software features and specifications is the key to promoting AI-generated content.” Kuo added that Apple’s generative AI ambitions and integration of large-language models (LLMs) into Siri will heavily rely on improved voice input processing.
To assist that effort, Apple is working on a major microphone upgrade for the iPhone 16. Kuo says the better signal-to-noise ratio a key specification that will “improve the Siri experience significantly,” says Kuo. The new microphone will also boast improved water resistance.
The mic upgrade jibes with other reports that indicate Apple plans to make enhanced Siri features a key selling point of the iPhone 16.
Kuo’s latest industry survey shows AAC and Goertek are the microphone suppliers for the iPhone 16, and will benefit equally from the specification upgrade.
“The ASP of microphones for each iPhone 16 will be at least 100–150% higher than that of the iPhone 15,” says Kuo. “As a result, AAC’s and Goertek’s revenues and earnings are expected to benefit significantly from this upgrade.”