Motorola adopts the AI craze: fiasco or flourish?

That got me wondering: is that a win strategy for Motorola, or are there any sneaky obstacles on the road ahead?

Why the AI rush?

AI is hot, very hot.

While you go get your protective clothing and your heat-resistant gloves, let’s talk about what happens if a brand does not ride the AI wave. Enter Apple.

Just this week (it’s March 7, 2024, Anno Domini), Apple’s stock price hit the rock-bottom for this year, closing at $170.12 and trading below $170 in the recent days. Long story short, there are many reasons why investors are pessimistic on Apple’s outlook, such as:

…but there’s another one that experts have been talking about for months: Apple’s lagging behind in the AI race.

That’s why, albeit late, Apple did announce recently that major changes to iOS 18 are coming, including a deep AI integration and AI presence across the OS.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT is popular as ever, Google’s AI made headlines (although not without royal screw-ups), Samsung’s Galaxy S24 line is all about AI, plus the Pixel 8 was presented as AI-oriented in the Fall of 2023 as well. Nvidia, the leading AI-oriented chip-making company, saw brutal gains of 240% in 2023. Yes, AI is hot.

But is AI a major selling point right now, or is it just another marketing campaign by the brands?

Let’s explore the two possibilities:

• AI is genuinely sought after by the public. Even the ones who detest AI have to admit there are some (many) useful tools that AI is responsible for. Generating images and videos can be funny, but there’s more to AI than that, particularly streamlining tedious tasks. Also, Circle to Search and Live Translate come in handy! 

…or…

• AI is shoved down our throats by companies. On the flip side: AI is just a cover. I’m not into conspiracy theories (although, since 2020 I’m really careful labeling something a “conspiracy theory”), but I can see perfectly well how AI is used by brands as a smokescreen. After all, smartphone innovation has plateaued and the chance to show off something sparkling new – like AI whistles and bells – can’t be resisted by phone makers.

Brands have been toying with AI for years now, putting advanced virtual assistants in our phones, or upgrading the camera experience, or by offering the iPhone’s predictive typing feature, and more. It’s only now that they’re pushing the envelope, sharing ChatGPT’s popularity and stardom.

AI: can’t live with it, can’t live without it

And then, there’s another reason behind the AI craze: it’s like a wildfire.If others do it, Motorola has no choice but to succumb and jump on the bandwagon as well. If a behemoth like Apple managed to hurt itself by missing the AI train, imagine what the damages for Motorola would be in the future.

You might think that companies (much like humans) are all very different from each other, but it’s the other way around.

Motorola has been doing more than well without AI

Executives at Motorola better have a solid strategy and not ruin a fine thing: even without AI, Motorola has been doing great in recent times. Motorola was the fourth-largest smartphone shipper in Europe for 2023 having delivered 6.4 million units, which was up 34% from the 4.7 million it shipped during 2022. Motorola’s 2023 European market share was 5% compared to 3% during 2022.

AI or orderly OS updates?

Many users state that they’d rather have a better battery, camera, overall build, display, or whatever over AI.

Here are some PhoneArena users’ comments, all from the report about the AI-centric Moto X50 Ultra:

Obviously, we can’t expect Motorola to disseminate software updates with the speed of Google and their Pixel phones, but a slight boost would be nice, right?

To AI or not to AI, that is the question

In the words of Agent Smith (The Matrix, 1999): AI is inevitable, despite how Mr. Anderson, a.k.a. Neo feels about it.

AI is crawling in our lives – uhh, phones – as we speak, whether we like it or not. Motorola simply can’t afford to not jump on the AI bandwagon. Apple did that in 2023 and ever since has been paying dearly.

I think Motorola will not make a mistake by packing AI in its 2024 (and onwards) flagships. Things are a bit complicated when it comes to Motorola’s mid-rangers, budget and cheap phones.

As discussed above, AI is what floats one’s boat, but might sink another’s. If budget and cheap Moto handsets get their prices skyrocketing due to AI implementation, that would be a bummer. Not to mention that the modest hardware found in such devices is not fit for artificial intelligence tasks.

It would be a shame if an affordable, but quite respectable phone like the ~$200 (€180) Moto G54 Power Edition or any of its future siblings get asphyxiated and throttled by AI.