Late last night, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo published his lates research on new iPhone 16 features as follows:

• With artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) gaining significant popularity in 2023, it is not difficult to predict that the iPhone 16 will offer relevant innovative features, but the critical question is whether there is relevant evidence to support this prediction.
• Apple reorganized its Siri team in 3Q23 to integrate AIGC/LLM (LLM-Large Language Model). Voice input will be the key interface for AI/AIGC/LLM on mobile smartphones, so strengthening Siri’s hardware and software features and specifications is the key to promoting AIGC.
• My latest survey indicates that all iPhone 16 models will feature a significant upgrade in microphone specifications. In addition, better water resistance, the key specification upgrade is a better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to improve the Siri experience significantly. It could indicate that Apple expects to integrate more AI/AIGC capabilities into Siri as a key selling point of the iPhone 16.
• AAC and Goertek are the microphone suppliers for the iPhone 16 (with a similar shipment allocation). Benefiting 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. As a result, AAC’s and Goertek’s revenues and earnings are expected to benefit significantly from this upgrade. Given AAC’s smaller revenue scale, the company is expected to benefit relatively more.
• As AI devices emerge as a critical trend in consumer electronics in 2024, other Apple products and high-end Android phones will likely upgrade their microphones, potentially serving as a source of growth momentum for AAC and Goertek.