The new AI iPhone is officially available in Apple stores, hitting shelves in almost 60 countries around the world on Friday morning.

Apple Inc. is facing an unprecedented challenge: persuading customers to buy its latest iPhones without their biggest new feature.

Apple is set to launch its iPhone 16 lineup across nearly 60 countries this week, including major markets like the US, China and India. However, the release comes with a notable omission: the much-anticipated Apple Intelligence AI software won’t be available on the devices at launch.

Even so, Wall Streremains bullish that Apple can accelerate growth during the all-important holiday season. Analysts estimate that revenue will increase 8% in the December quarter - the best showing for that period since the end of calendar 2021.

Apple is giving more people the chance to test a software update that will implant artificial intelligence into its virtual assistant Siri and automate a variety of tedious tasks on the latest iPhone coming out Friday.