Apple just reported earnings for the all-important holiday quarter. Overall it was Apples best quarter ever, but iPhone sales didnt quite hit expectations, mainly because of China. CEO Tim Cooks key takeaway though: iPhone 16 sales were strongest in countries where Apple Intelligence was available.iPhone 16 sold better in countries with AI support, per CookTheres been a lot of discourse around whether consumers truly care about Apple Intelligence or not.The companys AI and iPhone 16 rollouts were initially praised, but would they drive upgrades?Per CEO Tim Cook to CNBC, it seems that the answer is yes.Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBCs Steve Kovach that iPhone sales were stronger in countries where Apple Intelligence is available. Currently, the software is only available in a handful of English-speaking countries, and it isnt accessible in China or in Chinese.During the December quarter, we saw that in markets where we had rolled out Apple intelligence, that the year-over-year performance on the iPhone 16 family was stronger than those markets where we had not rolled out Apple intelligence, Cook said. Currently, Apple Intelligence isnt available at all in China. Its also unavailable on iPhones or iPads in the EUthat, at least, will change in April with iOS 18.4.China, however, has no announced release date for AI. And its iPhone 16 sales took a hit as a result.Cook told CNBC that there were three factors in the companys China performance. He said that half of the 11.1% decline was due to a change in channel inventory, the fact that Apple Intelligence hasnt launched in the region and that after the quarter ended, China issued a national subsidy that would stimulate some Apple product sales. This last reason at least indicates that there may be an iPhone boost in the upcoming quarter. But if Cooks narrative around AI driving iPhone sales is correct, it may be short-lived growth without an announcement of Apple Intelligence coming to China.What do you think of Cooks correlation of iPhone 16 sales and Apple Intelligence? Let us know in the comments.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel