Apple may charge “monthly fees” for advanced Apple Intelligence features
AppleApple has launched Apple Intelligence as its suite of AI features. It is free to start, but a report has claimed the company plans to turn its more advanced features into a paid service with monthly fees.
A Mark Gurman-authored Bloomberg report claimed Apple is considering a paid future for aspects of its Apple Intelligence service. This would involve a subscription model for additional features and more AI partners.
“Though Apple Intelligence will be free to start, the long-term plan is to make money off the capabilities,” said the report. “The company could eventually launch something like Apple Intelligence+ — with extra features that users pay monthly fees for, just like iCloud,” it added.
AppleThe report said Apple is also set to make money from subscriptions to the paid tiers of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other third-party AI services. Plus, with Google Gemini coming to iPhones this fall, Apple could get a cut if people sign up for the paid tier through its devices.
Currently, Apple lets you access Apple Intelligence features – including an upgraded version of Siri, image and text generation tools, and AI-generated emojis – for free. However, the AI suite is only available to iOS 18 developer beta testers at the moment. Apple could publicly roll out Apple Intelligence and iOS 18 this fall.
Some Apple Intelligence features will also be available on iPads and Mac devices. There’s no timeline for when any extra paid features might be added if the report turns out to be correct.
Apple’s alleged plan to charge for advanced AI features aligns with Samsung’s approach. The Korean company announced Galaxy AI with its S24 series, but these features will be provided for free until the end of 2025. After that, users who want to continue using these features will have to pay extra.