Key Takeaways
- Apple may charge for premium AI features in Apple Intelligence in the future.
- Declining device sales are prompting Apple to explore monetization options.
- An Apple Intelligence subscription may offer additional AI features and access to multiple chatbot platforms.
Apple may start charging for at least some of the AI features of Apple Intelligence. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, although Apple Intelligence will be free when it launches as part of iOS 18, Apple has long-term plans to monetize the new AI capabilities, in an effort to make up the shortfall from declining device sales. We may end up seeing a two-tier system for Apple Intelligence, with free standard features plus additional features that come with a subscription fee.
Related
Your iPhone probably can’t run Apple Intelligence
Unless you own an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, you’ll miss out on some of the best features of iOS 18.
Why is Apple seeking to monetize Apple Intelligence?
The pace of hardware upgrades is slowing
Apple
Traditionally, Apple has been able to entice consumers to upgrade their Apple hardware on a regular basis by offering new hardware features such as a new design or upgraded cameras. However, in recent years, the pace of these upgrades has slowed, and alongside it, the pace of people buying a new iPhone has also slowed.
Apple is looking for ways to make up this shortfall in revenue, and service fees and subscriptions are an avenue where the company sees the potential to fill this hole. The plan is to start making money from AI, something that has been notoriously difficult to do to this point. According to Mark Gurman, this means we may see a subscription version of Apple Intelligence further down the line.
What will an Apple Intelligence subscription look like?
Apple
It’s unlikely that Apple will put all of the features of Apple Intelligence behind a paywall. With companies fighting to be the first to get new AI features to their phones, Apple Intelligence is likely to be something that Apple uses to encourage people to upgrade their phones. For example, the new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18 will only run on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max from the current roster, so anyone who doesn’t have one of those iPhones will need to upgrade to get access to the new AI features.
However, according to Mark Gurman, it may be the case that we could eventually see a paid Apple Intelligence+ tier that gives access to additional AI features on top of the standard feature set. It’s unclear what this paid tier might look like, but there are some obvious things that Apple might do. For example, although Apple Intelligence will launch with ChatGPT integration, Apple intends to partner with other AI chatbot companies too, having held talks with Google, Anthropic, and even Meta.
We could eventually see a paid
Apple Intelligence+
tier that gives access to additional AI features on top of the standard feature set.
One way that Apple could monetize these features would be to allow free users to choose one AI chatbot platform to use in Apple Intelligence while granting Apple Intelligence+ subscribers access to all of them. Apple will also take a cut from any subscriptions that users make to these AI chatbots through the iPhone.
We may also see Apple develop additional features that are only available to subscribers. For example, Google has added powerful AI tools to Gmail, such as the ability to summarize email threads or compose replies, but these are currently only available to subscribers.
Related
Some Apple Intelligence features won’t arrive until 2025
You may have to wait a little longer to get some of the best Apple Intelligence features.
Trending Products
