Ever since Apple announced “Apple Intelligence” at WWDC 2024, people are more than excited to get their hands on the wealth of AI features when they arrive later this year. Now, there are rumors that Apple may steal an opportunity to turn AI features into paid services. In the latest newsletter, Mark Gurman said “Though Apple Intelligence will be free to start, Apple’s long-term plan is to make money off of the capabilities.” So, the giant might launch something like “Apple Intelligence+” with certain features locked behind a monthly subscription service.
Apple Intelligence might ape the current iCloud+ service and require a monthly subscription fee. Alternatively, it might become a part of the Apple One subscription.
“If it all comes together, Apple could find itself in a strong position in a few years. The company will be less reliant on hardware tweaks to drive its business and will actually be making money from AI — something everyone in Silicon Valley is hoping to pull off.”- Mark Gurman
Gurman also states that if Apple starts making its own AI features another service revenue stream, it could allow the company to compensate for its unapologetically slow pace of hardware upgrades. Ultimately, Apple would rely less on hardware tweaks to drive its business.
Samsung has already confirmed that it is offering Galaxy AI features for free until 2025. After that, there will be subscription charges for certain AI features.
In addition to the subscription for advanced Apple Intelligence capabilities, Apple has already positioned itself to receive a cut of revenue whenever a user signs up for the paid levels of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other third-party AI services. Gurman expects Apple to partner with Google and Anthropic for their AI services. Also, an Apple-Google alliance is expected to be announced when Apple Intelligence arrives later this fall with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia betas.
It’s worth knowing that Apple has turned down the AI partnership with FaceBook over privacy concerns. Meanwhile, the Cupertino tech giant is seeking a partnership for the Chinese markets, where ChatGPT and other AI services are not available.
Now that means, if you want to unleash the full capabilities of Apple Intelligence, you have to upgrade to iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or save your money for the upcoming iPhone 16 series. On top of that, you might need a monthly subscription.
The big question is what Apple Intelligence features will remain free and which won’t. It would be the deciding factor if people will go for the subscription, or happily settle with the free features. Also, one of the biggest questions is if people are ready to upgrade their iPhones for the sake of Apple Intelligence. It will be interesting to see how everything unfolds when Apple makes an official statement or Apple Intelligence finally arrives later this fall.
