Apple could bring a paid subscription tier to Apple Intelligence in the future. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has reported it in the latest edition of his weekly Power On newsletter. The move will allow the company to open new revenue streams as customers rarely get a good reason to upgrade to new hardware every year.
Apple Intelligence May Not Stay Free for Long
Apple Intelligence is set to be a free service in the beginning but eventually will likely become a paid offering. There could be a paid tier called Apple Intelligence+ (hypothetical name) or something else. It would allow customers to access advanced features by paying a monthly fee.
For the uninitiated, Apple Intelligence is a suite of AI-powered features unveiled by the Cupertino-based tech giant at WWDC 2024. It will be available on eligible iPhone (iPhone 15 Pro/15 Pro Max), iPad, and Mac devices later this year. It features AI tools/features related to writing, notification management, generative images, emojis, search, and more. The company has even partnered with OpenAI to power some features by ChatGPT. Apple is also expected to partner with Google for Gemini integration later this year.
Gurman’s report says since buyers are not upgrading to new devices as often as they used to, paid subscriptions are seen as recurring revenue options. It is why we have Apple Music, iCloud+, Apple Arcade, and a bundle subscription called Apple One. The team could also earn by getting a cut from subscription revenue generated from its AI partners. Gurman says,
“There’s an opportunity to turn AI features and other software into paid services, but it will take time. Though Apple Intelligence will be free to start, the long-term plan is to make money off the capabilities.”
This is unsurprising as Apple’s rival Samsung is also considering charging users for certain Galaxy AI features. These features are currently available for free to all Galaxy users worldwide. The company has plans to offer free Galaxy AI features until 2025. Final details should be out when it’s the right time but users will likely have to pay to keep using some of the features. We shall see how this transpires and will keep you posted once more details are available.
