Apple may charge “monthly fees” for advanced Apple Intelligence features

Apple has launched Apple Intelligence as a suite of AI features. It’s free to start, but the report suggests the company plans to turn more advanced features into a paid service with monthly fees.

A Bloomberg report by Mark Gurman claimed that Apple is considering a paid future for aspects of its Apple Intelligence service. This would include a subscription model for additional features and more AI partners.

“While Apple Intelligence will be free to start, the long-term plan is to monetize the capabilities,” the report says. “The company could eventually launch something like Apple Intelligence+ — with additional features that users pay monthly fees for, like iCloud,” it added.

The report shows that Apple also intends to monetize subscriptions to OpenAI’s paid ChatGPT services and other third-party AI services. What’s more, with Google Gemini coming to iPhones this fall, Apple could get a cut if people sign up for the paid segment through its devices.

Apple currently offers free access to Apple Intelligence features – including an enhanced version of Siri, image and text generation tools, and AI-generated emojis. However, the AI suite is currently only available to iOS 18 developer beta testers. Apple could publicly release Apple Intelligence and iOS 18 this fall.

Some Apple Intelligence features will also be available on iPad and Mac devices. There is no timeline for when additional paid features might be added if the report proves correct.

Apple’s alleged plan to charge for advanced AI features is in line with Samsung’s approach. The Korean company announced Galaxy AI in its S24 series, but the features will be free until the end of 2025. After that, users who want to continue using them will have to pay extra.