As Apple Intelligence drives a significant improvement in the Siri AI experience, the possibility of Apple charging separately for this service in the future is rising, and a related subscription model may appear as early as 2027. At present, Siri AI is still open to users for free, but there are already signs that the usage limit is linked to subscription services. For example, iCloud+ users can get a higher daily usage limit.
The report quoted Bloomberg's Power On column as saying that the industry had predicted that Apple would launch a paid version of Apple Intelligence as early as 2024, and now that Siri AI has launched a beta version, this idea has become "more likely." Although it is still in the testing phase, the new Siri AI has been evaluated as "fairly performant" and is expected to continue to be iterated over the next 12 months. Both functionality and experience are expected to be significantly enhanced, thus laying the foundation for a charging model.
Apple bears high computing costs for AI functions such as the image generation function Image Playground and conversational interaction with Siri, which is also seen as one of the key drivers for the company to recoup its investment through subscriptions. The report speculates that in the future, such dialogue and image generation capabilities may be classified as paid tiers, rather than being completely open to all users. At present, Apple has made it clear that iCloud+ subscribers can enjoy a higher daily call limit for related functions, which is regarded as a signal to gradually explore differentiated payment.
In addition, a capability called "World Knowledge" may also become part of future subscription content, although reports indicate that this feature is still a relatively weak link in the new Siri AI system. On the one hand, Apple has the advantage of Siri being deeply integrated into various device operating systems, but on the other hand, it is also under the pressure of word-of-mouth caused by Siri's performance stagnating or even "significant regression" in the past many years. The report believes that Apple needs to both regain old users who have given up using Siri and attract new users. If it cannot make progress in both aspects at the same time, the prospects of launching an independent Apple Intelligence subscription service will be limited.
In terms of charging, analysts believe that Apple will not necessarily sell Apple Intelligence subscriptions separately, but may also integrate related functions into the existing Apple One package. The content structure of the Apple One bundle has changed little since its launch in 2020, and the introduction of Apple Intelligence capabilities could be a way to spur growth on the service and improve the overall sense of subscription value. At present, the outside world generally believes that the above-mentioned are still mid- to long-term judgments and industry speculations. Apple will not immediately charge a full fee for Siri AI in the short term, but "how long it will be free for" is becoming an issue of increasing concern.