One of the big questions around Apple’s AI plans has been whether the company would absorb the costs of these features, or charge a fee, aka an Apple Intelligence+ subscription.
So far, the news is that there will be no additional costs involved – but it appears that may change in the future …
Apple Intelligence – free for now
When Apple announced its upcoming AI features under the branding of Apple Intelligence, there was positive reaction to the news that there would be no fee for this – including use of ChatGPT.
Apple is absorbing the costs of operating its own AI servers, Private Cloud Compute (PCC), and we later learned that the company had struck an impressive deal to get ChatGPT access without paying anything to OpenAI.
But Apple Intelligence+ subscription may follow
However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said over the weekend that Apple does hope to make money from the feature in future.
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.
The company could eventually launch something like “Apple Intelligence+” — with extra features that users pay monthly fees for, just like iCloud. On top of that, Apple will get a cut of the subscription revenue from every AI partner that it brings onboard.
It’s not clear at this stage how the company might split out paid from inclusive features, but I could imagine a couple of potential scenarios.
Scenario one: A free usage limit for PCC
Most AI companies to date have taken the same approach. Everyone gets free access, but there are usage limits.
With ChatGPT, for example, the following limits apply to free users:
- Limited use of the latest model (GPT-4o) within a three-hour window
- No image creation with DALL-E
- Additional usage limits for three specific tools:
– Data analysis
– File and image uploads
– Web browsing with ChatGPT
Apple could apply similar limits to PCC, where you only get a certain number of off-device AI requests before you have to upgrade to a paid subscription.
Scenario two: A subscription for external AI services
Another possible approach would be that unlimited PCC use is included, but use of third-party AI services like ChatGPT eventually become paid options.
In that scenario, if your task cannot be completed either on-devices or by Apple’s PCC, you would need an Apple Intelligence+ subscription to be able to handoff to external AI servers.
Would you pay for Apple Intelligence+?
If either scenario were to happen, would you be willing to pay an Apple Intelligence+ subscription? Let’s assume the cost is in the $5-10 per month range – and for the purposes of the poll, please have in mind whatever price in that range would be acceptable to you (if anything).
Please take our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments.
Photo by randa marzouk on Unsplash
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