Apple plans to turn some of the artificial-intelligence features of iOS 18 into paid services, following the subscription model of iCloud+. In his latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman states that, although Apple Intelligence will initially be free, the long-term plan is to launch something similar to “Apple Intelligence+”, where additional features will be offered under a monthly fee.
A subscription for certain specific features
This move would allow Apple to create a new source of income for its services category and strengthen those services. In parallel, Gurman also expects Apple to receive a portion of the revenue every time a user subscribes to a payment plan offered by its AI partners, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google Gemini, which could arrive on iOS 18 soon.
It remains to be seen, if this plan actually takes shape, the price of the services. Features like Hide My Email from iCloud+ or the iCloud Private Relay privacy service are included with the 0.99 euros per year payment for the purchase of additional Apple cloud storage space.
Similarly, it might be worth considering Apple One plans. Plans that offer all Apple services in exchange for a subscription are the best candidates to accommodate Apple Intelligence if it turns out that certain features require a monthly payment.
Finally, it should be noted that Gurman himself said only some AI functions would require a subscription. It remains to be seen which ones, but in the meantime, let’s focus on all the news of iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence coming to Europe, step by step.
