Apple Intelligence: When Apple will launch Premium services at the earliest

Apple hasn't even released its new AI functions for everyone yet, and rumors are already flying that the iPhone manufacturer wants to charge users for them. According to new media reports, however, this is a scenario that is still a long way off. In three years at the earliest, Apple Intelligence could perhaps contain suitable functions from which Apple could tailor a product, reports Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.

Market observers expect Apple to choose a tiered model with free basic functions and premium features for a fee. The company has been practicing something similar with iCloud for years. Every registered user receives 5 gigabytes of storage space free of charge. Anyone who needs more - and this need quickly arises when using the backup functions or the Photos app - has to pay accordingly and also receives additional functions such as iCloud Private Relay in iCloud+.

AI locally on the device and on servers

With Apple Intelligence, the main question is whether Apple will also charge for AI functions that are executed locally on the user's device or only for services that make heavy use of Apple's data centers. However, as the boundaries to Apple's AI cloud Private Cloud Compute are fluid, it is not at all clear to users what is being processed where, at least in the test versions currently available.

Another point is that Apple is in competition with other AI providers. They do not offer such close integration into the operating system of the iPhone, iPad and Mac as Apple intends. However, they currently offer their services free of charge on a large scale. Users usually only have to pay extra for increased usage, if they want more reliability at peak times or if they want to use a better language model.

Apple's patience with its monetization plans is demonstrated by the company's emergency SOS function via satellite. It was already announced when the data services were introduced that Apple was planning to charge a fee for this. To date, however, the satellite services can still be used free of charge. And a concrete launch date for the paid service is not yet in sight.

What currently has priority

However, Apple Intelligence's initial focus is on launching all announced services in as many countries as possible. The current beta versions of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 only contain text-based AI functions. Announced image generation options such as Genmojis or the improved Siri voice assistant are still pending. In the European Union and China, moreover, it is not even clear when these first functions will be officially available, as Apple still needs to clarify the regulatory requirements of the EU or reach agreement with government agencies in China on key points.

(mki)