The Apple Intelligence suite is expected to be available in October, with both free and paid features, as a way to drive growth for the service. Similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus subscription plan or Microsoft’s Copilot tool.

Apple may charge for some advanced Apple Intelligence features

Investing in AI is expensive, and Apple will want to pass that cost on to users, through the Apple One subscription model, said Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research.

Apple One currently costs $19.95/month, giving users access to a variety of services, including Apple Music.

In the second quarter, Apple's services division brought in $24.2 billion in revenue, at a time when many other hardware companies have yet to make money from software.

“Apple is one of the few connected device companies that has successfully monetized the value-added services it provides,” said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight. “As such, it has set a precedent for users to pay for more premium services. On this basis, it is not impossible that Apple could choose to charge for more advanced features in its Apple Intelligence services.”

Apple's biggest rival Samsung has also started rolling out its own generative artificial intelligence service called Galaxy AI and is considering various charging models for the technology.

According to Shah, Apple Intelligence is an opportunity for “Apple” to continue to maintain a loyal customer base because the AI ​​system will learn from user behavior and become more personalized. “As users start using more and more, they will get used to the AI ​​models, become attached to them and it will not be easy to switch from Apple to Android. This is the factor that helps Apple make money.”