You didn’t think Apple would give you Apple Intelligence without making you deal with Apple Monetization, did you? The tech giant could eventually charge $10-$20 per month for some of the more advanced Apple Intelligence capabilities at some point during this phased rollout. With iOS 18.1 Developer Beta, Apple has released some AI features in the Apple Intelligence Beta that can only be installed on U.S.-purchased iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models.
In a CNBC interview, Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, predicted that Apple would like to subsidize the investment in artificial intelligence by charging its customers $10 to $20 per month for premium Apple Intelligence features once it has released all of Apple Intelligence. According to Shah, this monthly charge may be tied to Apple One.
According to CCS Insight’s chief of research Ben Wood, Apple is one of the few companies in the connected devices industry that have developed a way to monetize its Services unit. Due to this, Apple should charge for some Apple Intelligence features.
To use Apple Intelligence, users will need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, or one of the four new iPhone 16 models if they don’t install Beta software. AI features such as custom emojis and those related to Siri, the virtual digital assistant, might not be available until 2025.
Currently, Apple anticipates that a large number of existing iPhone users will upgrade to a new iPhone 16 phone next month, as it does not support Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone to have 8GB of RAM.
