Apple could charge up to $20 per month for access to Apple Intelligence

A new, pricier Apple One tier?

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With its Siri overhaul, image-generation abilities, and photo-editing tools,Apple Intelligence–Apple’s upcoming suite of AI features – could be more exciting thaniOS 18itself, but according to one report it might also be rather expensive.

According to Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research, speaking toCNBC, Apple Intelligence probably won’t be a free offering, with Apple charging $10-$20 (around £8-£16 / AU$15-AU$30) for some of the more advanced features within Apple Intelligence.

Shah didn’t specify which features might be charged and which might be free, but we can imagine that perhaps the upgraded version of Siri orthe ChatGPT integrationwould come at a cost.

He added that if Apple does charge, it might bundle its Apple Intelligence features into anApple Onetier, so you’d be getting other things for your money too, likeiCloudstorage and potentially subscriptions to services likeApple TV PlusandApple Music.

AI also costs money elsewhere

That would be a similar bundle to whatGoogleoffers with itsGoogle One AI Premium plan, which provides access to itsGemini AdvancedAI service, along with cloud storage andFitbit Premium.

So there’s precedent for this sort of bundle, and there’s certainly precedent for charging for AI, withOpenAIcharging for the most advancedChatGPTmodel.

Shah also pointed out that AI would give Apple a chance to further lock its customer base into Apple products, since Apple Intelligence can learn from a user’s behavior over time, becoming more personalized, and you wouldn’t be able to bring that model with you from iOS to Android.

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As it becomes more personalized, you’d likely use it more too, becoming more reliant on it, and therefore happier to pay.

Of course, Apple would have to get past the initial hurdle of convincing people to sign up in the first place, but it’s easy to imagine that it might provide Apple Intelligence for free for a period of time with purchases of aniPhone 16or other devices.

All of this is really just speculation though, and we likely won’t know Apple’s plans for Apple Intelligence until the service launches, which it probably won’t until October. Before that, there’s the iPhone 16 line itself to look forward to, with a September launch likely, and TechRadar will cover all of these announcements in full as they happen.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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