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Most anticipated iOS 18 features could come with a hefty monthly fee, analysts warn
The iPhone 16 is already going to be expensive - and now analysts are warning you could have to fork out an extra monthly fee to use all of its features.
Reports indicate users could pay up to $20 per month for premium Apple Intelligence, the tech company’s flagship new AI system.
This system will introduce a suite of new AI features, including the ability to create custom images and 'Genmojis,' enhanced Siri capabilities, email generation through ChatGPT integration, and more.
‘I think eventually there will be a gold, silver and bronze type of level, and for the gold service they’ll charge per month,' Dan Ives, technology sector analyst, told DailyMail.com.
Apple Intelligence is slated to launch this October as part of the iOS 18 software update. But by fall 2025, Apple could begin charging for premium AI features, analysts warn.
Apple Intelligence is currently slated to launch this October as part of the iOS 18 software update, and will most likely be free at first, analysts say.
But launching an AI system and building the necessary infrastructure to support it is expensive - prompting analysts to ask how the company plans to make up their losses on this new service.
Apple won't begin charging for AI features until 2025 at the earliest - potentially around the time that the iPhone 17 launches next September, Ives said.
That's because charging for these features right from the start would slow down adoption. The idea is to get users hooked on the premium features before introducing a fee.
'That's right out of Apple's playbook,' Ives said.
For example, when Apple TV+ launched in 2019, Apple offered a one-year free subscription to encourage people to sign up. Now, the free trial period is only one week.
Apple Intelligence will only be available on iPhone 15 and the forthcoming iPhone 16.
Among other offerings, Apple Intelligence will enable users to create custom emojis, or 'Genmojis.' It's too early to say whether this feature will be paywalled or not.
It's too early to say which features will be paywalled and which won't, but it's likely that Apple will stratify the offerings based on how advanced they are and only charge for the highest tier, Ives explained.
If and when Apple rolls out a fee for premium Apple Intelligence features, it will likely cost between $15 and $20 per month, analysts predict.
That's roughly the same as what other technology firms charge for their more advanced AI offerings.
OpenAI, for example, charges $20 per month for their ChatGPT Plus subscription, which offers availability even when demand is high, faster response speed and priority access to new features.
Subscriptions help technology companies recoup the enormous cost of launching an AI product and building the new data centers to support it.
Developing ChatGPT cost OpenAI roughly $540 million, according to a report from The Information.
But Apple's biggest competitors, Google and Samsung, are keeping their AI offerings free for now - another reason why Apple probably won't introduce a fee right off the bat.
Samsung's Galaxy AI will be free until the end of 2025, and Google is offering a free year of the most expensive Google One subscription for new Chromebooks, which also provides access to the more advanced Gemini model.
Content creator and former Apple Sales Specialist Tyler Morgan said he definitely wouldn't pay a monthly fee for premium Apple Intelligence features.
Even though it will be a while before Apple device users will have to pay for premium Apple Intelligence features, people have already begun expressing their frustrations online.
'Not happening. We are too far down the road of subscription fatigue here,' one person posted in a MacRumors forum.
'These subscription based models are getting utterly ridiculous and I’m getting sick of it. I’m not paying up to $20 a month to use something that should be free when purchasing a phone for $1200,' another wrote.
Even content creator and former Apple Sales Specialist Tyler Morgan said he wouldn't pay for Apple Intelligence.
'I would probably pay for it to make content, and then I would cancel so fast,' he told DailyMail.com.
He makes educational TikTok videos about new Apple features and devices as well as helpful tips for users.
But Ives, on the other hand, said that impending Apple Intelligence fees won't scare most people away, and certainly won't deter them from purchasing the new iPhone 16 after it launches this September.
‘I think consumers are going to be lining up for iPhone 16. And this is really going to be noise in the long term,' he said.