Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, led the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call, where artificial intelligence was a central topic. Cook remains CEO through August 31; he is scheduled to hand over the role to John Ternus afterward.
During the discussion of second-quarter results, the company addressed the AI features Apple announced in June. Those new capabilities are slated to arrive with the operating system updates coming this autumn, which are currently in testing and will roll out to users’ devices.
Investor questions and concerns
Investors asked how Siri AI might drive device sales and upgrades, since most of the new features require one of the latest iPhone models and could therefore encourage purchases. At the same time, investors voiced concerns about the operational costs of the technology. Artificial intelligence is resource-intensive, and Tim Cook said he could not yet quantify how financially profitable Siri AI will be.
iCloud+ required for heavier use
Cook indicated that users who plan to make significant use of the AI features will need an iCloud+ subscription. Apple has not specified the exact cutoff point that would trigger a paid requirement. The company said the capabilities will be available for free at a basic level, but higher levels of AI usage may be tied to a subscription.
First public hint of paid tier
According to 9to5Mac, this was the first time Apple publicly suggested that Siri AI could become a paid service beyond a certain usage threshold. The company did not provide further details, including any pricing or the structure of potential subscription tiers.
Availability in the European Union
Cook also stated that Siri AI will not be available in the European Union at launch. There is no timeline yet for if or when that will change.
Summary
Apple has outlined the framework for its upcoming AI features and warned that heavy usage could require an iCloud+ subscription. Key specifics about thresholds, pricing, and broader availability remain undecided.
