Apple Considers Paywalled Limits for Siri AI Upgrade, CEO Tim Cook Reveals
Quick Look
- Apple CEO Tim Cook indicated that the upcoming Siri AI upgrade might include paywalled features via iCloud+ subscriptions, allowing users to purchase more compute.
- The improved Siri AI is in iOS 27 beta, set for a broader fall rollout, as John Ternus takes over from Cook amidst Apple's efforts to catch up in AI.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Apple's CEO Tim Cook discussed the company's long-awaited Siri AI upgrade during his final earnings call, indicating potential paywalled features through iCloud+ subscriptions. This comes as Apple has lagged in advanced AI assistant development, even licensing Google's Gemini model.
In his final earnings call as CEO of Apple, Tim Cook said that the company’s long-awaited Siri AI upgrade could come with some paywalled limits. While Cook conceded that these plans are not set in stone, he envisions users being able to buy more compute for Siri AI via its existing iCloud+ subscriptions, which offer extended cloud storage.
“We do believe there will be people that want to use [Siri AI] a lot, and so we will have some kind of upgrade possibilities on iCloud+, where people can buy up the stack on iCloud+, and we’ll see how the pickup for that is,” Cook said on Thursday. “But we could not be more excited about where [Siri AI] is.”
Most other AI providers like Anthropic and OpenAI operate similarly, offering a limited free version to consumers with the option of upgrading to support more usage.
The new-and-improved Siri AI is available in the iOS 27 beta, and is planned to roll out more broadly this fall.
As longtime Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus steps into Tim Cook’s shoes, he will take the helm at a critical time for the company. Apple has fallen behind in its efforts to build an advanced AI assistant, even capitulating to its direct competitor Google by licensing a custom Gemini model to augment Siri. The Siri AI overhaul was so delayed that Apple had to pay $250 million to settle a class action lawsuit over how it marketed the iPhone 16’s AI capabilities.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The new-and-improved Siri AI will roll out more broadly this fall.
Very likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Exact pricing for Siri AI upgrades?
- Specific features behind the paywall?
- How will John Ternus address AI challenges?
