Apple Confirms Paid iCloud+ Tier for AI Siri
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- Tim Cook told analysts on Apple's quarterly earnings call that the company is still developing its plan to address higher computing costs for the revamped Siri, saying "there will be people that want to use it a lot" and hinting at "upgrade possibilities on iCloud+"
- This is the first time Apple has confirmed it will charge for the new AI-powered voice assistant, Axios reports
- Apple unveiled the long-delayed Siri upgrade at WWDC in June, with a public beta beginning this month and broad availability due in the fall alongside new iPhones
- The new Siri relies in part on Google Gemini models to power its capabilities, according to Axios's "Between the lines" section
- Apple also said users will need a paid iCloud subscription to access a new home security feature built into iOS 27, the next version of its mobile operating system
- Cook framed positive early reviews as underscoring Apple's philosophy of building "AI that is private and based on personal context"
Why it matters: Apple's confirmation makes the revamped Siri the first major Big Tech voice assistant to put core AI features behind a paywall, pricing compute rather than storage. With iOS 27's home security feature also gated behind iCloud+, Apple is quietly restructuring its subscription bundle around the cost of running frontier AI models on Google's Gemini.
