Apple’s CEO Hints That Heavy Use of Siri AI Could Cost You

Siri AI is coming soon. The redesign of Apple’s voice assistant was first unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Since then, the buzz has been all about what to expect from the new Siri 2.0. 

But Siri AI may cost you, at least if you use it a lot.

Outgoing CEO Tim Cook hinted at a possible upcharge during Apple’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday. 

Cook was asked about iOS 27, Apple Intelligence, feedback from the public beta and how Apple is thinking about compute costs and the ability to recover those costs through iCloud Plus. He suggested the possibility of charging for Siri AI as a part of the iCloud Plus application stack. 

“We do believe there will be people that want to use it a lot, and so we will have some kind of upgrade possibilities on iCloud Plus,” Cook said. 

He added that those ideas are in the early stages and did not discuss a complete plan. Apple’s team is “off-the-charts excited about Siri AI,” he added, saying feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far. 

The earnings call, Cook’s last before John Ternus takes over as CEO, comes weeks after Apple announced price increases for Apple Music and Apple One subscription bundle. 

Apple has said the new AI-powered virtual assistant will be available on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, MacOS 27 and VisionOS 27. You can expect Siri AI to have its own app, customization, Visual Intelligence and a new design.

Examples of Siri’s new capabilities include being able to find out about the latest concert, how to get tickets and remind you when it’s time to buy them. Other features include finding information in your messages (e.g. “Call the eye doctor who messaged me”), creating a photo album specifically for a loved one that includes photos of them, and even identifying a place from a picture. 

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dashia is the consumer insights editor for CNET. She specializes in data-driven analysis and news at the intersection of tech, personal finance and consumer sentiment. Dashia investigates economic shifts and everyday challenges to help readers make well-informed decisions, and she covers a range of topics, including technology, security, energy and money. Dashia graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She loves baking, teaching spinning and spending time with her family.

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