Cook signaled Apple may put heavier use of its revamped Siri behind higher iCloud+ tiers as the company leans on on-device AI to contain infrastructure costs ahead of the assistant’s broader rollout this fall.
Apple CEO Tim Cook signaled for the first time that heavier use of the company’s revamped AI-powered Siri may come with a charge through higher iCloud+ tiers, as Apple looks to offset the cost of running advanced AI features while expanding its services business. Cook said Apple still does not have a “complete plan” for monetizing Siri AI, but added that users who rely on it heavily will likely have “some kind of upgrade possibilities on iCloud+.” Cook also used the earnings call to argue that Apple’s hybrid AI approach is a strategic advantage over rivals spending heavily on cloud infrastructure. By running some AI workloads directly on iPhones, iPads and Macs using Apple silicon, Apple can reduce reliance on remote data centers. He called the ability to process some requests on-device a “competitive weapon,” even as he said the company has been “growing our opex and spending more in AI in general.” The comments come ahead of the public launch of the upgraded Siri this fall as part of iOS 27. Apple unveiled the assistant in June and began a public beta this month. The new Siri can answer questions about on-screen content, take actions across apps and includes a standalone Siri AI app with a ChatGPT-like interface. Apple has already indicated that some cloud-based Apple Intelligence features will carry usage caps, with higher limits for iCloud+ subscribers, and Cook’s remarks show that model is set to extend to Siri itself. Apple’s June-quarter capital expenditures were $2.46 billion, below a StreetAccount estimate of $3.44 billion, underscoring how its spending remains well below that of Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, which have each committed to spending well over $100 billion in capex this year. For more demanding tasks such as image generation, Apple has said it will use Google Cloud infrastructure built on Nvidia graphics processing units and Intel central processors. The company reported $30.74 billion in services revenue for the quarter, and tying AI features to iCloud+ could create a new subscription revenue stream as Apple balances AI ambitions against margin pressure.