Many have spotted that Siri – the voice assistant inside the iPhone and assorted Apple products – is lacking a bit in AI smarts compared to leading competitors. Now a rumor is circulating that Apple intends to catch up – but charge users a subscription fee for the privilege.
Showing up as the WWDC hype builds (but actually seen on Reddit a few months ago) this image apparently simulates an Apple sales page showing a list of features which might be reserved for 'Siri+' like 'Advanced Conversational Capabilities' and 'Proactive Assistance'...
It is rumoured that Apple will introduce a subscription model for Siri and AI upgrades.Would you pay monthly for Siri? 🤔#Siri #Apple #WWDC24 pic.twitter.com/QWqvRUaZaoMay 23, 2024
Obviously, the 'word' of an image posted in an unofficial Marques Brownlee community on Reddit (though apparently by a developer with a couple of years standing on the platform) isn't exactly a co – and let's be fair it might well be traced further back – isn't very convincing evidence.
It certainly isn't without precedent for Apple to charge subscriptions, though. Users of the best HomeKit cameras know, for example, that paying a fee to Apple opens storage and services. And of course Apple Music and the like are available as part of Apple One.
More reliable sources like Macrumors are being somewhat more circumspect and steering clear of this altogether, and they might be right to.
Personally, while I can see the logic the rumor-monger might have sought to illustrate, I doubt Apple would attempt to do it this way.
I imagine trying to divide Siri in half would be a marketing nightmare: while there are undoubtedly some Apple users keen to get access to more AI features – and others keen to avoid them – Siri+ makes it difficult to sell iPhones to either camp.
Siri is a brand with amazing recognition (witness The Big Bang Theory episode 5:14 "The Beta Test Initiation") but by having to upsell customers on a subscription Apple would inherently have to "clarify" the difference – in other words tell (probably) most customers they were getting something worse than, perhaps, they thought.
We've seen that AI features can be motivating features in phone sales – the new Google Pixel 8a is partly sold on its photo editing AI. For my money that's the kind of tech we're more likely to see at WWDC, as well as some AI improvements (perhaps even a deal or acquisition to placate Apple's investors), but a subscription? We'll see.
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