Tim Cook mentioned the early stage of a plan to let users increase their AI usage limits via iCloud+ during Apple's earnings call for Q3 2026. He said the company is considering how to support people who want to use AI services more intensively.
What Apple expects from AI boosters
Cook noted that while the company hasn't finalized its strategy, it believes some users will want to access more AI-powered features. To support that, Apple plans to offer some kind of upgrade through iCloud+. On Cook’s final earnings call before formally resigning as Apple’s CEO, artificial intelligence was a hot topic of conversation. The investor community is interested in Siri AI’s potential to boost iPhone upgrades, and at the same time concerned about what it means for Apple’s rising capital expenditure costs. Cook suggested that the financial outlook for Siri AI is still unclear, but did mention in passing that heavy users of Siri AI will be faced with an iCloud+ subscription paywall.
In June, Apple said daily usage caps would be placed on Image Playground, but more access would be available to iCloud+ subscribers. Cook now hints that AI-specific boosters could be another part of iCloud+. Siri AI is presented as a free feature of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems. But it is very much a service, in the sense that it costs Apple money to run on an ongoing basis, with LLM queries being sent to Apple’s cloud and third-party cloud infrastructure for processing, depending on the nature of the request. For the first time, Apple has publicly suggested that there will be a paid component to Siri AI. While the exact usage limits are not yet known, Cook indicated that customers cannot use Siri AI for free indefinitely. At some point, usage will be throttled, and heavy users of the new Siri system will need to purchase an iCloud+ plan.
What's included and what's not
Siri AI and other core features will stay free, even with paid upgrades. But users who pay for higher iCloud+ tiers may gain perks like more image generation and HomeKit Secure Video features. The company had previously indicated that the new image generation features (like the iOS 27 Clean Up and Extend tools in Photos, or the revamped Image Playground app) will have usage limits, and that users who are iCloud+ subscribers will have higher limits. In the current developer and public betas, these limits are not being enforced … so we don’t know yet how permissive they will be. Similarly, the new Apple Intelligence features for video recordings in the Home app require the 2 TB iCloud plan. Access to the new Cloud Pro model in the Shortcuts app is also exclusively available to users on the higher iCloud+ tiers.
iCloud+ pricing has already gone up in countries like Nigeria, Türkiye, and Japan. The biggest increase was in Nigeria, where a 50GB plan now costs ₦1,300, up from ₦900. iOS 27 with Siri AI requires an iOS device or Mac capable of Apple Intelligence, and will launch later this year. On the iPhone side, that means iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Due to regulatory restrictions, Siri AI will not be available in Europe or China for the foreseeable future.
More details expected in September
Apple hasn't said how much it might charge for AI upgrades, but that's likely to be revealed when iOS 27 launches in September. Critics like Ed Zitron argue the costs for AI infrastructure may never be fully recovered.
Cook said the company will watch how much demand there is for the AI boosters. Whether they catch on or not, Apple's current iCloud+ pricing changes may affect users in key international markets.