[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Apple may eventually attach separate subscription fees to some Siri AI features.

On June 15 (local time), IT outlet TechRadar reported that Mark Gurman, known as an Apple IT tipster, told PhoneArena that Apple could keep Siri's existing functions free while moving some generative AI features toward paid access.

A key point is that Apple unveiled a new Siri strategy at WWDC 2026 but did not present a separate subscription plan. Rival services such as Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude place advanced models and features behind paid subscriptions. Apple has not yet formalised that approach.

Still, the possibility of monetisation is not small. Gurman said existing Siri functions and on-device personal context features are likely to remain free. Those features are used to search messages and calendar items. He said separate subscriptions could emerge at some point for conversational responses and image generation.

The cost structure is also cited as a backdrop to that view. Apple pays Google about $1 billion annually for access to Gemini technology, and additional costs could rise if hundreds of millions of users perform complex tasks on Apple's AI systems. That is why some expect Apple to seek recovery through subscriptions rather than continuing to absorb such costs.

There are also signs that point to possible paid access. iCloud+ subscribers currently receive a higher daily usage limit for Siri's advanced features. It is not yet decided whether access to Siri's "advanced features" will be launched as a paid service, or bundled into higher-tier iCloud+ or Apple One plans, but the analysis said a paid plan is likely to be introduced in some form.

The timing is still uncertain. Siri AI remains in beta, and another variable is that early reactions suggest it is not being evaluated as having as high a level of completeness as rival services. Apple also faces the task of drawing back users who had left Siri for some time. Gurman said, "Apple is still at the stage where it has to prove to consumers that its AI technology is usable," adding, "Whether it is worth paying for is an issue for later."

That could make it more likely that Apple will first raise feature completeness and the user base rather than moving immediately to charging. Ultimately, if Siri AI becomes competitive, some features beyond what is now offered for free could be brought into a paid subscription system.