Apple extends AI access in Pro Apps with $50 Intelligence Usage Pack

NineFortyOne Staff

— 2 min read
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Apple extends AI access in Pro Apps with $50 Intelligence Usage Pack
Apple's Logic Pro is a professional DAW used by many, recently updated with Apple Intelligence features and assistance. Source: Apple

These AI payments never stop.

As Apple has said in the past, some of their AI features have usage limits, which, up until now, Apple has not detailed how to extend those limits. Now, Apple has updated their documentation, found by 9to5Mac, with a new option starting in Logic Pro to "Buy More Usage" of these AI features.

Logic Pro's main AI features are an assistant that can start a new song, refine existing songs, and set up vocal tracks. Apple calls these "Intelligence Usage Packs" and they are meant to extend usage of these AI features that rely on cloud AI servers from the likes of Google's Gemini or OpenAI. Apple explains that the Usage Pack is only available for the account that purchases it (no Family Sharing) and that unused usage will spill over into the next month. The whole usage pack expires after 12 months from the purchase date.

Apple is also explaining how the usage limits are based on the "complexity" of the conversations that are had with Logic Pro's AI assistant, and that Logic Pro users can show the usage of AI by going to Intelligence Features > Show Usage, with the option to buy more usage in this window.

Apple's iPhone 14 with Emergency SOS via Satellite. Source: Apple

All of these new payments for AI, specifically from Apple, are interesting, because it has not followed the typical Apple fashion of payments for services. When iPhone 14 received satellite SOS back in 2022, Apple said that satellite SOS coverage would only be free for 2 years, with no clear guidelines pointing to how exactly users would be charged.

Since then, Apple has essentially pushed that date back indefinitely, so far asking for not one penny for the satellite SOS services. The hope was that Apple would continue with this trend with the AI usage and that it would eventually get pushed back indefinitely.

However, given the state of the AI market and the rest of the economy and the prices of RAM and storage, it is safe to say that Apple does not have the cash to cover for free AI usage with no limits. The kinds of people who are pushing these limits are people that need serious processing power for AI, and Apple cannot afford to cover these costs given the price hikes everywhere else. It was necessary to happen, unfortunately, and Apple clearly took a more strict stance on it compared to satellite SOS.

Apple's new Intelligence Usage Packs are some of the first instances of Apple charging to use their AI past the limits, and it is clear that Apple cannot cover the AI costs anymore. We will have to wait and see what Apple does soon.

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