The tools related to Apple Intelligence are free to use. Although there have been several reports that Apple would like to offer new and more powerful features in a paid Plus plan in the long term, you currently only have to pay for AI functions in the iWork apps. Nevertheless, Apple generates high sales with AI tools – according to a report, the company made around $900 million last year. The reason is simply explained: This refers to the income from Apple Tax, i.e. the 30 percent commissions for sales of apps in the App Store. ChatGPT in particular brought in a lot
According to AppMagic, said App Store commission revenue increased from approximately $35 million in January 2025 to a peak of $101 million in August. The main driver was ChatGPT, which is said to have generated around 75 percent of the commission revenue from AI apps. Grok followed a long way behind at around five percent. This has created a situation in which Apple is benefiting more than many others from the AI boom – even though it still has comparatively little to show for itself. The dominant position in the smartphone market makes it possible to find yourself in a comfortable situation. The Wall Street Journal summarizes the development with the sentence “Apple is far behind in AI and is still making a fortune from it.” This year it is likely to be more than a billion in fees.
Apple is not participating in the hardware arms race
While other technology companies invest hundreds of billions of dollars in chips, data centers and the development of new models, Apple spends little money in this sector. In the “AI arms race,” the company is not relying on gigantic infrastructure investments, but rather on platform control and close integration of services. An interesting observation: With the commissions on store sales, approximately as much flowed to Cupertino as the licensing of Google Gemini for the new Siri generation and future functions related to Apple Intelligence supposedly costs. Bloomberg reported that Apple and Google’s collaboration is in the region of $1 billion per year.
