Lance Whitney/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeaways
- Apple will limit your use of Siri AI and other AI features.
- Limits will be based on the feature, your request, and other factors.
- Run past your limit and you’ll have to pay for extended use.
Imagine this scenario. You’ve just upgraded your iPhone to iOS 27 and you’re chomping at the bit to check out all the cool new AI features. You want to chat back and forth with Siri AI. You want to try the new editing tools on all your photos. You want to cook up a bunch of clever images with Image Playground.
Ah, not so fast. Apple’s AI doesn’t come free, at least not if you use it a lot.
Generative AI is still mostly cloud-based, meaning that most of the processing runs on backend servers. Depending on how many people are tapping into AI, those servers can get bogged down juggling all the tasks thrown at them. That workload can hamper performance, leading to an unhappy experience for all those people.
Also: iOS 27 release date confirmed: 9 things your iPhone can do once you update
With that in mind, Apple is alerting users of its new AI features that they can run into limitations. In a support article published Wednesday, the company stated up front that the latest Apple Intelligence features rely on powerful server-side models and therefore have usage limits to ensure a reliable experience for everyone.
Which features will be subject to these usage limits?
- Siri AI
- Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, including Clean Up, Extend, and Spatial Reframing
- Image Playground
- AFM 3 Cloud and AFM 3 Cloud Pro Models in Shortcuts
- Developer apps using Apple Foundation Models in Private Cloud Compute
Also: Will your iPhone support Siri AI? The answer is complicated
Siri AI means the new, smarter, more reliable version of Apple’s voice assistant. The new photo editing tools let you cleanly erase an item, change the framing, or alter the view of a photo. Image Playground can create more photorealistic images and use AI to revise or transform your photos.
AFM 3 Cloud and AFM 3 Cloud Pro refer to Apple’s server-side AI models. AFM 3 Cloud is dubbed the “workhorse,” created for speed, effficiency, and performance. AFM 3 Cloud Pro is a more robust model designed for demanding tasks such as agentic tools and complex reasoning. Developer apps that use Apple Foundation Models naturally also will eat into the available server-side resources.
Also: How I use Siri mode in the iOS 27 Camera app to ask questions about anything I see
Whatever the AI feature you use, you’re likely to bump into a limit. And just how will those limits work? Here, Apple is fuzzy on details, saying only that limits may vary based on feature, the complexity of your request, current load on the servers, system policies, and other assorted factors.
If you reach a limit with any particular AI feature, you’ll be subject to a time out period. During your stay in this virtual penalty box, you won’t be able to use that feature again until your time out is over. What if you really need to use that feature? Well, then you can access it for a fee.
Yes, all this sounds vague. Apple is likely taking a wait-and-see approach to determine what kind of loads its servers can withstand, how and when to limit people, and what to charge them for increased access.
Also: Apple’s new Siri AI comes with hidden costs that power users should know of
For now, here’s one concrete example. If you use Apple’s Home app with security cameras, the number of cameras you can access via Apple Intelligence will vary based on your iCloud+ plan. With the 2TB plan, you can use AI with one camera. With the 6TB plan, you can use two cameras. And with the 12TB plan, you can rev up to five cameras.
Like many iPhone users, I’m looking forward to working with Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 27. I just hope we don’t run into limitations too easily or too quickly and spoil the fun.
