Apple sells $49.99 AI packs as Samsung tests a $4.99 tier

By Rebecca Stone

Apple has begun selling a $49.99 “intelligence usage pack” for Logic Pro, making extra access to selected AI features a paid service for the first time on its devices.

The latest Logic Pro update places “Buy More Usage” under Intelligence Features > Show Usage, with the $49.99 one-time pack as the only purchase option, 9to5Mac reported. Apple had previously included its AI features without charging separately for expanded use.

What does the usage pack cover?

Apple says the pack covers the AI features in Apple Creator Studio, its subscription bundle of creative applications. Logic Pro’s assistant, image-generation and shape-generation tools, and presenter notes run on Google Gemini models; Keynote’s Generate Presentation runs on OpenAI.

Apple applies monthly limits by feature. Its support page says subscribers can generate at least 50 presentations and presenter notes for 700 slides a month, while the Logic Pro limit depends on “the complexity of conversations you have with the assistant.”

The pack activates only after the applicable monthly limit is reached. Unused usage rolls from one month to the next and expires 12 months after purchase.

The commercial rules are specific:

• The pack costs $49.99 per purchase and is non-refundable.
• Apple sells it in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the UK and the US.
• It does not support Family Sharing.

How far does Apple’s metering extend?

Usage packs are expected in Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator Pro and Apple’s iWork apps when the remaining announced Creator Studio updates ship this month, 9to5Mac said. That timing is a roadmap, not a completed rollout.

A separate Apple support page says that beginning with its 2027 software releases, the company will impose usage limits on Apple Intelligence and Siri AI features that rely on server-side models.

The list includes photo-editing tools such as Clean Up and cloud foundation models in Shortcuts. Apple says increased access to those features will be available for a fee.

Apple is also under pressure from its new chief executive to move faster on AI, according to an earlier Chip Dispatch report. The monetization plan gives that push a commercial mechanism.

What is Samsung testing?

Samsung is testing a Galaxy AI Premium subscription, according to SammyGuru, which found strings in a Samsung app listing a “Max” plan at $4.99 per month or $47.99 per year.

The site said the program is an early-access test that refunds testers’ payments. The Max tier would grant four times the free tier’s usage plus new features, but Samsung has neither announced the plan nor confirmed a price.

SamMobile, citing SammyGuru, listed three features among the paid additions in the test:

• AI video generation
• Bixby Action, which automates tasks across apps
• Daily Briefing

Three existing tools would remain free but subject to usage limits:

• Now Brief
• Browsing Assist
• Samsung Keyboard

Credit packs would top up usage. A version gate in the app points to the Galaxy S27 series first.

On Nov. 9, SammyGuru said a newer SamMobile report had found three tier names—Starter, Plus and Pro—embedded in the app. Samsung was still exploring how to charge, and SammyGuru reported that “nothing is final yet.”

What changes competitively?

Apple has moved from free bundled AI to a documented $49.99 top-up in shipping software; Samsung’s lower recurring option remains an experiment visible in app strings and early-access tests.

On nominal prices, Samsung’s $47.99 annual tier would sit $1 below Apple’s one-time $49.99 pack. The comparison is incomplete because the plans cover different device ecosystems, usage rules and feature sets, and Samsung’s offer has not been finalized.

Apple’s pack gives Creator Studio subscribers a defined overage product today, while its 2027 notice points toward metering a wider set of server-side Apple Intelligence and Siri functions. Samsung is testing a lower entry subscription, credit top-ups and paid extensions to existing free tools.

If Samsung carries its $4.99 monthly structure into a release, it will set a lower recurring entry point against Apple’s $49.99 one-time top-up, while both companies must define how additional AI usage is priced.