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Hybrid AI splits compute between the local device and a cloud endpoint.
The device handles what its neural engine can process; the cloud handles the rest, and whoever controls the billing for that cloud call captures the durable margin.
Apple outgoing CEO Tim Cook, speaking ahead of the Siri AI launch, said the company will charge for artificial intelligence through iCloud and framed the overall architecture as a "competitive weapon." The iCloud monetization layer iCloud already functions as an established subscription infrastructure Apple operates at scale.
By routing AI charges through it rather than embedding costs in device pricing or absorbing them into a free tier, Apple converts a discretionary compute expense into a predictable subscription line.
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