Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 is not unlimited. If you want more of it, you'll need to pay.
Apple confirmed in its iOS 27 press materials that features relying on "powerful server models" will carry daily usage limits. Image generation is the named example, though the framing suggests other server-dependent capabilities could face similar caps. Free users get a baseline allowance; most iCloud+ subscription tiers unlock higher limits. Apple One bundle subscribers are also included, along with Apple Intelligence support for compatible HomeKit Secure Video cameras.
This effectively converts part of Apple Intelligence from a device feature into a metered cloud service. Apple has long positioned its AI approach as local and private, but server costs have to be paid somewhere, and iCloud+ subscriptions are how it plans to collect. The structure mirrors OpenAI and Google, which use usage caps to nudge free users toward paid AI tiers.
iCloud+ starts at $0.99 a month. Apple Intelligence is free to try, for now. Just not indefinitely.