"On January 13, Apple introduced the Apple Creator Studio, which it called (with typical Apple modesty) "an inspiring collection of the most powerful creative apps." From January 28, the faithful could spend $12.99 (£12.99 in the UK) per month (or $129/ £129 per year) on a suite of applications that included "intelligent features and premium content for Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and later Freeform for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.""
"While there is nothing new about products urging users to pay for a subscription or to upgrade ( see Microsoft), it is jarring for Apple users who likely hoped the company was above such things in its productivity apps. In 2024, when questioned about charging for AI-enhanced services in an interview with WIRED, Apple boss Tim Cook said: "We never talked about charging for it. We view it sort of like multitouch, which enabled the smartphone revolution and the modern tablet." Clearly, Apple has talked about it since then."
"Apple is now pushing upgrade ads at users, prompting complaints in the company's own forums. One put it bluntly: "Apple apps are not supposed to be an ad-laden experience. We aren't here for that." Users were also not warned that an upgrade would include nagging about a premium subscription, which has stuck in their craw."
Apple launched Apple Creator Studio with a paid tier available from January 28 priced at $12.99/month or $129/year ($12.99/£129 in the UK). The subscription adds intelligent features and premium content for Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and later Freeform across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Core productivity apps remain free with macOS, but many premium features, some powered by Apple Intelligence or OpenAI, require the Creator Studio subscription. Apple has begun showing upgrade ads and prompting pop-ups to users, which has generated complaints about an ad-like experience and surprise over charging for AI-enhanced services.
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