Apple Made Nearly $900 Million From Generative AI Apps Last Year

[MacRumors]

Apple collected nearly $900 million in App Store fees from generative AI apps in 2025, according to data from analysis firm AppMagic, covered by The Wall Street Journal ($).

The overwhelming majority of Apple's AI app commission revenue came courtesy of ChatGPT downloads leading to subsequent subscriptions, which alone accounted for around 75 percent of the above total. Elon Musk's Grok app came a distant second, making up just 5 percent of the revenue.

Apple is now said to be on course to earn $1 billion in generative app revenue this year. Given how behind the company is in the AI race, highlighted by the sluggish progress of its enhanced Siri rollout, it's a tidy sum indeed.

Of course, the reason Apple benefits from the popularity of AI apps built by other companies is that the iPhone remains the smartphone market leader. Most AI apps still have to go through its App Store, where Apple takes a commission of up to 30 percent on subscriptions. As the report notes:

"Its Siri chatbot is still weak by modern AI standards. What Apple does have that the other AI players don't is a dominant position making devices. However fancy OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and xAI make their chatbots, iPhones are still a primary way to deliver them to consumers."

The revenue stands in contrast to Apple's relatively modest AI spending compared to rivals like Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, all of whom have poured tens of billions into AI infrastructure, with little to no profit yet to show for it. Meanwhile, Apple's capital expenditures have remained comparatively flat, thanks to its prioritization of investment in on-device AI over large data centers filled with GPU processors.

The strategy won't enable a more capable Siri, but Apple appears to be happy to lean on Google to provide the necessary AI infrastructure for that. The two companies announced in January that Gemini will power a revamped version of Apple's virtual assistant, coming later this year. The financial terms of the partnership haven't been disclosed, but Bloomberg reported last year that the deal would be around $1 billion annually. That will give Apple access to a 1.2 trillion parameter model that dwarfs its in-house capabilities.

Perhaps the deeper irony is that Google already pays Apple around $20 billion per year to remain the default search engine on iPhones, so now money is flowing in the other direction too, albeit at a drastically lower rate.

Still, some investors see the App Store approach as a more viable long-term strategy. Charles Rinehart, chief investment officer of Johnson Asset Management, told WSJ that if Apple "can act as a toll road for providers of AI, then they'll probably end up looking good long-term."

Article Link: Apple Made Nearly $900 Million From Generative AI Apps Last Year

 

[cicalinarrot]

Fine, now let me remap the Siri button to an assistant from the current decade.

 

[gd2024]

Lotta people been pessimistic on Apple's seeming lack of progress on AI. But heck, almost $1B profit off the app store AI products? I'm guessing Tim Cook doesn't lose any sleep over AI.

 

[Seanm87]

But I thought everyone hated AI? 🤔

 

[mikethebigo]

Apple is a platform company. They don’t need to make the best AI system (though they should at least make a good one). What they need to do is be the best platform to use AI on.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

They will soon make $0 because they’re having to license Gemini to replace Siri.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Oh no they made money on me

 

[marco114]

Apple is making wads of cash selling MacMinis and Mac Studios for on-prem AI Processing. It's the silent sneak attack nobody is talking about.

 

[Jarman74]

Most AI apps still have to go through its App Store, where Apple takes a commission of up to 30 percent on subscriptions.

OpenAI and Anthropic are among the companies that don’t force users to subscribe to ChatGPT or Claude through Apple and pay its commission, since you can do it directly on their websites.

 

[gmanist1000]

Fine, now let me remap the Siri button to an assistant from the current decade.

The action button can launch ChatGPT voice at least.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

There's Apple, with no AI of their own, making bank off the shoulders of companies that do know how to do AI.

I mean, who needs to actually write decent software when you can subsist on App Store fees? No wonder Apple isn't trying hard and has pretty much given up (Gemini).

 

[Happy_John]

More evidence to suggest that AI is a pyramid scheme. AI doesn’t make money. Commission on AI apps, and selling hardware to run AI models, makes money.

The running costs of the huge-server based models are not being covered by their owners revenue, running costs are being paid for by investment rounds.

So when the investors finally demand an actual return on their investment, Apple and nVidia can say, “nothing to do with us”.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Lest anyone think they will let up on the subscription push everywhere they can jam it.

 

[Tim Jobs the 2nd]

But I thought everyone hated AI? 🤔

Only the same loud minority that thinks the world agrees with them on every subject

 

[Tim Jobs the 2nd]

More evidence to suggest that AI is a pyramid scheme. AI doesn’t make money. Commission on AI apps, and selling hardware to run AI models, makes money.

That isn't what a pyramid scheme is. People need to stop changing the definition of things.

 

[TwoBytes]

Fine, now let me remap the Siri button to an assistant from the current decade.

I wish this too. Japan has this feature enabled but not in other regions.

 

[EU-Regulations]

Let me guess: Gemini runs by default ? Nice move, GooPPLE.

 

[Happy_John]

That isn't what a pyramid scheme is. People need to stop changing the definition of things.

No, that is what a pyramid scheme is, but if you prefer the term “MLM”, that essentially fits too. But they’re ultimately the same thing, it’s just that “pyramid scheme” has more negative connotations.

The product itself is not the wealth-generator. What generates wealth is selling the opportunity for people to resell / repackage the product.

 

[Ursadorable]

I never subscribe through the app, only direct from the vendor's website. The only exception has been Apple Music.

 

[wanha]

one of biggest tech companies in the world not blowing hundreds of billions on AI like its competitors might turn out to be the most brilliant move in corporate history

 

[CarAnalogy]

So Apple is basically Walmart claiming success in every product category they sell and make profit from.

Apple is the top gaming company on earth because they make more money than the others.

Apple is a leading AI company because they make more profit than the others.

Etc. This is the cause of their hubris. As long as they are making money they consider whatever they’re doing a success.

If money was all that matters that would be great but I thought Apple was supposed to be more high minded about these things.

 

[DocMultimedia]

1B. Peanuts for Apple.

 

[HouseLannister]

The action button can launch ChatGPT voice at least.

Or Gemini Live, which I find far more useful as an assistant.

 

[boswald]

one of biggest tech companies in the world not blowing hundreds of billions on AI like its competitors might turn out to be the most brilliant move in corporate history

I've been thinking about this as well.

 

[unphased]

I'm perplexed. You mean to tell me that Altman is fine with giving Apple 30% of its revenue just to have users get a streamlined way to subscribe to chatgpt from the iOS app?

That much money that could have been spent on data centers. That's how poorly supply is keeping up with the demand? Bizarro world.