Is Google One AI Premium the only mobile AI suite worth paying for ...
I'm not sure rumored paid AI plans from Samsung or Nothing would be worth it. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
The Future of Mobile AI Subscriptions
Just about every company on the planet is rapidly developing artificial intelligence features, even the ones you wouldn't expect. However, they're still working out how to monetize it. In other words, how will companies make a profit off of all the research and development funding they put into AI features? It could be through ads, data collection, or direct-to-consumer subscriptions, but no one really knows which option is best.
When you buy any of the best smartphones, you're getting a ton of AI features bundled with them. For now, those are made available free of charge, included with the price of the phone itself. That might not be true forever, though. There are many hints that Samsung, Nothing, and Apple could eventually lock mobile AI tools behind a paywall. It seems like a matter of when, not if, the biggest smartphone brands start charging a subscription fee for AI features. Whether customers are actually willing to pay for Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI, or Essential Space is a lot less clear.
I've tested all the best mobile AI suites, and many of them offer useful features. For instance, I recently wrote that Nothing's Essential Space on the Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro is my favorite AI feature yet. That's still true, but it comes with a crucial caveat — it's currently a free AI premium. If or when Nothing decides to charge a monthly subscription for Essential Space, the entire value proposition changes.
The Challenge of Mobile AI Subscriptions
This isn't just a hypothetical, because a report from Android Authority recently uncovered Nothing OS code strings that reveal Essential Space could cost $120 per year at some point in the future. In a statement, Nothing said the following about the rumored pricing for Essential Space: "No decisions have been made yet around potential pricing and our focus remains on improving the product." While the company didn't confirm or deny the price listed in the code strings below, the signs point to Nothing going the subscription route. Will it work?
If I had to guess, I would say probably not. Building up a user base of people who want to use AI features regularly is hard enough. A perfect example of this is Apple Intelligence, which hasn't seemed to captivate audiences the way the iPhone maker expected. To that end, Apple is sending out regular emails to anyone with an Apple Account promoting Apple Intelligence, seemingly in an effort to encourage more people to use it.
The Value of Mobile AI Subscriptions
Getting enough people to regularly use and enjoy AI features is a tricky endeavor. Taking that a step further, finding enough smartphone users willing to pay for those AI features is just that much more difficult. People are very hesitant to pay for software, especially at a time when almost everything is trying out a subscription model.
While I loved using Essential Space as a way to organize my screenshots, notes, and voice recordings, I loved it as a free service. As a paid one, it's almost certainly a non-starter. I can't see myself paying for Essential Space, or Galaxy AI and Apple Intelligence for that matter.
Google One AI Premium - The Top Choice
For a mobile AI subscription to work, it has to successfully offer AI that's useful on your smartphone and features that extend beyond the smartphone. That's where all these mobile AI suites fall short. Essential Space and Galaxy AI provide great mobile AI tools, but that's all they offer. Meanwhile, Apple has the capability to offer a more well-rounded subscription — with perks like streaming services or cloud storage included — but can't seem to figure out the mobile AI part of it.
To me, there's only one company that can offer an AI subscription service, and that's Google. The Google One AI Premium subscription isn't exactly cheap, costing $20 per month. It just happens to provide the perfect balance of mobile AI features, desktop AI features, and other perks. Google One AI Premium unlocks Gemini Advanced, which will soon give users access to Gemini Live with live video streaming and screen sharing.
