Apple’s Private Cloud Compute Is Severely Limited for Third-Party Developers

From Apple’s Developer site:

To ensure getting started with a large cloud model is as accessible as possible, developers in the App Store Small Business Program with fewer than two million first time App Store downloads will be able to use Apple Foundation Models running on Private Cloud Compute (PCC) with no cloud API cost. The model provides access to frontier level intelligence with unparalleled privacy protections. This makes it easy for small developers to get started building intelligent app experiences without upfront infrastructure costs.

Eligibility requirements

Access to PCC is available to developers who meet the following criteria:

Where Apple Intelligence is available, eligible developers can use PCC in their apps distributed on the App Store, and test PCC features via TestFlight or ad hoc distribution. Installs during testing are not counted as first-time app downloads.

If any app subsequently exceeds the 2 million first-time downloads threshold, or the developer is no longer enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program, the developer will be notified and must migrate to an alternative solution within 6 months. Information about first-time downloads is available in Analytics in App Store Connect.

These strict limits don’t seem to be getting as much attention as they should. It’s nice that for small developers who meet the above criteria, access to PCC has no cost. But there’s no way (yet?) to buy your way out of these limits. There are no paid API tiers for larger developers who exceed the above limits, or for developers who qualify now but release a hit app that grows to exceed them. (Users who pay for iCloud+ don’t have any extra quotas for PCC usage in third-party apps either.)

The “fewer than 2 million first-time app downloads from any of their apps” restriction is particularly notable. It’s not 2 million installations for apps that are using PCC, but 2 million downloads for any app the developer has ever released. Developer Gui Rambo writes:

So uhhhh… Apple should really rethink the Private Cloud Compute developer access limitation. I do happen to have an app that’s had more than 2 million downloads. That app is ChibiStudio, an app that’s been in the App Store for over 10 years. It’s not like I’m getting a million new users every year nowadays. And I’m also not making any real money with it 🥲

The bottom line is that — for the OS 27 cycle at least — PCC is primarily a feature for Apple itself to use in Siri AI. Granting access to PCC to any third-party developers at all is better than nothing, but this 2-million-download cap cuts off many developers who are in the Small Business Program. Apple should reconsider that. And I know there are a lot of developers who exceed the eligibility for the Small Business Program who would love to have access to the PCC APIs, even if access was paid. The lack of paid tiers says to me that Apple is worried enough about meeting demand from Siri AI users alone.

★ Saturday, 13 June 2026