Apple is continuing its expansion in services with the launch of new subscription services for news and gaming. In addition, the company is expanding Apple Pay with a credit card and updating its Apple TV app to make it a platform for access to multiple third-party streaming services and more of Apple's own original content.
The news subscription Apple News+ launches first, available now for USD 9.99 per month. It will be available to start in the US and Canada, with popular titles such as the LA Times, Elle, Vogue, The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair and The Toronto Star, as well as unlimited access to over 300 more magazines and newspapers.
The news service is available with the latest iOS update and can be used across Apple devices and offline, including with family sharing at no additional cost for up to six users. Apple said the service will expand later this year to Australia and the UK, before the rest of Europe.
Apple Arcade coming this fall
The gaming service Apple Arcade is planned to launch this autumn in over 150 countries, with pricing details to be announced at a later date. The service will feature ad-free, full access to all features of over 100 titles, with additional games added regularly. Apple Arcade will work across all Apple devices, including offline.
The company is working with game developers to offer titles exclusive to its mobile platform and subscription service. Some of the first named creators are Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong and Will Wright.
Virtual credit card
The Apple Card will launch this summer and was developed in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. It works as a virtual card stored in the secure element on an iPhone and managed from the Apple Wallet app. The card can be applied for from within the app and activated "within minutes", Apple said.
Features expected to set the Apple Card apart from traditional credit cards in the US include spending management, real-time interest calculation and payment plans, options to pay off the balance quicker in weekly or biweekly instalments, customer service over the Messages app and more detail information including location on purchases.
In addition, the card will offer cashback on all purchases, from 1 percent on transactions with the associated physical card, 2 percent from the app and 3 percent on purchases of Apple goods and services. The 'Daily Cash' is paid out each day to a cash card linked to the user's account, which they can use for purchases, to pay off the credit card balance or to transfer cash to contacts.
The Apple Card is designed as an extension of Apple Pay, which the company said is on track to pass 10 billion transactions this year. Apple announced that Apple Pay will expand to more than 40 countries by the end of this year, and is also launching support for public transport in the US, first in Portland, followed by Chicago and New York City later this year.
Apple TV update
Finally, for the video market Apple is aiming to build a platform for multiple TV and video services through its Apple TV app. With the updated app launching in May, Apple users will be able to subscribe to over 150 streaming services or 'Apple TV channels', such as Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, Starz and FuboTV, without needing to download another app or remember another log-in. In addition, users can access their pay-TV services, starting with Charter's Spectrum, AT&T's DirecTV, Sony's Playstation Vue and Canal Plus, and later this year from Altice's Optimum and Suddenlink.
The Apple TV app will become the main platform for purchasing VoD content through iTunes as well, and offer increased personalisation options and recommendations. The TV app is already available in ten countries and will expand to over 100 with the new update. It will also extend beyond the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV to work on Mac computers, and for the first time, third-party hardware, starting with smart TVs. Samsung TVs will be the first to get the Apple TV app, followed by Sony, LG and Vizio TVs, as well as Roku and Amazon media players.
Exclusive content
To make Apple TV even more attractive, Apple also announced plans to expand its own original content on the app, through an ad-free subscription service called Apple TV+. Billed as thought-provoking, challenging and the best in entertainment programmes, the new, exclusive output will include series, films and documentaries featuring well-known names such as Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Aniston, J.J. Abrams, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Farrell and Big Bird. The subscription VoD service will launch this autumn in over 100 countries.
The new services are designed to offset the slowdown in iPhone sales and help Apple maintain the double-digit growth momentum of its services business over the App Store. With all the new services, Apple emphasized its commitment to security and privacy. Personalisation such as recommending reading or video content, will occur on-device, rather than being stored on Apple servers. Its partner on the credit card, Goldman Sachs, will not share customer data with third parties for marketing purposes.
