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At an event held at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Apple announced a number of services.
With no hardware being presented at the event, the focus was on enhancements to existing services and new service offerings, most catering to the US user base.
News+
Apple introduced News+, which brings hundreds of magazines, complete with design-intensive formats, to the Apple News application. Curated contents from Time Magazine , Vogue,The New Yorker , the Wall Street Journal and other publications are to be included. Advertisers are not permitted to track users’ consumption. This service is currently not directed at India and does not include Indian newspapers and magazines.
“We believe deeply in the power of creativity,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said. “Great stories can change the world. We feel we can contribute something important to our culture and to our society through great storytelling.”
Also not intended for India yet is Apple Pay and Apple Card, a new kind of credit card that focusses on simplicity, privacy and transparency with companies disallowed from sharing data and tracking shoppers. Users can shop with their Apple ID or use a physical titanium card that has no CVV numbers, no expiry date and actually gives cash for being used. It works with the Apple Wallet.
Apple Arcade
Available to a global audience is Apple’s new Apple Arcade, a gaming subscription service that will feature over 100 new and exclusive games, including original releases from renowned creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong, Will Wright and more. Arcade games will be curated based on originality, quality, creativity, fun and their appeal to players. Arcade will give customers the freedom to try any game from its collection of titles that are all-you-can-play, have no ads, ad tracking or additional purchases. “The App Store is the world’s biggest and most successful game platform. Now, we are going to take games even further with Apple Arcade, the first game subscription service for mobile, desktop and the living room,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice-president of Worldwide Marketing.
“We are working with some of the most innovative game developers in the world to create over 100 new and exclusive games to play across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. Apple Arcade games will be great for families, respect user privacy and will not have ads or require any additional purchases. We think players of all ages are going to love Apple Arcade.”
Video subscription service
In the presence of stars such as Steven Spielberg, Jenifer Anniston, Rees Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey, Apple announced Apple TV+, which the company says is the new platform meant for the world’s most creative storytellers featuring exclusive original shows, movies and documentaries. Apple TV+, Apple’s original video subscription service, will feature a brand new slate of programming from the world’s most celebrated artists on the Apple TV app where subscribers will enjoy ‘inspiring and authentic stories with emotional depth and compelling characters from all walks of life, ad-free and on demand.
Additionally, Apple debuted the all-new Apple TV app and Apple TV channels, coming in May, working across its devices. Apple TV channels include popular services such as HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, Smithsonian Channel, EPIX, Tastemade, Noggin and new services like MTV Hits, with more to be added over time around the world.
Also read:Apple debuts Titanium Credit Card with Goldman Mastercard
Hollywood celebrities helped début the revamped television offering. Apple has commissioned programming from Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Winfrey, Spielberg and others. Winfrey, who announced a global book club and two documentaries, said she was drawn to Apple in part by its reach. “They're in a billion pockets, y'all,” she said, referring to Apple's ubiquitous devices.
Alongside its own iPhones, iPads and iMacs, Apple will make the programming widely available through smart TVs and devices from Roku Inc and others, departing from the past where it has tended to keep content exclusively on its own hardware.
Many new products
Throughout the presentation, Apple executives stressed privacy protections for consumers as they shop and consume content. “The most important point for today was advertising and privacy,” said DA Davidson & Co analyst Thomas Forte.
Apple, second only to Microsoft Corp in market value among tech giants, led off the event with an announcement that its free news app will now come in a paid-subscription version, called Apple News+, which curates a range of news articles and will include 300 magazines including National Geographic , People , Popular Science , Billboard and the New Yorker . Apple said it would cost $9.99 a month.
Also read:Apple News+, at $10 a month, could deliver more content than multiple subscriptions
Apple then introduced a titanium, laser-etched Apple Card backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Mastercard Inc that can track spending across devices and pay daily cash back on purchases. Cook said Apple Pay will be available in more than 40 countries by the end of the year.
The company also introduced Apple Arcade, a game subscription service that will work on phones, tablets and desktop computers and include games from a range of developers. Apple said the gaming service will feature more than 100 exclusive titles from gaming partners such as Annapurna Interactive and that the service will arrive this autumn.
As with its original content service, Apple did not say how much its gaming service will cost consumers.
War for viewers
With its new media push, Apple joins a crowded field where Amazon.com's Prime Video and Netflix have spent heavily to capture viewer attention and dollars with award-winning series and films.
Apple's primarily family-friendly content, likely to appeal to young audiences, also sets the stage for a rivalry with Walt Disney Co.
The big tech war for viewers ignited a consolidation wave among traditional media companies preparing to join the fray. Disney, which bought 21st Century Fox, and AT&T, which purchased Time Warner, plan to launch or test new streaming video services this year.
Revenue from Apple's services — which include the App Store, iCloud and content businesses such as Apple Music — grew 24 per cent to $37.1 billion in fiscal 2018. The segment accounted for only about 14 per cent of Apple's overall $265.6 billion in revenue, but investors have pinned their hopes for growth on it.
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