On Monday, March 25, Apple hosted the “It’s Show Time” event. As many had expected, this wasn’t meant unveil brand new hardware. Rather, it was all about services.
And Apple can certainly call itself a services company for sure now if it wasn’t already (which it was). Today, Apple unveiled three brand new services for the world. The company also essentially upgraded two additional services that have been available for quite some time. When it’s all said and done, Apple unveiled a variety of new ways for customers to keep security in mind, but also pay a monthly subscription to a whole host of new content.
So, let’s round it all up.
First, the news.
Apple News+
Apple upgraded Apple News in a big way today. This is a brand new subscription service that will provide access to over 300 magazines. It will also grant access to digital subscriptions from the likes of TechCrunch, while also includes papers like The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal.
For all of that, Apple News+ will cost $9.99 per month. Apple is offering up 30 days free for new subscribers, too. It will be available to start in the United States and Canada, and it will expand to Australia and Europe in the near future.
Here are a few of the other content sources:
- Billboard
- Eating Well
- ESPN The Magazine
- Fortune
- National Geographic
- Popular Science
- Sports Illustrated
- Rolling Stone
- The New Yorker
- Men’s Health
- Hollywood Reporter
- Vogue
Next up, video games!
Apple Arcade
Apple has always had an affinity for games, especially considering they have proven to be so very popular on iOS devices over the years. Today, Apple announced a brand new way for developers to launch titles across iOS, macOS, and tvOS, while giving a one-stop-shop for consumers to reach those games. It’s called Apple Arcade. This will be a monthly subscription service that will allow Apple device owners to access over 100 new and exclusive games. They can be played on iOS, macOS, and tvOS devices, and you can even pick up where you left off one device to the next.
Apple Arcade launches this fall, but there is no word on just how much the monthly cost will be. It will be available in over 150 countries when it goes live.
Let’s take a breath and look at the services Apple is upgrading.
Apple Card
Apple has extended credit for purchases through its stores, but that was through Barclays. But now the company is getting into the credit card game proper. Thanks to a partnership with Goldman Sachs, which is jumping into a consumer credit card, too, the Apple Card will offer a ton of benefits along the way. That includes a titanium card, which will have the owner’s name laser-etched into the surface. It will not have a card number, expiration date, security code, or other words on it. All of that information will be stored in the Wallet app.
That includes what Apple calls “Daily Cash”. This is a percentage of the money you spend, and it’s delivered the day you spend it. Not weeks or months later. When you buy your morning coffee or shop for groceries, or any time you spend with Apple Card, you get cash returned every single day. Every day you spend, cash will be added to your Apple Cash card. This can then be transferred to your own account. Or spend it within Apple Pay or even send it to friends with Apple Messages.
Every time you spend with Apple Pay, you get 2% back in Daily Cash. When you buy directly from Apple, purchases Services, you get 3% Daily Cash. The amount you can earn is unlimited on a daily basis as well.
The Apple Card will show details on what you spend and let you keep track of it, let you search by categories (which are color-coded), and even give you different options to pay off debt. There are no fees, either. No late fees, no over limit fees, no administration fees, and no international fees.
Apple Card launches this summer.
Next, the new, revamped Apple TV app and “Apple TV Channels”
The New Apple TV App and Channels
Content shown in the new TV app is ad-free and will offer up the best picture and sound available. It will still put together all of your content in one place, from iTunes movies to TV shows, as well as content from premium subscription services like Starz, Showtime, HBO, Epix, and others. All of the content will be available in one place, starting with “Watch Now”. There is also “Up Next”, which will show you the next episode in the series you’re watching — across your services.
All of this is meant to make it so you don’t have to jump from one app to another.
Sports gets a bigger focus with new notifications for real-time events, and there is a new dedicated section for kids as well. Apple is launching the Apple TV app for the Mac this fall, and it will be available across smart TVs from manufacturers like Samsung, Vizio, Sony, LG, and others. There will also be the new app for Roku and Amazon streaming devices.
Apple TV’s app is expanding to over 100 countries.
Apple’s revamped TV app launches this May.
And, finally, original shows and film.
Apple TV+
One of the biggest announcements is Apple TV+, the company’s brand new subscription service for original television shows and films. This will see Apple working with creators like Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Hailee Steinfeld, Sofia Coppola, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Oprah. There will be anthology series from Kumail Nanjiani, and a dramatic sci-fi series starring Jason Momoa. Damien Chazelle, M. Night Shyamalan, and many other creators, including Big Bird and a new friend named Cody, were all name-dropped as well.
Apple TV+ launches this fall. Unfortunately we don’t know how much it will cost on a monthly basis.
Finally, something just for fun. Apple’s opening film for the event:
https://youtu.be/b6d6iScjHpA
You can watch all of the videos Apple released today right here.
We Want To Hear From You
So, what was your favorite part of the big event today?
