Apple just revealed a slew of services – from TV streaming service to a game subscription to a news and magazine subscription. Out of everything announced, Apple News+ is the only service live right now. It’s Apple’s $9.99/month bundle for more than 300 magazines, two reputable newspapers and a couple of special collaborations with web publishers. But Apple News+ is only available in US and Canada. Here’s how you can sign up for it if you live outside the US.
How to Prepare for Adding Apple News+ Outside US
News+ brings exquisitely designed magazines and articles that are formatting for the iPhone and iPad screen. It’s a great reading experience, especially on the iPad. It’s way better than just zooming in and out of a PDF magazine.
But for now, Apple has limited this experience to just US and Canada users. But using a workaround you can get access to Apple News+ no matter which country you’re in. Here’s what you need to do to set up your iPhone or iPad before you can do that.
Step 1: Apple News+ subscription service was added as an update to the News app that ships with iOS 12.2 update. So before doing anything else, you need to go to Settings -> General -> Software Update and update to the latest version on iOS.
Step 2: Now, we’ll change the region of the iOS device. Go to Settings -> General -> Language and Region. From here, tap on Country and switch to the United States. If you want, you can keep the language the same as your current country.
Step 3: Now, we need to switch to a US account. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need to create a new iTunes account with US as the country. Go to App Store, tap on your profile icon and select Sign Out. WARNING: Please note that your downloaded music library will be deleted when you switch the account to the US account. Though you will have to deal with it only once.
Now log in with your US account. If you don’t have a US account, go to appleid.apple.com to create a new account (select the United States as the country).
Step 4: Now we’ll need to sort out the payment method. Apple News+ offers a one-month free trial, after which it’s $9.99/month. But to sign up, you need to have a valid payment method added to your Apple ID (iTunes account). We tried using an Indian credit card and an Indian PayPal account. None of them worked. If you have a US credit card or you know someone who does, it’s best to use that. The only option that seems to be working is an Apple Gift Card balance. You need a US credit card to buy a gift card that works in the US App Store and iTunes. So you can request your friend or relative to buy an App Store and iTunes gift card from Apple’s App Store and iTunes gift card website and email it to you or provide the redemption code. The cheapest gift card is $10. You will then need to redeem the gift card with this new Apple ID.
Step 5: There might be another way around it. Apple News+ supports Family Sharing at no extra cost. So if you know someone in the US who has already subscribed to News+, you can ask them to add you to their Family Sharing account. Once you follow Steps 1-3, you should be able to see the News+ subscription in the app. If you’ve tried this and it works (or if it doesn’t), let us know in the comments.
How to Sign Up for Apple News+ Outside US
Now that everything has been set up, it’s time to actually sign up for Apple News+. If you’re based in US or Canada, this is where your process will begin.
Step 1: Open the new News+ app.
Step 2: You’ll see a News+ tab in the bottom. Tap on it. This will showcase the new News+ area. You can scroll around here to preview magazine covers and article stories. If you want to browse the entire catalog, you can do that from the top button.
Step 3: For now, swipe to the top of the News+ section and tap on the Try It Free button.
Step 4: It will open a new page. Tap on Try It Free again.
Step 5: Now, confirm the subscription using Face ID, Touch ID or a password. If you have enough Gift Card balance or you’ve connected a US Credit Card the payment information will go through and you’ll be subscribed to the Apple News+ service instantly.
That’s it. Now you can enjoy the hundreds of magazines crafted for the iPhone and iPad screen.
The only downside of this workaround is that it stops working if you change the Region back to your home country (changing the App Store back doesn’t seem to have an effect).
What Do You Think Of Apple News+ Service?
For a service called News+, Apple sure is emphasizing a lot on the magazine experience. I hope that as it goes on. Apple adds more newspapers and periodicals like The Economist to the service. What do you think of News+ so far? Share with us in the comments below.
