Apple held a conference to make new announcements and little did we know that the company had a huge pile in stock for us. Much of the hype pre-event was on ‘a new streaming service’, and knowing Apple to be a hardware brand – you could not think of anything bigger.
The company announced a series of new services across some of their apps at the conference held in Cupertino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said the company’s focus is now on selling services rather than just hardware in a major shift in strategy.
Here’s a look at all the major announcements made: including Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade and a new credit card.
Apple TV+
Arguably the company’s substitute for Netflix, the TV Plus service is going to be a video streaming service that is likely to feature Apple exclusive content, such as television series, movies and documentaries.
The list of personalities that are lined up to feature include Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, among others – to create shows for the new platform.
The service will come to iOS, macOS and tvOS later in the year, and is likely to be enjoyed with audiences that have the Apple TV app on their sets.
Did I mention that it will be ad-free and is coming to 100+ countries?
Read About: All you need to know about Apple TV Plus streaming video service
Apple News+
Apple’s News+ is a paid news subscription service focusing on giving you access to close to 300 magazine subscriptions and top news publishers like Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch and the LA Times, all at a fixed price of $9.99 per month.
Upon subscription, you will be able to download the entire magazine and view it in offline mode as well. Apple assures you that they will not track what you are reading nor will they allow advertisers to do the same with this new app.
It is limited to US and Canada markets for now.
Apple Arcade
Just the other day, Google unveiled the Stadia cloud gaming platform, and Apple fanatics were watching on in anticipation. Apple has as well announced Arcade, a games subscription service that is limited to only the company’s devices – iOS, macOS and tvOS.
The company says they will add a dedicated Arcade tab in the App Store, where users can get access to paid games, and be able to download them with their paid subscription to play it even if one is offline.
The gaming subscription will be made available in over 150+ countries later in 2019.
Apple credit card
The other announcement made, which is limited to only the US, was the Apple credit card. This card is designed to work only within the Apple Wallet app, but there is still an available option to obtain a physical version if you want.
Apple says the card will make payment tracking much clearer, with an easy-to-understand rewards program, and no interest fees charged.
