Today was the day, Apple had its media event. Tim Cook started off by saying the event was going to be centered around Apple services. Which most of us going into this knew. But Apple had some surprises up their sleeve.
Apple News+:
They started off with a new service we knew they were doing pretty much since the first betas of iOS 12.2. Apple News+ is a subscription service you can sign up for $9.99 and get access to a bunch of different magazines and a few newspapers like the LA Times and Wall Street Journal.
They just show up in your Apple News app just like any other news source and look brilliant like most articles in Apple News. You can start your subscription starting today once you have updated your iOS device to 12.2 and the first month is free.
Apple Card:
Apple announced a bunch of services today and for me, the event was kind of a weird roller coaster ride. The Apple News+ was expected and pretty meh to me. I don’t really care much about magazines but it's a nice thing to have if you do like them. Now we have left the station and are going up the coast. We are just about at the top. The Apple Card might be the most important thing they announced today.
Apple now has a credit card. That might not really seem too important but it really is. Everything will be done in the Wallet app, sign up, payments, and management all happen in Wallet. Once you are approved you can start using the card right in Wallet. When using the Apple Card it will show you how you spend your money and help you pay the card back so you are paying the least amount of interest. If you have ever used Mint its seems very similar.
Like most credit cards they will have a rewards program, but they will not be using points. Apple will just be doing daily cash back on purchases, 2% cash back on daily purchases and 3% cash back for Apple purchases and subscriptions. Apple will provide a physical credit card to use in case you need to use the card someplace Apple Pay is not available. If you use the physical card you will get 1% back in daily cash back. Sadly this service did not launch today but will be talked about more in the fall.
Apple Arcade:
Now we are descending down the coaster with our arms in the air. Apple talked about gaming on iOS. For the most part, if you go to the game section of the app store you will see a lot of free to play games. Some of them are not bad while others are terrible but they are the most profitable games in the store. If you really look you can find games you can actually pay for up front and enjoy. But because they have that monetary point of entry most mobile gamers don’t give them much attention.
In the fall Apple wants to fix that with a new subscription service called Apple Arcade. Apple Arcade will be a gaming subscription service that allows iOS users to play any game on the service for a set monthly fee. Kind of like Xbox Game Pass but for mobile games. As of right now, they will have 100+ games to chose from. The games are being made by some well-known studios like Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games. Like Apple Card, we will know more about this service in the Fall.
Apple TV+:
We make it down the first exciting hump and now realize thats was the only one now. The track back to the station is kind of long so you take out your phone and look at Instagram or Facebook endlessly until your back at the station. This is when the event went from exciting to meh for me again. They have made improvements to the Apple TV app, like being apple to have your subscription services in one place and not have to leave the app as it does currently. If you have a cable subscription you can easily get access to shows and services like Showtime. Movies show up in the updated Apple TV app as well.
Wait wait there's a service to tie in with the app. Coming in the Fall, you can subscribe to Apple TV+. This subscription service will give you access to all the original programming Apple is making. From show creators like Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa, M. Night Shyamalan, Jon M. Chu. A lot of star power there. They went on stage one at a time to give like a pitch of their shows. None of them seemed as bad as Planet of the Apps, the Apple original that was like a Shark Tank but for Apps. Still, nothing really caught my eye and made me feel like Apple TV+ will be the NBC of streaming services (sorry Apple).
Like everything else, Apple TV+ will launch sometime in the fall. You might see a show you want to watch but you don’t own or want to own an Apple TV just to watch a show. Don’t worry the Apple TV app will arable on some Smart TVs, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV devices.
Back at the Station:
The event was truly a weird rollercoaster ride. I know the event was mostly about Apple News+ and Apple TV+ but I feel like the real stars where Apple Card and Apple Arcade. I personally can't wait for fall to know the price of the gaming service which may make or break it. Apple News+ was meh for me cause I use Apple News but more for like a Sunday read and Apple TV+ is meh for me cause I watch more Youtube than traditional network shows. The shows on Apple TV+ seem like more of the same normal TV and I want something more like Youtube or TWiTCH. If another one could ever be made.
Hopefully, Apple announced something today you are looking forward to.