By: Nick Gambino
On Monday, Apple held a much-anticipated media event where they were to announce new services that would change the game. Whether or not they will actually cause any major shifts to the media landscape is debatable, but they are definitely huge strides forward for the Cupertino-based company.
From video content to finance to gaming, there’s plenty to cover. Here are the major announcements made at Monday’s event.
APPLE TV+
Arguably, the most exciting announcement was the company’s new video portal/platform Apple TV+. Planned for a fall launch, Apple TV+ will feature ad-free original programming including shows and movies.
They’ve roped in some of Hollywood’s biggest names to produce and star in their projects – names like Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, M. Night Shyamalan, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and even Oprah Winfrey. So, you know, people who are kind of a big deal.
Reports say that Apple is spending upwards of $1 billion a year on this content, which means they’re serious. Sure, Netflix is spending many times that, but right out the gate to drop that kind of coin is a real power play.
We don’t yet know how much they’ll charge for the subscription service but I’m sure it’ll be competitive with Netflix, Hulu, etc.
APPLE ARCADE
To ignore the lucrative appeal of gaming would be folly and foolish. Apple is anything but foolish, that’s why they are launching their very own ad-free subscription gaming service – Apple Arcade.
Apple Arcade is not a new concept but when roped into the Apple family, it becomes undeniable. They’ll release over 100 titles when it launches in the fall. You will have to download the games to play, but you’ll have the ability to start and stop games on various devices, allowing you more mobility, which is something more and more gamers demand these days.
APPLE CARD
Apple has been threatening (hinting at?) releasing their own credit card and now they’ve gone and done just that. Apple Card, as it’s brilliantly called, is due to hit your Wallet app this summer.
The company has teamed up with Goldman Sachs to make this new low-interest card happen, and without any fees. As part of its Daily Cash feature, when you use Apple Pay you’ll get 2% back as cash directly into your Wallet app. This goes up to 3% when buying Apple products.
There is a physical card option for those who enjoy the feel of plastic, or titanium. The laser-etched titanium card won’t contain any numbers on the card itself, as all of that information will be in the app.
APPLE NEWS+
With intense focus on the legitimacy of news, and the need for weeding out misinformation, a paid news app is not a far-fetched idea. Apple News+ is a revamped service within the News app that goes for $9.99 a month.
Tim Cook made sure to point out that they rely on human editors to cull news and make sure the best news outlets make their way into the app. As part of the revamp they are adding over 300 magazine subscriptions to Apple News+
Unlike the other announcements at Monday’s event, Apple News+ is available right now.
