Apple's New Services

[rittchard]

Link to the keynote if you are interested: https://www.apple.com/apple-events/march-2019/

So Apple announced a mishmash of new services today indicating they are really serious (or desperate) about getting into these areas to help compensate for the reduction of their hardware sales. It's a great strategy in many ways as they've shown with the App store and Apple Music, leveraging their billion userbase to get perhaps a better deal for users and of course make a ton of money for themselves.

News+

This was the one I was least interested in, but it may turn out to be the best of the bunch, at least for now. It's a $10/month subscription price, which is a bit more than I would want to pay, but if you read a lot of magazines it's a steal. They give you access to 300ish magazines, plus the LA Times and WSJ. If my partner would let me cancel the paper edition of the LA Times I pay for, it would be a complete no-brainer for me, but I think he's still wedded to paper. I would have really liked it if The Washington Post came onboard but maybe it will in the future. You can try it out for a month for free right now. The interface is pretty seamless, and even in the first few minutes I could tell I would really like it.

Arcade

This is the one that perhaps affects this group the most. No pricing yet unfortunately. The idea is interesting. They give you access to 100+ "exclusive" games that are all "premium" (no ads, no IAP) that have been "curated" by Apple. You can play them on any of your iOS hardware. The exclusivity could irritate some people, but again, with their userbase they really don't care if enough people buy into it. They showed some pretty cool game demos, but it's a tough call whether this can succeed or not. Obviously a big question is what is the pricing going to be.

Credit Card/Pay

I didn't hear the details, but I guess they are launching their own service.

TV/Channels

This was supposed to be the big one, but it came across to me as kind of disjointed and confusing and half-baked. I'm not sure how the industry perceived it. Conceptually I like what they are attempting, and it's not a surprise at all, but it really remains to be seen whether they bring anything unique to the table for a really messed up application. They blabbed a lot about their new streaming service (releasing in Fall) and brought out lots of famous people to blab even more, but didn't show any significant footage. Really had little impact on me, particularly since again there was no price. The changes to the TV app and the addition (?) of Channels was the more intriguing announcement, but it really remains to be seen if it is a game changer or another failed aggregation attempt. On paper it sounds great, you finally get to pick and choose which channels you want and only pay for those. That's what everyone who complains about cable bitches about, right? But the selection they showed was anemic at best, 26 choices including a few no one's ever heard of. And of course not much was said about pricing. If each was $5 a month, that would still be $130/month, and we know there's no way HBO and Showtime will be that cheap. What's needed is an "a la carte" selection with a bundled pricing, but it's doubtful anyone will ever be able to negotiate that. The other question I had was something they glossed over; they showed logos of DirecTV and Spectrum services (presuming you already have them), which would give me theoretical access to all my live channels and I guess whatever I'm paying for for cable? Is that fully integrated with everything else? Is their DVR service or is that up to the provider? It's all very confusing. In any event, this still does not seem to change or add much to the cord cutting game at all in its present form. I thought (based on rumors) they would offer some sort of discount if you bundled some premium channels together, but there didn't seem to be anything like that.

I'll of course be trying out the new app when it releases; hopefully it will smooth out the interface even more. But looks like there's still a ways to go before I am ready to cut the cord myself.

[Grifman]

Both the NYT and WaPo refused, I think their digital subscriptions are doing well on their own and they want to control their own destiny so I doubt they will come on board. I was surprised at the WSJ, but this alone makes the service worth it as a digital subscription of the WSJ is $20/month or a year at half off. I'll probably pick this up as I really like their news coverage (used to respect if not agree with their editorial opinions until they went into the tank for Trump). I'm looking forward to this.

[YellowKing]

I signed up for the free trial of News+ for the magazines, and I can see myself keeping it at least for a little while. It has all 6 or 7 magazines I currently subscribe to and plenty more I'm interested in. Right now I suffer from magazine clutter - typically I have a backlog at any given time and in paper form it's just a waste of space. This could remedy that.

I also like the idea of not having to think about renewing those subscriptions. Over the course of a year it's pricier than what I currently pay for physical copies, but I'm also getting a lot more content in magazines I wouldn't otherwise pay for. In the past I've been hesitant to really jump into digital for magazines, but this may be what finally pushes me over the edge.

[The Meal]

I see this as an AppleNews announcement (looks cool for folks who consume that media) and a stay-tuned-for-the-Fall-when-we-reveal-the-relevant-details on every single other thing they "announced" today. Bad hype.

[LawBeefaroni]

If my partner would let me cancel the paper edition of the LA Times I pay for, it would be a complete no-brainer for me, but I think he's still wedded to paper.

See if the month free trial changes that. I was wedded to paper IBD and Crain's until I got the digital with my subs. Now all the paper is good for is giving to waiting rooms on my floor.

[rittchard]

If my partner would let me cancel the paper edition of the LA Times I pay for, it would be a complete no-brainer for me, but I think he's still wedded to paper.

See if the month free trial changes that. I was wedded to paper IBD and Crain's until I got the digital with my subs. Now all the paper is good for is giving to waiting rooms on my floor.

Hehe yeah I brought it up this morning and was met with a very sad face. But I think I may be able to slowly convince him over time. It really doesn't make any logical sense to keep it at all, except for the physical comfort of the habit.

[Exodor]

I subscribe to the paper versions of The Atlantic, RollingStone and Wired - so this would be a perfect fit for me - if I didn't get most of those subs for like $5 a year and really like the paper copies. I read them while I eat so I don't have to worry about getting food and what not on a device.

I guess I"m kind of a messy eater.

[Z-Corn]

Rolling Stone wants $50 a year now! I declined to renew at that price.

[Isgrimnur]

Rolling Stone wants $50 a year now! I declined to renew at that price.

Amazon has it for $30. For six months.

Kindle is $20/year.

[Z-Corn]

Rolling Stone wants $50 a year now! I declined to renew at that price.

Amazon has it for $30. For six months.

Um yeah...that's $60 a year. Even more than $50 a year.

[Isgrimnur]

....I know.

[Isgrimnur]

Apple Arcade is $4.99/month for a family subscription.

[morlac]

I subscribe to the paper versions of The Atlantic, RollingStone and Wired - so this would be a perfect fit for me - if I didn't get most of those subs for like $5 a year and really like the paper copies. I read them while I eat so I don't have to worry about getting food and what not on a device.

I guess I"m kind of a messy eater.

I love hard copies of magazines for the above and other reasons, mostly ease of use. I get Wired, Popular Science, and Scientific American delivered as hard copies. I have no idea where, who or why but they come monthly. I "think" my BIL ordered them for my dad when I had him and my nephew living down the street last year. I'd ask but I want them to autorenew, so not just yet .

[morlac]

Apple Arcade is $4.99/month for a family subscription.

I haven't seen/looked for a list of supported games. Anyone finding it worth it?

[Isgrimnur]

Apple Arcade is $4.99/month for a family subscription.

I haven't seen/looked for a list of supported games. Anyone finding it worth it?

It doesn't launch until next Thursday, so ... no.

Site

100+ new games rolling out this fall
Start playing on one device, pick up on another

[morlac]

Per your link:

Games that redefine games.
Apple has joined forces with some of the world’s most visionary developers. Together, we're pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to create the games of their dreams — and yours.


LOL, marketspeak. That does imply they are designing games just for this? If true, would they be exclusive to Apple Arcade? From the limited list of revealed games you can tell that the game being aesthetically pleasing is a requirement. Hmm, slightly intrigued.

[hentzau]

Games that redefine games.

Yeah...like Frogger.

[Isgrimnur]

Hot Lava from Klei looks good.

[morlac]

Hot Lava from Klei looks good.

Good eye, that one jumped out to me as well. I showed it my 10 year old who is now pestering me to pony up for AA. Looks like I'm in for a few months at least. We spend about $10-$20 a month on apple store games a month anyhow so it's priced about right.