Apple Rumored to Launch ‘Apple One’ Subscription Bundle Soon
Apple is planning to unveil a subscription bundle, dubbed “Apple One,” that bundles all of its services into one monthly payment.
In the past couple of years, Apple has put an increased emphasis on software services by releasing products like Apple TV+, Apple News+, and Apple Arcade. The tech giant wants to go toe-to-toe with Amazon and its Prime services, but Amazon still comes out on top, as over 112 million people in the U.S. alone are Amazon Prime members while only 68 million people worldwide are Apple Music subscribers, which is one of Apple’s most popular services. But why is that? Prime costs almost $120 a year while Apple Music costs as low as half that, yet people still love Prime.
One major reason for this is that Prime isn’t just faster delivery of products, but it bundles many Amazon services that are more expensive separately, from Prime Video to Prime Gaming. Also, having Prime makes consumers more inclined to buy products on Amazon, which increases its profits. Apple doesn’t do this and only offers its services separately, but that’s about to change.
A Bloomberg report by Mark Gurman states that Apple will be releasing a subscription bundle, dubbed “Apple One,” this October. This bundle will have tiers that offer different services, with the more expensive tiers offering more services. Will this bundle finally put Apple services on the map? I think it will.
Structure
According to Bloomberg, these “Apple One” subscription bundles will have tiers of increasing costs that offer different services. The cheapest tier could include Apple Music and Apple TV+, while the next tier could have these two along with Apple Arcade. The one after this tier could also offer Apple News+, followed by a tier with the above four and the highest iCloud storage option. It’s not likely that Apple will include AppleCare in Apple One, as this is mostly focused on exposing more consumers to Apple services.
Rumors also suggest that Apple is working on a new subscription service that will provide consumers with virtual fitness classes that will supposedly rival classes from Peloton and Nike. This service can be used on an app that will be available to iPadOS, iOS, and tvOS, so wherever you are, you can work out. This product is codenamed “Seymour,” and, according to Bloomberg’s report, will be offered in one of the more expensive bundles.
Apple is looking to appeal to families with this new subscription bundle, as it will work with Apple’s Family Sharing system, allowing up to six people to have access to the services in Apple One. They’re also making the deal sweeter for consumers by offering its services for cheaper than if you would have bought them separately. Gurman reports that these bundles could “save consumers about $2 to upwards of $5 a month, depending on the package chosen.”
Benefits
We can see that Apple One makes it easier for consumers to buy Apple services, but what’s in it for Apple? What do they gain from creating these subscription bundles?
More Recurring Revenue
By making it easier for consumers to purchase Apple services and making them believe they’re getting a great deal, more people will purchase them and Apple will generate more recurring revenue. This isn’t the first time Apple has done this, as last year, it gave anyone who bought a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or iPod Touch after September 10 a free one-year subscription to Apple TV+. This could lead to many people renewing their subscriptions after the year ends, and more recurring revenue is generated. The same marketing strategy will be used with Apple One.
Strong Foothold in Software Services Market
Apple’s services sector is growing more and more popular with the introduction of new products like Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade, but this new bundle will really put its services over the top. Currently, many people use services from companies like Amazon (Prime) and Google (YouTube, Google Play, etc.), but Apple’s new marketing strategy will increase its userbase, thus giving them a stronger foothold in the software services market.
Consumers Will Buy More Apple Products
Earlier, I mentioned that this bundle will make it much easier for people to buy Apple services, but these services are only compatible with Apple products. Many consumers who purchase an Apple One bundle may feel that buying more Apple products would make their purchase worthwhile, meaning they would be more immersed in the Apple ecosystem. Usually, when someone immerses themselves in this ecosystem of products, it’s very hard to leave, so Apple would have secured some long-time customers.
Can Apple Pull This Off?
Apple is fairly unfamiliar with the idea of bundling products or services, but they’ve been experimenting with this in the past couple of years. For example, last year, Apple gave students who purchased a subscription for Apple Music free access to Apple TV+. Also, less than a week ago, Apple announced that Apple TV+ subscribers can purchase a bundle that offers both CBS All Access and SHOWTIME for the price of one.
Along with bundles of software services, Apple is also planning to release various hardware and software bundles. Bloomberg reports:
Apple is planning new software and hardware bundles, including giving buyers of the Apple TV set-top box a free year of Apple Arcade. That would follow a free year of TV+ offered to those purchasing new Apple devices.
Apple is taking an extremely risky move by doing something they don’t have much experience in, but in the end, I think it will pay off.
Nowadays, most people use software services like music streaming apps and game streaming platforms very frequently, so companies that have strong footholds in this market tend to generate lots of recurring revenue. Currently, Amazon and Google dominate this industry, but this subscription bundle could be Apple’s ticket to the top. Apple One is a completely new product that the company is inexperienced with, but you don’t get anywhere without taking some risks!
Want to learn more about Apple One? Check out these articles:
