Apple to Launch Discounted Subscription Bundles With TV and Music Services in Base Package, Report Says

Todd Spangler
·2 min read

Apple is angling to drive up services revenue through a bundling strategy tying together different subscription services at a discount, which could debut as soon as October alongside new iPhones and the launch of iOS 14, Bloomberg reports.

Apple declined to comment on the report.

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Per Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, the tech giant is expected to roll out a basic package with Apple Music and Apple TV Plus. Higher-priced tiers will include the TV and music along with Apple Arcade; Apple News Plus; and additional iCloud storage for files and photos. In addition, Bloomberg reported, Apple is developing a new subscription for “virtual fitness classes” accessible across its devices that will be included in the priciest bundle.

The bundles will provide discounts of $2-$5 per month, varying by package chosen, and are geared around Apple’s family-sharing system (providing up to six accounts per service). In the U.S., Apple Music’s family plan is regularly priced at $14.99 monthly, and Apple TV Plus costs $4.99 per month for up to six accounts (and up to six simultaneous streams).

Apple’s strategy with the bundles, which Bloomberg reported is internally referred to as “Apple One,” is patterned on Amazon’s Prime membership program in the sense that it’s designed to encourage customers to purchase more services directly from Apple.

For the quarter ended June 27, Apple Services revenue was $13.16 billion, up 15% year over year. In the first three months of the year, Apple posted a quarterly record $13.3 billion in services revenue, up 17% versus the year-earlier period.

In addition, Apple will introduce new software/hardware bundles, akin to the one-year-free offer of Apple TV Plus for customers of its devices. That will include including a year of Apple Arcade for free to new buyers of Apple TV set-tops, Bloomberg reported.

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