iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches already in use.
The division already is prospering from app store
commissions, device repairs, digital payments
and Apple’s music-streaming service.
Services generated $46 billion in revenue during
Apple’s just-ended fiscal year, accounting for 18%
of the company’s revenue. Just three years ago,
services accounted for 11% of Apple’s revenue.
And now it has another way to reel in more
revenue from video streaming.
Apple is selling its streaming service for just $5
per month, less than half the price of Netflix’s
most popular plan. It’s also giving it away for
a year to anyone who buys an iPhone, iPad or
Mac computer, an attempt to quickly amass tens
of millions of subscribers. But many of those
subscribers probably won’t be paying for the
first year, meaning video service is unlikely to
become a big cash cow out the gate.
The service also is only starting off with a
handful of TV series, including one starring
Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. But
Apple is promising to spend billions of dollars
on other shows and movies as part of its effort
to catch up with Netflix, which boasts 158
million subscribers.
Apple could still face another potential
stumbling block if Trump follows through on
recurring threats to impose a 10% tariff on about
$300 billion worth of products imported from
China that have so far been exempted from
those taxes in his trade war.
Although it’s assembled in China, the iPhone has
been among the goods insulated from the tariffs
so far. But that could change Dec. 15 if Trump
and China don’t negotiate a truce.