A BIG YEAR FOR APPLE
In 2019, Apple meant business, introducing a
whole host of products, software, and services
to increase its market dominance and allow it
to innovate in new and exciting ways. Perhaps
the biggest of the company’s announcements
in 2019 was in services, introducing four major
new divisions that take the company in a whole
host of directions in today’s changing times.
Apple started the year with the launch of Apple
News+, a premium news subscription service
where consumers could access content from
popular magazines, leading newspapers and
digital publishers into a beautiful, convenient
and curated experience within the Apple News
app. Vogue, National Geographic Magazine,
People, ELLE, The Wall Street Journal, and Los
Angeles Times were some of the early adopters,
but although the company did manage to
convince more 200,000 people to sign up
for a trial within the first 48 hours of launch,
Apple has reportedly struggled to encourage
those people to stick around. Since, Apple
News+ has launched in markets such as the
United Kingdom and Australia, but it’s a similar
story there; people don’t want to pay for news
when they can get it for free.
Next came the Apple Card, one of the biggest
eyebrow-raisers of the year. In a partnership with
Goldman Sachs, Apple Card is designed to help
customers lead a healthier financial life, and it’s
built into the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone.
Alongside an attractive user interface and a
stunning titanium Apple Card for shopping at
locations where Apple Pay is not accepted yet,
the service introduced Daily Cash, which gives
Image: Raymond Wong