LOCKING US INTO
THE APPLE ECOSYSTEM
Although Apple Fitness+ is designed to help
consumers lose weight and stay fit, the ultimate
aim is to appease Apple’s shareholders. Wedbush
analyst Dan Ives argues that Apple’s services
arm could be worth an incredible $650
billion by the end of 2021. That means, if Apple
spins off its services arm, it would be worth as
much as Facebook on its own. That’s thanks
to the firm’s huge brand power and ability to
include new services on every iOS, iPadOS, and
macOS device around the world overnight. But
others suggest that those estimates are simply
unachievable. Although Apple has found some
success with Emmy-award-winning television
shows and record-breaking games, Apple TV+,
Apple News+, and Apple Arcade are struggling
to attract paying users. Apple has offered a
number of incentives such as a year’s free trial
of TV+ and free trials of News+ and Arcade for
carrier customers, but in order to truly lock users
into the Apple ecosystem, it knows deeper
discounts are needed.
To combat this, Apple announced Apple One
at its September event, a new way to take
advantage of Apple’s subscription services in
one simple plan. For the first time, users will be
able to enjoy Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple
Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and
iCloud for one monthly subscription fee, in more
than 100 countries and regions around the
world. By subscribing to Apple One, users can
access their favorite services on their iPhone,
iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac devices and
share them with up to six family members.