Apple is planning to unveil a range of subscription bundles alongside its new iPhones this October according to Bloomberg. Internally, the bundles are being referred to as “Apple One,” though that’s not necessarily the name they will launch under.
A number of different tiers will be available, starting with a basic combo of Apple Music and Apple TV+, while more expensive bundles will add Apple Arcade, then Apple News+ at the next tier, then extra iCloud storage for the tier above that.
Named “Apple One” internally, the cheapest of these bundles will reportedly offer Apple Music ($9.99 per month) and Apple TV+ ($4.99 pm). Users willing to pay extra can add Apple Arcade ($4.99 pm), Apple News+ ($9.99 pm), and iCloud storage ($9.99 pm for 2TB). Bloomberg writes that another version will add an unannounced fitness subscription service, which includes virtual classes and workouts in the same vein as Peloton.
As you would expect, the bundles will be cheaper than purchasing the included services individually. Apple is said to be aiming the packs at families, and they’ll support its Family Sharing system, meaning up to six people can use the same subscriptions. “For example, if a family subscribes today to all of Apple’s major services plus the highest iCloud storage tier, that would cost about $45 a month. A new bundle could knock more than $5 off that,” writes Bloomberg.
One thing Apple isn’t planning, at least not straight away, is to include monthly payments for iPhones and Macs in these bundles, but it will be offering hardware and software combinations such as a free year of Apple Arcade with purchases of an Apple TV streaming box. It already provides a year of Apple TV+ with the purchase of a new Apple device.
Apple has been increasingly focused on recurring revenue from it services business in recent years, particularly as sales from smartphones plateau. And as Amazon has shown with Amazon Prime, which bundles together faster delivery times alongside streaming music and video, subscriptions can provide regular income while locking customers into a company’s ecosystem. Once you’ve bought Prime, it makes sense to order more from Amazon. Apple’s subscription bundles could do the same for its services and hardware.
