Apple News+: Is it Worth the $9.99 per Month Subscription Price?

[nbnbxdnb]

Just now I became really curious by reading this post. I subscribed it 1min ago. First thing I opened was WSJ and flipped through it starting from cover. So far I stopped around maybe page 10... there are only ads. If you touch the page(likely accidentally, because almost the whole page is a click box), you would go to advertiser’s website.
Folks, that’s how these news/mag agencies make more revenue from other than the leftover Apple feeds them, I think. Apple really takes too much revenue away because of their platforms(>90% iOS), so publishes who are attempted are left with the option of selling ads to justify their adventure into this novel business model. Then, we, users get less pleasant reading experience At the end of the chain.
I would say I have a better feeling with this business, if the party, who benefits most financially, which is Apple, has done much more to improve the software.
I hope it can get better with iOS 13 just to worth the pennies asked for.

 

[tshrimp]

We also have to pay tax on digital purchases (at least in Ontario now) so it's closer to $15.

Dang...now that is a high tax rate. Trudeau likes that tax money .

 

[480951]

Dang...now that is a high tax rate. Trudeau likes that tax money .

Believe it or not it’s actually less then we used to pay (and I’m only 29). It used to be 15% on purchases, then when they came out with harmonized tax they lowered it to 14%, then 13.

 

[StarShot]

I just canceled the free trial. I like some the magazines offered - but I didn't go to the app enough to warrant the price. I avoid the News app for news, and News+ couldn't get me to appreciate it enough either. For some, it's probably awesome. I'm not going to pay $120 a year for it.

I cancelled it myself during the 30 day tryout. Mainly because I was disappointed in the limited magazines and lack of ease in reading the LA Times.

Now I'm thinking of giving it another try. Yeah, it is $120 a year but that works out to 33 cents a day. I blow a lot more than that on other daily activites.

 

[Bazza1]

Still inclined to take advantage of library's digital collection (see attached as an example) and read it thru something like RBDigital app - at no cost.
Other info (as per the not + products) often available thru so many other news aggregators, you choosing your sources.

 

[PlayUltimate]

I've been subscribing to the LA Times digital edition for $7/mo. Just got notice that the price was going to $15. I can get access to it through Apple News for $10. Just signed up for the one month trial. My wife really likes being able to look at some of the other magazines.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I've been subscribing to the LA Times digital edition for $7/mo. Just got notice that the price was going to $15. I can get access to it through Apple News for $10. Just signed up for the one month trial. My wife really likes being able to look at some of the other magazines.

It's not too bad on a family plan. I find I read mostly WSJ and LA Times. As for the magazines, I just never find time to read them. That's changing with the way things are going these days.

Not much to read these days tho when it comes to news. My wife and I are finding more time to read books.

 

[StarShot]

I've been subscribing to the LA Times digital edition for $7/mo. Just got notice that the price was going to $15. I can get access to it through Apple News for $10. Just signed up for the one month trial. My wife really likes being able to look at some of the other magazines.

I've been a subscriber to the PLUS edition since it was first offered and think it's a great deal for access to many fronts including the WSJ and some pieces from the LA Times. NOT sure if complete access to the LA Times is not included although there are interesting pieces from time to time. Today I searched for "LA TIMES" in NEWS+ several columns from the Times. News+ is my second read in the morning, first my local paper (Seattle Times, then News + followed by the WSJ. Cap a quick look at Drudge and I'm done. All in all, too much information, but a 100% better than Fox, CNN and MSNBC. Did I say 100%, how about 200%!

 

[AVBeatMan]

I think Apple should offer a discount if you subscribe to Apple Music. Get both for 1/2 the combined price maybe?

 

[WillNN]

I've tried Apple News a couple of times. First when you buy a new iPad or iPhone it shows up. There are three Apple News(s). 1. The notifications that pop up. Complete waste of time, they appear and then disappear before I could read them. When I do chase them down whatever it was isn't interesting or newsworthy. They're an annoyance. 2. There's the list when you selct homebutton and you get that swipe-left screen. If it really is important, than why does one older list appear and then suddenly vanish (down Big Brother's Memory Hole - it's irretrievable) only to have a completely new list appear. Most of it is junk, celebrity news. It can be clickable but so can puppies, sharks, young women, camping scenes, mountains.... Yeah, we've got these 'triggers' Apple News and click bait uses them to waste our time.
Then there's the Apple News app. I read the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Politicio, Buzz Feed, and I'm interested in the LATimes, New Yorker, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Free Press... so I'm a wonk. The Apple News app doesn't seem to understand that someone like me doesn't want every third news item to come from People Magazine or some other celebrity rag. There doesn't seem to be a way of tuning real news up, junk news down. This time, (March to April this year), I thought hey, all these news sources for once price, in one app? Okay.
Nope, it's like the lite version of the news selected by a flaky mall kid. Apple could have hit a home run instead they insisted on striking out - again.
The thing about news that everyone seems to have forgotten, is that it works best when it, keeps you informed as you need to be informed: is my community safe, what are the dangers in my life, what's important - whether or not I've previously indicated any interest.
If Apple News existed in 1939, my Polish grandmother would've got an alert that the Germans invaded Poland, but the rest of us would still be hearing about how Clark Gable has a new way of lighting is cigarettes, Humphrey Bogart has a new formula for mixed drinks.... See, babushka would've previously expressed an interest in the 'Old Country,' but the rest of us might not know it's sudden importance. I know Big Data is an invasive bust, and I might just be an old crank who missed a Settings button.

 

[StarShot]

I've tried Apple News a couple of times. First when you buy a new iPad or iPhone it shows up. There are three Apple News(s). 1. The notifications that pop up. Complete waste of time, they appear and then disappear before I could read them. When I do chase them down whatever it was isn't interesting or newsworthy. They're an annoyance. 2. There's the list when you selct homebutton and you get that swipe-left screen. If it really is important, than why does one older list appear and then suddenly vanish (down Big Brother's Memory Hole - it's irretrievable) only to have a completely new list appear. Most of it is junk, celebrity news. It can be clickable but so can puppies, sharks, young women, camping scenes, mountains.... Yeah, we've got these 'triggers' Apple News and click bait uses them to waste our time.
Then there's the Apple News app. I read the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Politicio, Buzz Feed, and I'm interested in the LATimes, New Yorker, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Free Press... so I'm a wonk. The Apple News app doesn't seem to understand that someone like me doesn't want every third news item to come from People Magazine or some other celebrity rag. There doesn't seem to be a way of tuning real news up, junk news down. This time, (March to April this year), I thought hey, all these news sources for once price, in one app? Okay.
Nope, it's like the lite version of the news selected by a flaky mall kid. Apple could have hit a home run instead they insisted on striking out - again.
The thing about news that everyone seems to have forgotten, is that it works best when it, keeps you informed as you need to be informed: is my community safe, what are the dangers in my life, what's important - whether or not I've previously indicated any interest.
If Apple News existed in 1939, my Polish grandmother would've got an alert that the Germans invaded Poland, but the rest of us would still be hearing about how Clark Gable has a new way of lighting is cigarettes, Humphrey Bogart has a new formula for mixed drinks.... See, babushka would've previously expressed an interest in the 'Old Country,' but the rest of us might not know it's sudden importance. I know Big Data is an invasive bust, and I might just be an old crank who missed a Settings button.

OK, drop it. It's a firehose of info when you only need a cup. That said, NY Times, LA Times, WSJ, etc etc etc for only 10 bucks a month. More magazines than you can shake a stick at, and the list goes on and on. The biggest problem with News + is you can get lost in it and suddenly realize several hours have slipped away.

 

[WillNN]

Ok. But it's not really a fire hose, it's mostly People Magazine. It controls the content (unless I've missed some setting). It's not news, it's not all these sources, it's from all these sources, and most of it isn't what I would select. Unless I'm wrong about the whole Big Data nonsense, it seems like it spies on everyone but only seems to know the most shallow, and exploitable interests of the people it spies on. How any corporation, bot, AI can spy on me for the past twenty + years and think that every third 'news' story I'm interested in is from People Magazine means it's insidious and really stupid. On Apple News I never actually got the L.A. Times or the WSJ, etc etc, I got some crap version of them. (I don't want to dump on your point of view StarShot, I write this stuff hoping that some intelligent people at one of these corporations reads this and says, 'Hey, let's try something different.'
The problem with the consolidation (monopolization) of Big Tech is not that they raise prices, it's that they stop thinking because they no longer have to. To go into nerd mode, David Deutsch wrote a book called the Beginning of Infinity. He used a mathematical argument to point out that we are inventing things not only faster than every before but that we're accelerating. I think Apple might be the first company to apply this concept (whether they're aware of it or not) which is great, they know not just to compete with the competition but to compete with themselves to continually move forward. I don't think Apple News fits that model. What I took a look into several times over many years has simply never gotten any better, never got past click bait junk. Jeff Bezos mentioned that companies like Amazon last about 35 years. It's a good observation. I had Amazon stock in 2008 but got rid of it after a year because there were serious flaws i their retail model that reminded me of KMart and Sears: initially radical retailing concepts that never fixed any of their short comings. They lasted a while. To Amazon's credit I had no clue about the server farms becoming such a major business. But how many scams, bait and switch, massive headaches trying to find the right item? How many clothing reviews complain about zero size standards. Have you never purchased a product sold by 'a major company' only to find out that company has never sold on Amazon? Apple News? Whatever it was seems like what it will always be, and it's not news, it's gossip.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Ok. But it's not really a fire hose, it's mostly People Magazine. It controls the content (unless I've missed some setting). It's not news, it's not all these sources, it's from all these sources, and most of it isn't what I would select. Unless I'm wrong about the whole Big Data nonsense, it seems like it spies on everyone but only seems to know the most shallow, and exploitable interests of the people it spies on. How any corporation, bot, AI can spy on me for the past twenty + years and think that every third 'news' story I'm interested in is from People Magazine means it's insidious and really stupid. On Apple News I never actually got the L.A. Times or the WSJ, etc etc, I got some crap version of them. (I don't want to dump on your point of view StarShot, I write this stuff hoping that some intelligent people at one of these corporations reads this and says, 'Hey, let's try something different.'
The problem with the consolidation (monopolization) of Big Tech is not that they raise prices, it's that they stop thinking because they no longer have to. To go into nerd mode, David Deutsch wrote a book called the Beginning of Infinity. He used a mathematical argument to point out that we are inventing things not only faster than every before but that we're accelerating. I think Apple might be the first company to apply this concept (whether they're aware of it or not) which is great, they know not just to compete with the competition but to compete with themselves to continually move forward. I don't think Apple News fits that model. What I took a look into several times over many years has simply never gotten any better, never got past click bait junk. Jeff Bezos mentioned that companies like Amazon last about 35 years. It's a good observation. I had Amazon stock in 2008 but got rid of it after a year because there were serious flaws i their retail model that reminded me of KMart and Sears: initially radical retailing concepts that never fixed any of their short comings. They lasted a while. To Amazon's credit I had no clue about the server farms becoming such a major business. But how many scams, bait and switch, massive headaches trying to find the right item? How many clothing reviews complain about zero size standards. Have you never purchased a product sold by 'a major company' only to find out that company has never sold on Amazon? Apple News? Whatever it was seems like what it will always be, and it's not news, it's gossip.

Personally, I use it for the magazines and I am happy. I remember spending a lot more per month when I would go to the newsstand to get magazines.

I have to agree with you on the news. It is more about what Apple wants to put in front of you more than it is based on what you actually want to read. However, you can still find something to read between suggested People magazine articles if you try.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I definitely think I would enjoy it more if I read it for the magazines. I already sub to WSJ and Economist - (expensive enough) just using a search engine gets me most of the local news I need.

The ads really bother me too - nothing like having a video playing while you're trying to focus on text. Paying $9/mo for that is just too much. I pay for WSJ/Economist and read their content with an ad blocker.

 

[DevNull0]

Personally, I use it for the magazines and I am happy. I remember spending a lot more per month when I would go to the newsstand to get magazines.

I have to agree with you on the news. It is more about what Apple wants to put in front of you more than it is based on what you actually want to read. However, you can still find something to read between suggested People magazine articles if you try.

I agree with you. But Apple calls the service "Apple News+". Judging by all the comments I've seen since the product launch, the vast majority of people never get past the "This is a really crappy overpriced news service" phase.

 

[WordsmithMR]

$10 a month is nothing. That's a single day of lunch. I live in LA and it's nice to get the LA Times as part of it and WSJ has some good articles too.

I read off of it every day. Worth it for sure.

Yes, but subscriptions add up. $1 here, $10 there, etc, you easily can hit $200-300 in monthly spending on subscription services... which, for a majority of Americans, that is a significant amount of money.

So yes, it is affordable, but is it worth it to keep in your budget as the average consumer?

A second point: is the content worth the cost? Think of all of the subscriptions you may have. And let's say you need to cut costs and trim your entertainment budget. Is the dollar per hour of use of this service significant? Compared to Netflix, Audible, GamePass, Spotify, etc.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Yes, but subscriptions add up. $1 here, $10 there, etc, you easily can hit $200-300 in monthly spending on subscription services... which, for a majority of Americans, that is a significant amount of money.

So yes, it is affordable, but is it worth it to keep in your budget as the average consumer?

A second point: is the content worth the cost? Think of all of the subscriptions you may have. And let's say you need to cut costs and trim your entertainment budget. Is the dollar per hour of use of this service significant? Compared to Netflix, Audible, GamePass, Spotify, etc.

Just depends on priorities and the discipline to cancel stuff when you aren’t using it. I turn off subscriptions then turn them back on when I want the service again. I have done this for Netflix, HBO, YoutubeTV, and Apple News+ . There is only so much time in the day, so it helps to know your habits. Personally, I read more magazines this time of year. They are better for hanging out in the yard while enjoying the weather or cooking out. I typically turn off the magazines in the winter when I am more likely inside and watching more movies.

Anyone that was paying for two or three magazines a month will come out ahead. In the stores in this area, it was nearly $9 just for Mojo or Q magazine.

 

[return2sendai]

Just depends on priorities and the discipline to cancel stuff when you aren’t using it. I turn off subscriptions then turn them back on when I want the service again. I have done this for Netflix, HBO, YoutubeTV, and Apple News+ . There is only so much time in the day, so it helps to know your habits. Personally, I read more magazines this time of year. They are better for hanging out in the yard while enjoying the weather or cooking out. I typically turn off the magazines in the winter when I am more likely inside and watching more movies.

Anyone that was paying for two or three magazines a month will come out ahead. In the stores in this area, it was nearly $9 just for Mojo or Q magazine.

Umm, there’s this free thing. It’s called the Internet. It’s got a lot of stuff on it you can read. For free. And there’s news too. Like, it delivers it to your device. I think it uses something called RSS, which stands for Really Speedy Stuff. All free. You don’t even need a titanium card to use it. And it tells you the time too, anywhere in the world. Which leaves your wrist free for the sexy stuff. Which is also free! The Internet. Give it a try. You’ll thank me for the recommendation. Just don’t tell Apple. They’ll lose a fortune.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Umm, there’s this free thing. It’s called the Internet. It’s got a lot of stuff on it you can read. For free. And there’s news too. Like, it delivers it to your device. I think it uses something called RSS, which stands for Really Speedy Stuff. All free. You don’t even need a titanium card to use it. And it tells you the time too, anywhere in the world. Which leaves your wrist free for the sexy stuff. Which is also free! The Internet. Give it a try. You’ll thank me for the recommendation. Just don’t tell Apple. They’ll lose a fortune.

Maybe I am missing something? For me, it is about the convenience of having magazines I like to read at my fingertips. RSS doesn't have everything and websites are popping up ads...blocking content without a subscription or blocking access if you have an ad blocker, etc.

Thousands of major sites are taking silent anti-ad-blocking measures | TechCrunch

It's no secret that ad blockers are putting a dent in advertising-based business models on the web. This has produced a range of reactions, from relatively polite whitelisting asks to dynamic redeployment of ads to avoid blocking. A new study finds that nearly a third of the top 10,000 sites on...

techcrunch.com

A lot of the RSS articles are showing you part of an article, but you have to click on a link that takes you to their ad covered site to finish the article.

I use Feedly for my RSS and when I don't access it on a normal basis, I get too much junk that stacks up. With Magazines, I can click on Mojo (just to use a prior example) and see this month's magazine. Then if I want to see the history, I can access months of back magazines. One upside is that magazines put a lot of article headlines on the front page, so I can easily see if it is something I want to read. It is just more organized and I have more content I want available with a lot less effort and headache.

Maybe you have a way to get every single magazine article without ads, cookies, pop-ups and click backs in RSS feeds? Please let me know, I would love to save $10 a month if i can get the exact same experience for free without any more effort.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Even Apple News itself is getting filled with those "Click here to continue to read" links ... I hate it. This type of behavior ruined the RSS / News Feed readers (anyone remember Google Reader back in the day?).

I can't stand ads - I can't read with all the distraction. Even Apple News+'s ads are enough to annoy me.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Even Apple News itself is getting filled with those "Click here to continue to read" links ... I hate it. This type of behavior ruined the RSS / News Feed readers (anyone remember Google Reader back in the day?).

I can't stand ads - I can't read with all the distraction. Even Apple News+'s ads are enough to annoy me.

I have never experienced that when reading a magazine. Personally, I don’t use the news part of the app enough to notice that. Most of the articles I have read just put the article up.

 

[V_Man]

For me. Not in the least.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I’ve subscribed to it since it came out in the U.K. I think it’s worth it. I actually like how it suggests articles for you to read from magazines and papers.

 

[Uofmtiger]

I’ve subscribed to it since it came out in the U.K. I think it’s worth it. I actually like how it suggests articles for you to read from magazines and papers.

I like that aspect as well.