Apple One Just Went Up in Price

[citysnaps]

Seems many here probably believe that Apple gets the music used in the their Apple Music service for free. And don't realize Apple pays the rights holders of the music a large percentage (around 50%) of Apple's subscription revenue. Guess what happens when rights holders increase their fees.

 

[zenmacx]

Problem is, that Apple One is a pretty poor bundle, since you are being sold useless things or things that have better alternatives.

I concur!

As heavily invested as I am in the Apple ecosystem, I refuse to be all-in.

Now more than ever the alternatives are terrific, and plentiful. Choice is a wonderful thing.

 

[onenorth]

I understand that no one likes price hikes and that this becomes a death by a thousand cuts. But I remember spending the same amount of money to purchase one or two compact discs. That was a long time ago. So in that context, things are not that bad? And there are alternatives that are better/worse, more/less expensive.

 

[CookeeTim]

I understand that no one likes price hikes and that this becomes a death by a thousand cuts. But I remember spending the same amount of money to purchase one or two compact discs. That was a long time ago. So in that context, things are not that bad? And there are alternatives that are better/worse, more/less expensive.

Sure but you can rip or sell those CDs later on. And you never lose access to it as long as the CD still works.

Streaming is limited in that regard. You dont own, you cant sell and you dont even decide when an album goes out of the service.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I understand that no one likes price hikes and that this becomes a death by a thousand cuts. But I remember spending the same amount of money to purchase one or two compact discs. That was a long time ago. So in that context, things are not that bad? And there are alternatives that are better/worse, more/less expensive.

I mean, do as you please with your money, of course!

I would just say that this rationalization will get you endlessly higher prices, forever.

It's interesting to consider. Do you have a breaking point on any of it?

 

[richpjr]

Tim's parting gifts continue.

 

[Roy Biggins]

I understand that no one likes price hikes and that this becomes a death by a thousand cuts. But I remember spending the same amount of money to purchase one or two compact discs. That was a long time ago. So in that context, things are not that bad? And there are alternatives that are better/worse, more/less expensive.

You're right about the "death by 1000 cuts." It's not THIS going up that's necessarily the straw on the camel's back. It's this.
+ Netflix will go up again (almost $30/month right now for the highest tier...kinda' nuts). You know it'll go up again soon.
+ Groceries prices are always rising (they don't ever fall much after they increase).
+ Gas prices are high as hell.
+ Postal stamps went up like 3 x's last year.

I could go on and on.

 

[oldMacGenius]

There is very little joy in these subscriptions anymore.

I never even subscribed to Apple One. I never accepted the free trials for Apple Fitness, TV, News, Arcade.

Cancelled Apple Music. I’d rather buy from iTunes, Amoeba, or Gramophone.

As far as everyone else who wants my money, I’m on a tear with canceling the rest of my subscriptions this month. Said goodbye to Amazon Prime, Walmart+, NY Times, Verge.

All I have left to cancel is iCloud, but requires a lot of work to part with - photos, and setting up a private email server.

The only subscription I can’t part with yet is Sling TV. (for NHL, NASCAR, MSNOW, and the unlimited cloud DVR.)

 

[onenorth]

You're right about the "death by 1000 cuts." It's not THIS going up that's necessarily the straw on the camel's back. It's this.
+ Netflix will go up again (almost $30/month right now for the highest tier...kinda' nuts). You know it'll go up again soon.
+ Groceries prices are always rising (they don't ever fall much after they increase).
+ Gas prices are high as hell.
+ Postal stamps went up like 3 x's last year.

I could go on and on.

Sure, I feel it as much as anyone else (although I only use two postal stamps per month now). But this has always been true. The 1990s were fun, we were flush with cash, then the recession hit, and things have been rough ever since. I'm just making the comparison: I used to buy a lot of music on CDs, and now I get a lot more bang for my buck content-wise.

 

[citysnaps]

You're right about the "death by 1000 cuts." It's not THIS going up that's necessarily the straw on the camel's back. It's this.
+ Netflix will go up again (almost $30/month right now for the highest tier...kinda' nuts). You know it'll go up again soon.
+ Groceries prices are always rising (they don't ever fall much after they increase).
+ Gas prices are high as hell.
+ Postal stamps went up like 3 x's last year.

I could go on and on.

Spot-on.

Apple's music licensing costs recently went up. It *was* roughly around 50% of Apple's subscription revenue. Seems many here are gobsmacked that Apple would need to increase their subscription fee by 7 cents per day.

Note: Spotfy recently raised their subscription rates as well.

 

[richpjr]

You're right about the "death by 1000 cuts." It's not THIS going up that's necessarily the straw on the camel's back. It's this.
+ Netflix will go up again (almost $30/month right now for the highest tier...kinda' nuts). You know it'll go up again soon.

Agree. What is most annoying about the increasing prices of streaming services like Netflix and Youtube TV is they rationalize the price increases because they keep adding more content and channels that nobody asked for, I don't want and won't watch - yet I have to pay for it.

 

[onenorth]

Sure but you can rip or sell those CDs later on. And you never lose access to it as long as the CD still works.

Streaming is limited in that regard. You dont own, you cant sell and you dont even decide when an album goes out of the service.

I find less value in owning a small library of content versus limited access to a vast library of content. I also get tired of the same content after awhile and want something new. I've got a stack of Nintendo game disks that I haven't played in years.

Edit to add, if my house burns down, so do all my irreplacable CDs.

 

[Simmias]

Problem is, that Apple One is a pretty poor bundle, since you are being sold useless things or things that have better alternatives.

iCloud aside (which I think could be argued is the only decent offering in that pack), lets see:

Apple Music ---> alternatives include Spotify, which available in more places, along with Deezer, Pandora, etc. It all depends if you music is there. There's also iTunes for buying instead of "renting". I personally think that Apple Music lacks "features" that at this point should have been implemented long ago.

Fitness+ ---> An excuse of an app/service. Plenty of free options in the Internet which are better and probable more aligned with your goals

Apple TV ---> Unless you absolutely don't stream that much, it is the platform with the least content, someone might argue it has better quality, and for sure, I could give it that, but I'm pretty sure other platforms end up winning in variety alone, since at some point, you will end up having watched most of the stuff it offers.

Arcade ----> Apple and gaming are like water and oil. Kids might like it, but I think money could be better spent on a proper console or PC with actual games, rather than de-monetized mobile games. There's also GamePass if one doesnt wants to "buy" games. It doesnt helps its case that a lot of good games have gotten out of the service, and lately, shovelware has made its way in.

News+ -----> The worst of the bunch. As useless as Fitness+ is, but with the twist that it is a mess to use

Agreed. I love Apple and have tried repeatedly to embrace their services, but the quality and value isn't there. I don't believe John Ternus is going to depart as drastically from Tim Cook as many expect, but I do hope he re-evaluates their bets on these lackluster "services" and either shutters or revamps them. Apple's content efforts are just LAME, either repackaging the abysmal output of legacy media (Music and News) or putting out their own glossy but hollow attempts at entertainment and culture (TV, Arcade, Fitness).

 

[jz0309]

yeah, it's basically Photos for me.
I should probably get more serious about alternatives for that.

that I can't help with as photography is my hobby and the vast majority of my photos are from my DSLR, shooting in RAW, so I do have a subscription that everyone here hates: Lightroom Classic/Photoshop.
I have like 100k or so photos including ~15k iPhone ones, but that is another topic ...

 

[burgman]

Apple is basically now a subscription company. It doesn’t seem to be a mainly hardware or software company any longer… just pivoted to using overpriced hardware/software to now push overpriced subscriptions like every other ens***ification company is doing out there these days.

None of the companies will stop this descent into subscription hell. Leaving the station is the only way out for individual customers at this point. And that’s sad.

Tell me in what universe, other than MR. $22 with unlimited listening and watching in 4K and lossless audio is a bad deal? Not everyone wants to "own" music and videos. Including sports like F1, Friday night baseball, MLS. All for one large combo fast food drive through cost.

 

[Roy Biggins]

I find less value in owning a small library of content versus limited access to a vast library of content. I also get tired of the same content after awhile and want something new. I've got a stack of Nintendo game disks that I haven't played in years.

Edit to add, if my house burns down, so do all my irreplacable CDs.

As someone who moronically built a massive DVD & Blu-ray collection, I feel that. Hardly ever watched any of them either. The one great thing about buying from music/movies/shows from iTunes is not having store all of that stuff in your house. You just have to pay an increased cost every month, as this article states -- and you never truly "own" it or however DRM works.

Evangeline Lilly from Lost had her house burn down...IDK...15-20 years ago. She said it was kinda' freeing to be released from all of her possessions. People went nuts on her and were like, "It must be nice to lose all of your stuff and not care." I assume they meant b/c she was wealthy.

I totally get it though. I always thought that of that stupid show The Biggest Loser. The people would get whisked away to a ranch to work out, starve themselves, and lose weight. It had to be freeing to be away from your job, your house, your stuff, your responsibilities. You know, just focus on one thing. No distractions.

Like Tyler Durden says, "The things you own end up owning you.

 

[furbzv1]

Do Apple employees get a discount on this? Might need to look at a PT @ an Apple Store.

 

[tennisproha]

This is highest justifiable price for Apple One. Any higher and it's an immediate cancellation.

 

[citysnaps]

that I can't help with as photography is my hobby and the vast majority of my photos are from my DSLR, shooting in RAW, so I do have a subscription that everyone here hates: Lightroom Classic/Photoshop.
I have like 100k or so photos including ~15k iPhone ones, but that is another topic ...

I've been an Adobe Lightroom customer from the beginning (around 2007 ?). And have a similar number of RAW image files (from dSLR/mirrorless cams and iPhones). There's no way I could ever switch to another editing program - even if I wanted to. And I'm OK with that. Lightroom serves my needs and is frequently updated with new features.

 

[J___o___h___n]

This is getting silly now. I am struggling to see the value in this anymore.

I predict more subscribers hardly use half these services, yet they keep going up.

 

[jz0309]

I've been an Adobe Lightroom customer from the beginning (around 2007 ?). And have a similar number of RAW image files (from dSLR/mirrorless cams and iPhones). There's no way I could ever switch to another editing program - even if I wanted to. And I'm OK with that. Lightroom serves my needs and is frequently updated with new features.

I was an Aperture user until it crashed on me and the data restore failed, luckily I didn't lose any photos but "just" the meta data ;(
Then switched to LRC which is 5 or 6 or so years ago, it works very well for me, no real complaints or anything.

 

[CookeeTim]

I find less value in owning a small library of content versus limited access to a vast library of content. I also get tired of the same content after awhile and want something new. I've got a stack of Nintendo game disks that I haven't played in years.

Edit to add, if my house burns down, so do all my irreplacable CDs.

Fair I guess, but if you house burns down (which I hope never happens and if it does, to be a one time thing), you have more important matters at hand than replacing CDs

 

[CarAnalogy]

Only Apple sub I have anymore is iCloud and I swear if they raise prices on that without raising storage, I'm out.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Only Apple sub I have anymore is iCloud and I swear if they raise prices on that without raising storage, I'm out.

I call this "tomorrow" (or very soon at least). 😂

 

[Populus]

And this is why, when Apple released the Studio Creator bundle subscription at $12 per month, many of us criticized it. Not because that's expensive for what it offers, it is quite a fair offer, but we all know those $12 will go up in price quickly to become more than $20 per month in a few years.

I guess Apple must buffer the components price increase somehow...