Apple to Hold Subscription-Focused Media Event March 25, No AirPods or iPad Mini Announcement Expected

[phr0z3n]

A monthly fee for news? Maybe I'm just a fringe use case but I don't see too many people that are going to want to pay for a subscription to access news....music? sure. sports? yep. tv shows and movies? of course. games? probably. but news...? Sounds like having a newspaper subscription almost.

Perhaps I'm missing something.

 

[NervousFish2]

If you look at the Apple Music model, this will be half priced ($5) for college students... woohooo! Goodbye same-price NYT student subscription! More news, for same cost? Yes please.

University student market is massive, and it locks in longterm consumers. Win win for students, and Apple.

 

[joelhinch]

News/good journalism is dead. It’s full of conspiracy, drama and bias. Don’t see this being very successful.

Netflix clone plz.

 

[MarkB786]

We'll see about this. I just wonder what the real long term upside is to subscription news services.

 

[QCassidy352]

No chance they hold a media event and only talk about a news subscription service. None.

 

[falainber]

"There have been rumors suggesting that Apple will bundle the news service with iCloud storage tiers and its television service, providing all-in-one Apple services package"

And people were complaining about Comcast bundles! With Apple you will soon have to buy at least a phone, AppleCare, ATV, news service, Apple Music, HomePod, iCloud and TV package. That's the real bundling!
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We'll see about this. I just wonder what the real long term upside is to subscription news services.

It will kill the last remaining real news sources.

 

[vipergts2207]

Sounds like an exceedingly boring event.

 

[Brandhouse]

No interest in paid news subscriptions. I get all the news I need/want from the ABC and SBS app in Australia - which is free as they're publicly funded channels.

Can't see the rest of the world outside of the US giving two hoots about paid content from the New York Times etc.

 

[diego]

More subscriptions? When will I need to have a subscription to be able to turn on my Mac each day?

 

[AppleMad98004]

So they're only doing news? No TV subscription service? No game subscriptions? No hardware? They usually don't do small events at SJ Theater. Not sure about this one.

Exactly.... I bet there will be talk of the TV (Apple originals) subscription as well, not just news. Because this will be a netflix competitor.

 

[Heineken]

For heavily biased and often incomplete and twisted "news"? No thanks. Also, this paid stuff will magically be available worldwide when the news is available only in a few countries. well obviously. money, money, money.

 

[tgwaste]

a monthly fee for news.. bwahahahaha. Man Apple is so high these days.

 

[pat500000]

Fake news service. Screw the subscription. If i want news i will find go online and read some fake news for free.

Sad event.

 

[kazmac]

The only thing I'll be watching on March 25th is the season 2 premiere of Knightfall.

I've deleted Apple News from my iDevices.

I am not the subscription type. I buy to own. Not to stream, or pay every month. As long as I can continue to do that, I will.

And as far as news, if I must read something, my company pays for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal digital access for me.

 

[gigapocket1]

12.2 is going to be an interesting release...
Apple gives me a plan.. and then throw in family plans... this could get mighty interesting. They can offer a service thats unique and that no one else can come close to offering..

 

[Mainsail]

The form factors for the current iPad Mini and the base iPad are fine for the entry level market. iPad Mini needs a spec bump and Apple Pencil support right away. They could give the base iPad a refresh to A11 or A12 later in the year, maybe when the A13 chip is released with new devices in the Fall. Apple does not need a special media event for a refresh.

Touch ID is fine for most folks, and frankly, the bezels are handy. Most iPad users don't give a rip about promotion or laminated displays. They don't need quad speakers on their iPads, and they prefer to have a headphone jack. The A12Bionic is way more powerful than necessary for the most frequently used Apps.

It is really important that Apple keep these iPads affordable.....$329 is the sweat spot for the base iPad. Also, I would like to see Apple reduce the price of Apple Pencil 1 to $79.

 

[jgbr]

thanks but no thanks

 

[Mac 128]

I bet they will show iPad mini. That’s pretty logical: “Our news service is great. And what’s the best device to read those news? iPad. Introducing new iPad mini.”

My thoughts exactly. And what better way to keep the spotlight on services than to introduce minor updates of existing products that are perfect for it. The iPad mini, the iPod Touch, and the SE 2?

Actually, suddenly cheaper entry level Apple products make sense. Rather than pay for a subscription on a non-Apple device, having these products would be an excellent halo device to draw new customers into the fold, if only to get free access to Apple's TV media, with live TV, news, and music subscription bundles available.

Since when does apple do press events without hardware lmao? (excluding WWDC)

Since Apple stopped breaking out individual product sales, and placed a stated emphasis on services?

 

[djeeyore25]

I expect an Apple News watch band to be unveiled.

 

[throwAwayBit]

An event for an app people hardly use and now we want to add paid subscription to that app you hardly use. Doubtful.

85 million active users is far from "an app people hardly use". While I don't think everyone is gonna go for the paid tier, for those who read a lot of stories from outlets with paywalls $10/month is way better than ****ing with multiple subscriptions.

 

[Lone Deranger]

"Consumption, consumption, consumption." ~Apple mantra, Tim Cook era.

 

[dav1dd]

More subscriptions? When will I need to have a subscription to be able to turn on my Mac each day?

I probably wouldn't joke about that. You know they could do it. A monthly subscription to have access to the operating system. Yikes.

 

[OverChris]

Apple tries to focus on delivering an unbiased news collection for their customer. I think it is important that people don't get news that push them towards extreme opinions, but a balanced news cast which shows different opinion. Unfortunately, I think that the targeting group are mostly educated people, many others are happy with their google news collection which is click bait and just delivering what a person wants to hear. I definitely opt for the apple news subscription if it is well priced, but apple needs to lower their share of revenue if they don't want to kill real journalism...

 

[PilotWoo]

Are Apple really expecting people to pay for news? It seems like a niche product to me.

 

[dan9700]

this is why rumours can be bad, they hype you for something that isnt true