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

[Abazigal]

So, is this Newsstand 3.0 or 4.0?

In hindsight, the business model for Newstand has, and had always been, flawed.

It makes zero sense to purchase a magazine (which is essentially a collection of articles) online. I am paying for multiple articles, even though I may not enjoy reading them all. The internet (and search engines in particular) has commoditised news articles by breaking them down into their base parts. It makes more sense (for me as a consumer) to have access to all news sources, and be able to read individual articles ala-carte based on my own individual preferences.

Rather than be forced to subscribe to a newspaper outlet, where I might end up reading just a fraction of all the articles they publish.

 

[cola79]

I doubt that newspapers and magazines have a future. Most of them just publish opinions instead of news and push their own agenda. That’s why people don’t buy newspapers anymore, because nobody cares about what an author feels about the news, or what he believes people must do now...

Apple should not revive this dead horse. They can offer this for free, nobody pays for the modern blogger emotainment journalism of today.

Really, by far the most boring and useless Apple product ever. They seem to have lost all contact to the market. It’s really scary how crazy they act since their high prices strategy failed. They act like being under shock.

 

[Cigsm]

There is one ad in an article allowed. Two if the number of words is high enough.

That is far and away better than the vast majority of news sites or apps. Did you think news organizations run for free?

Can’t say I’m interested. As it is I hide the ad infested Apple news app. As with games this would have to at the very least not have an ad or pop up come near it.

 

[HarryWild]

“While Apple has many products in the works that are rumored to be debuting in the spring, BuzzFeed says not to expect the company to unveil a new iPad mini or second-generation AirPods, as their appearance at the event is "unlikely."

I already made my purchase of the Mini 4 in December 2018! So I don’t care about an Apple Mini 5! If Apple finally does decide to release a Mini 5, make it the budget version with only 2GB RAM like the Mini 4 too! Apple really f*cked up their updating on their iPad Mini like crazy. Going on 4 years in September! They just screwing Mini owners like myself anyway you look at it! LOL!

 

[nburwell]

Seems kind of silly to hold an event simply to announce their own subscription based news service. But that's just my $.02.

Plus, I pay $7.50/month to NYT to gain unlimited access to their iOS apps and read unlimited articles. I'd be hard pressed to give this up for Apple's news offering.

 

[truthertech]

Why does it feel like when it comes to services Apple is working backwards from the financials to a product? This seems more like somebody at Apple wondering what they can charge users a monthly fee for and then trying to come up with something. People might pay for a Netflix clone but getting them to pay $10/month for the news? Not likely. And no new publication is going to sign on if they have to give Apple 50% and get no user analytics. Crazy.

You probably aren't aware how popular Apple News is with now over 85 million users a month, so no they aren't working backwards. Ditto with Texture which was successful before Apple bought it.

Most importantly, users wouldn't be paying $10 a month for "news." Apple News will undoubtedly continue to be free as it has been so successful. Instead, the huge value proposition is to be able to read subscription journals and magazines for one set price. If they can combine the magazines with the current 200 or so on Texture, with subscription journals like the WSJ, and can package that for $10 a month, Apple will have a huge hit as that's an enormous value.
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Plus, I pay $7.50/month to NYT to gain unlimited access to their iOS apps and read unlimited articles. I'd be hard pressed to give this up for Apple's news offering.

People aren't understanding what an Apple subscription news and magazines would include. They aren't trying to get you to not subscribe to the NYT, they are trying to have an all in one package that combines their enormously successful free news (now over a 85 Million users) with subscription services like NYT and WSJ and their Texture magazines.
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Apple:

"Thank you for coming everyone. So, you know your News app on all your Apple devices? Yeah, it now requires a subscription and only costs $10 a month. Never mind that you used to get this for free."

Audience:

"..."
*crickets chirping*

Apple:

"Alright. That's a wrap! Thanks for coming everyone."

Silly. Apple has no plans to charge for free news; three are countless free news apps and services. They will keep offering that service, and use it as a feeder for their subscription service. What Apple is going to charge for is a service that includes the magazines and journals that you have to pay individually for, e.g., NYT, WSJ, National Geo, etc. That's why they bought Texture and are negotiating with the WSJ, etc. If they can crack this, they will have an enormous hit worthy of applause.
[doublepost=1550074167][/doublepost]

Data that people don’t use it?

Don't hold your breath. Apple News has over 85 million monthly active users. Oops.

https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/29/apple-news-music-active-devices/

 

[mpuk]

Can’t say I’m interested. As it is I hide the ad infested Apple news app. As with games this would have to at the very least not have an ad or pop up come near it.

...why hide when you can delete

 

[genovelle]

I think I'd be willing to pay for a service like this if Apple were receiving a smaller cut.

50% for doing the exact same service they were already doing for free + processing payments seems insanely extreme to me. Even 15% seems like too much, but I'd probably actually sign up then.

What always gets me in in the complaints about Apple’s share is that these companies have options. If they are doing such a great job at drawing their customers they would already be signed up with them. At that point Apple allows them to use their platform for free. They host and manage the app platform and updates, including ever increasing features and capabilities. Then it’s a BYOC (Bring your own customers) Affair.

Otherwise, they are gaining access to Apple’s customers and must pay.

 

[12643]

Boy I sure hope there’s more to this event than a news service. I for one am really holding out for new emojis and watch bands!

 

[Mac 128]

Boy I sure hope there’s more to this event than a news service. I for one am really holding out for new emojis and watch bands!

With the rumored launch of APple's TV service in April, this will surely be a much bigger event, focused on a wide variety of services. And while I'm sure Apple wants the spotlight on services, it would be a shame not to introduce some updates of products designed to take full advantage of those services, like the iPad mini, iPod Touch, and maybe even an SE2. I'd expect some enhancement to the Apple TV as well, like the rumored inexpensive Apple TV dongle. And of course they're going to want to highlight their app and the TV platforms it will be available on.

All of this is to create a halo effect around Apple's core products. So they'll need to introduce cheap, entry level gateway products which new customers will be willing to buy to get the new Apple streaming content, especially if owning such a device gives them free access to it. What's better? A new $300 iPad mini with free content, and the latest features, or a $150 subscription to use with an older, existing device? A $75 TV stick, or even a $150 Apple TV, or even a $200 iPod Touch, makes that choice even easier.

 

[nburwell]

People aren't understanding what an Apple subscription news and magazines would include. They aren't trying to get you to not subscribe to the NYT, they are trying to have an all in one package that combines their enormously successful free news (now over a 85 Million users) with subscription services like NYT and WSJ and their Texture magazines.
[doublepost=1550073873][/doublepost]

Yeah, I get that. But I don't even use news app anyway. Most of the time their push notifications are well behind the notifications I get from NYT.

I'm not saying their subscription news service is going to be a waste of money - quite the opposite actually. I just like and prefer the quality journalism and articles that I get from The Times.

Maybe if Apple can clean up the news app UI a bit, then we can talk.

 

[farmboy]

An entire event just for news subscriptions?

I confess that seems like a feeble offering for a SJ Theater event all by itself. I haven't seen how Apple News is any better than any other of the one thousand "free" news aggregator sites, CNN, Google News, etc.? I don't know what value a subscription would add.

We must be missing something. Or the bottom of the barrel is being polished.

 

[LON1ST]

New hardware devices release at the same time on website without mention them on the event? That would make sense.

 

[Mac 128]

New hardware devices release at the same time on website without mention them on the event? That would make sense.

Yes, but it also makes sense to demonstrate a few devices that apply directly to the new service -- the rumored low-cost streaming stick, some new must have Apple TV features, an iPad mini, and iPod Touch -- perfect for personal streaming ... all devices that raise awareness of how to access the new service, and inexpensively join the Apple family, especially if the rumor about Apple programming being free on Apple devices.

 

[Abazigal]

I confess that seems like a feeble offering for a SJ Theater event all by itself. I haven't seen how Apple News is any better than any other of the one thousand "free" news aggregator sites, CNN, Google News, etc.? I don't know what value a subscription would add.

We must be missing something. Or the bottom of the barrel is being polished.

Google News or any other RSS site merely aggregates the news; it doesn’t let you access any more news articles than you otherwise could (like those locked behind a paywall).

What this news service will probably let you do is pay a flat fee to let you read articles that might otherwise require a subscription from that company. While it might be cheaper to just subscribe to that one company directly, the value then comes if you read from multiple sources. So you only need to pay 1 flat fee to Apple, rather than say, 3 or 4 separate subscriptions to that many companies.

Which also means you don’t have to manage that many different subscriptions separately. Apple will handle all the backend for you.

So what Apple is really selling here is convenience and ease of use.

 

[Bart H]

Waaaa! I just want a new iMac.

 

[daveedjackson]

Im really hoping the Mac Pro will feature. Come on Apple.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Im really hoping the Mac Pro will feature. Come on Apple.

Most think WWDC in June is a likely date. Hopefully for release, not just a preview. New Apple-branded display(s) expected to be released alongside.