Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The reason rags like the NYT and WaPo are struggling is because people refuse to pay for what THOSE outlets consider news, with THEIR bias added for good measure. I won’t pay for ‘Apple News’ because it will be three stories about why the ‘Green Deal’ is great and five stories about why Trump is bad. Good luck to them though
 
I really hope apple comes out with a book subscription that includes audiobooks! Also think news and magazines could be one subscription, or at least have separate subscription options under a single unified app (APPLE NEWS). Would be nice if bundles for Apple Music + Apple News (News + Magazines) + Apple Streaming were available at a slight discount, they could include storage options too?
 
The reason rags like the NYT and WaPo are struggling is because people refuse to pay for what THOSE outlets consider news, with THEIR bias added for good measure. I won’t pay for ‘Apple News’ because it will be three stories about why the ‘Green Deal’ is great and five stories about why Trump is bad. Good luck to them though

Yes, it will be politically correct.
 
As an Apple fan I'm really hoping that these services aren't super crappy for a bloated price. Having heard previous rumors about how Apple's video creations so far are equivalent to "very expensive NBC" I'm not that excited.

It would be great if Apple would use their power and influence to help the publishing industry. Magazines are hurting and news outlets are hurting. I'm disappointed to hear that Apple is trying to squeeze blood from an onion instead of building a sustainable model where great content can be created.

I guess this is what happens when you have a bunch of bean counters running the company and not creative/visionary people.
 
The reason rags like the NYT and WaPo are struggling is because people refuse to pay for what THOSE outlets consider news, with THEIR bias added for good measure. I won’t pay for ‘Apple News’ because it will be three stories about why the ‘Green Deal’ is great and five stories about why Trump is bad. Good luck to them though

I would not pay for news service either but your example of NYT and WaPo struggling is really way off. They might be struggling but at least they have paid subscriptions. Their ideological counterparts on the other hand (like Washington Examiner and NY Post) can't find anyone to pay them. So, it's not clear to me which bias sells better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lunarworks
And yet another subscription. Just a few years ago we complained as consumers about bundles being too expensive and here we are now with every single company aiming to nickel and dime you on subscriptions. If you add up the cost of all your individual $10+ subscriptions, I bet you're paying more than you did back then.
 
"There is some confusion over Apple's streaming TV plans. While Bloomberg's report suggests Apple's content will be delivered via paid streaming service, other rumors have indicated that Apple plans to provide at least some of its original content to Apple device owners for free."

Apple isn't planning to hugely expand its services revenue by spending lots of money to develop shows it gives away for free.
 
I’ll start caring when Apple announces it.

I hope they don’t bring any of the “stars” to talk. Remember Drake with Apple Music? Now THAT was a dumpster fire. I don’t care to see Jennifer Anniston or anyone else on stage babbling.

Personally, I am interested in the news service. After initially grousing, I’ve come to enjoy the AppleNews app. I have enough TV content to fill my entertainment time.
[doublepost=1550103242][/doublepost]
I cannot wait for this event. Insanely curious what Apple plans to unveil, and what they think will give them a competitive advantage.

Will it include a bundle of existing movies and TV shows?
Will it include an option for watching live, local programming?
What publications will be included in the news/magazine bundle? (If includes the Times, the Post, the WSJ and The New Yorker I’m in trouble).

I also think it’s a mistake for people to think that Apple is trying to compete directly with Netflix. Netflix spends $15 billion a year on programming and I’m unaware of whether they’ve shown they can consistently make a profit. I think Apple’s service will aim to accomplish something different, with a different strategy than Netflix employs.

Insanely curious...
If the news publications you’ve mentioned are included for 10 bucks a month, it’s a no brainer even though it’s ALL FAKE NEWS (that was meant to be playful and not start a flame war).
[doublepost=1550103334][/doublepost]
It’s a press event so Apple can better communicate their intent to the press with their own context, not a “You” event.
Who is the press supposed to communicate with?

I get WWDC having an intended audience, but for products and services WE (the consumers) are the intended audience. That’s part of the reason they stream these things.
 
I’ll start caring when Apple announces it.

I hope they don’t bring any of the “stars” to talk. Remember Drake with Apple Music? Now THAT was a dumpster fire. I don’t care to see Jennifer Anniston or anyone else on stage babbling.

Personally, I am interested in the news service. After initially grousing, I’ve come to enjoy the AppleNews app. I have enough TV content to fill my entertainment time.
[doublepost=1550103242][/doublepost]
If the news publications you’ve mentioned are included for 10 bucks a month, it’s a no brainer even though it’s ALL FAKE NEWS (that was meant to be playful and not start a flame war).
[doublepost=1550103334][/doublepost]
Who is the press supposed to communicate with?

I get WWDC having an intended audience, but for products and services WE (the consumers) are the intended audience. That’s part of the reason they stream these things.

That is the ONLY reason they stream anything like this. I'g guessing it comes out of the advertising budget.

With that aside. I'm curious to see what Apple has to offer. I cut my cable 4 months ago when i went with youtube TV.
 
That is the ONLY reason they stream anything like this. I'g guessing it comes out of the advertising budget.

With that aside. I'm curious to see what Apple has to offer. I cut my cable 4 months ago when i went with youtube TV.

Cable/Satellite are too expensive, go alternative like a tablet/roku or any internet device, there will be choice in programming where there is none with the others.
 
Service event.

I'm not so sure you can write it off as a service event. I do think Apple will want to keep the spotlight on the service, but it is an excellent opportunity to unveil some low-cost halo products that will attract non-Apple customers to the platform:

A low-cost Apple TV streaming stick as rumored, some Apple TV improvements to accommodate the new service and distinguish it from the streaming stick, an iPad mini, or iPod Touch as the perfect streaming companions, especially if the service is free on Apple products as rumored. They'll tout their partnerships with major TV manufacturers and then roll out their own products for TV customers who won't be getting native AirPlay/iTunes support. It's possible there's a least one must have device that excites people, but you're correct, the spotlight will be on the services -- accentuated by their recent decision not to break out individual product lines in their quarterly reports anymore.
 
Who is the press supposed to communicate with?

I get WWDC having an intended audience, but for products and services WE (the consumers) are the intended audience. That’s part of the reason they stream these things.

You.

Most people are going to get news of this event from their news sources, such as TheVerge or youtube. Only a small number of people are going to actually watch the keynote live, much less sit through the entire duration.
 
I'll die laughing if they brand the streaming media service: MUSIC TV or somehow loop in the iTunes.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So Apple is going to invite the pathetic Hollywood crowd … damn they are good a public relations.
But they are the ones holding the keys if Apple wants to be in that business. They’re the content owners.

Just like iTunes. Apple got iTunes Music store going because Jobs approached the music executives and labels. They’re the content owners.
[doublepost=1550111428][/doublepost]I still think this chasing Netflix thing is not a good idea for Apple. Licensing shows for streaming and making them are not cheap. Look at Netflix. They might seem popular, but their cash flow imo is not that great. They in fact need to keep on raising prices. Amazon made it look easy because their service is just a gateway for their e-commerce and cloud business.

Why don’t Apple look at iCloud first? iCloud definitely has much better margin for Apple, and they only need to spend a bit more to make it into a consumer friendlier competitor to Office 365.
 
You.

Most people are going to get news of this event from their news sources, such as TheVerge or youtube. Only a small number of people are going to actually watch the keynote live, much less sit through the entire duration.
I doubt I'll watch a whole live stream devoted to products I only feel lukewarm about, but we'll see.

I am hoping WWDC will bring in a glut of new Macs. Now THAT I will watch start to finish.
 
I'm not so sure you can write it off as a service event. I do think Apple will want to keep the spotlight on the service, but it is an excellent opportunity to unveil some low-cost halo products that will attract non-Apple customers to the platform:

A low-cost Apple TV streaming stick as rumored, some Apple TV improvements to accommodate the new service and distinguish it from the streaming stick, an iPad mini, or iPod Touch as the perfect streaming companions, especially if the service is free on Apple products as rumored. They'll tout their partnerships with major TV manufacturers and then roll out their own products for TV customers who won't be getting native AirPlay/iTunes support. It's possible there's a least one must have device that excites people, but you're correct, the spotlight will be on the services -- accentuated by their recent decision not to break out individual product lines in their quarterly reports anymore.
This is just like netflix type of thing...so I would think it is a service thing.
 
Why don’t Apple look at iCloud first? iCloud definitely has much better margin for Apple, and they only need to spend a bit more to make it into a consumer friendlier competitor to Office 365.

There is no value proposition in pivoting off iCloud since Apple is not a SaaS company. If Apple got into real services, you’d read a lot of articles of how behind they are with the rest of the competition.
 
Wow, that’s a lot of negativity to unravel.

Apple has a history of making things more convenient. Plenty of reason to believe they’ll do it again.

Their News app is a good example. They weren’t the first, but it has become very popular largely by being relatively effortless and extremely well integrated. Much easier than opening half a dozen different news apps.

What’s easier than opening the Netflix app? Uh, how about opening the Apple TV app and being able to see the latest episode from dozens of different shows you are watching in dozens of different networks? The fact the Netflix doesn’t play along makes them a pain in the arse. And means I don’t watch Netflix as much as I might because they make it harder for me than watching Prime, Hulu, TBS, etc.

Siri started strong. Then it **** the bed. Now it’s making a comeback. In a huge annual survey of digital assistants, that includes 800 queries, Siri went from a distant 4th place last year to 2nd in 2018, trailing only Google Assistant. Apple Maps has also made huge leaps and bounds, and in one study I read gives more accurate duration estimates at the start of a trip than Google Maps or Waze. And this year they are rolling out 100% new, home grown map data, built from the ground up. All while keeping user location data private. So underestimating Apple’s ability to comeback and regain lost ground seems like a bad bet to me.

And did you actually watch Planet of the Apps? I thought it was pretty compelling. It’s obviously a much more limited audience because of the subject matter, but it was well produced and interesting for anyone who cares about tech or the app economy. It certainly would be right at home alongside similar niche reality shows on Netflix.

You’re free to be as negative and pessimistic as you want. Just don’t pretend that your POV is based on the latest facts on the ground. For me, I’m remaining cautiously optimistic and looking forward to the March keynote.
You know...it’s interesting that you brought up siri. Apparently siri ended up in victim recovery help center.

(Scene)
Siri: hi alexa. How are you?
Alexa: (no response) (approaches siri)
Siri: wha, what are you doing? Oh crap! (Beep) oh please (beep) (beep). Don’t hurt me...(beeeeeepppppp)

Hour later at victim recovery center

Siri: i’ve been.....vi...vio...violated. I can’t function.

You know what apple was known for? OS.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I knew it.

I’m happy to pay for a subscription service as I do for Texture but I think that Apple will find people in general getting subscription fatigue if they release multiple subscription services all this year and for separate prices.

I’m positive that Apple already knows this which is why they’ll announce it all together and release it under a single Apple subscription. Music, TV, movies, news and magazines all for one price.

There might even be additional perks like increased iCloud data and Apple Care. Apple might also expand the iPhone subscription plan at this event. Subscribe to an annual iPhone upgrade and get all the services included.

For the services alone, I think that Apple is going to surprise on price. Despite all the criticism over price raises this past year, Apple sets the prices at what people will pay. Sure, a subsection of people would spend $50 per month for all services but it wouldn’t be a price most people would be running to pay.

It needs to be so enticing that almost everyone would think it’s a deal. Let’s not forget that access to all music for $9.99 was a mind blowing deal when Apple Music was announced, specially to those used to buying a single album for that price on iTunes at the time.

I think that $39.99 is reasonable but my gut tells me that Apple is going to set it at $25. Easy choice for most people. They won’t hesitate and Apple will make it up on volume. That’s a guaranteed $300 per year from tens of millions of people. That’s $30B in annual revenue if they sign up 100 Million users. When you think of it at that scale, Apple can afford to offer all those services from the perspective of customer retention alone, not to mention the revenue.

But keeping people in the Apple ecosystem, buying and upgrading iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches is the ultimate goal.

Second prediction: we’ll see a new AppleTV announced at this event. Apple isn’t going to miss an opportunity to plug the AppleTV and they’re not going to pitch a 2 year old device with their brand new services.

In order to get maximum sales out of this new AppleTV, they’ll want to entice existing owners to upgrade. A new design will do that. I can see an AppleTV in a unibody enclosure that looks like a smaller Mac mini.

I’m less confident about an AppleTV dongle because Apple already brought all the major manufacturers on side with AirPlay built in going forward. That said, if an HDMI dongle is released, I’d imagine it’d come with the TV App built in and no tvOS App Store. The TV app would be its home screen. TV App + AirPlay for $99, 3 months of TV service included.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 9081094
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.