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Apple's "+" based services are all content focused. News+, TV+, Fitness+, and Music and Arcade. They're paywalled because it gives you access to more rich and better content.

Yes, we have the standard services, but if we want more, we pay more for content.

Mail+? This just doesn't add up to me. Why should we pay extra for something feature based? Does that then mean standard Mail will get left behind?

People come to Apple for great hardware and software. Not to pay for basic software, and then have to pay for richer features. You pay for richer content; not features!

Hoping this isn't true!
 
Why would I need/want a subscription for a brokerage account? Some of these analyst predictions are pulled completely out of said anal-ysts behind
 
This would be a nightmare... all convenient upgrades to apps or services would become "+" subscription based, instead of just being available for free like until now.
 
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This sounds like a nightmare scenario but sounds inevitable. Days of new functionality for free is coming to an end. iMessage+, FaceTime+, Photos+ incoming no doubt. Wouldn't be surprised if pro apps go sub model too.

That would be unfortunate. Apple should stay primarily a hardware company with the value add of services and software. If they start to nickel and dime me, I'll find alternatives and won't invest into any more Apple services.
 
Seems to be the only way to impress Wall Street analysts: subscription services.

How much the consumer will like/dislike those new services remains to be seen (especially compared to their non-subscription counterparts), but all I know is people better start getting used to subscriptions more and more. They’re not going away.
 
This sounds awful. Part of makes Apple great is that they have great apps already installed on the iPhone that see continued improvement. I understand some apps as services, like music and games. Those required content creators for you to consume said content. Making future mail or maps improvements into a premium subscription? That's when Apple jumps the shark. No thanks, not going to be nickled and dimed by the 37 millionth subscription service.
I agree, this sounds worrisome. Apple is monetizing everything, but with their push for developers to go subscription based its not really surprising.
 
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While I hate more subscriptions, from the functionality listed here it’s not the worst thing in the world. As long as the basic functionality exists still, and the “+” features are things totally out of the box and more geared towards professionals. (like the stocks app allowing you to actually invest, Mail giving us custom domains and enterprise-level customization like exchange or gsuite, etc)
 
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Will the mail app's basic functions actually work with Mail+?

These apps better be as close to bug free as possible... the way things are now, they're not worth the extra cost.
 
How long have podcasts been around for? I rather enjoy them and I'm glad to see Apple "re-investing" in them as they seem to have forgotten them over the years
 
Will the mail app's basic functions actually work with Mail+?

These apps better be as close to bug free as possible... the way things are now, they're not worth the extra cost.

Agreed. I put up with the quirks, lack of features, bugs and lazy slow improvements because they're effectively free / part of the OS. Imagine paying for Mac Mail or even for iCloud email - it doesn't even support custom domains.
 
Don't get me wrong, I've loved AirPods since their release. But their success shows apple you can cause an issue then monetize the solution, whether 3.5mm to wireless or broken Mail to Mail+.
 
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Agreed. I put up with the quirks, lack of features, bugs and lazy slow improvements because they're effectively free / part of the OS. Imagine paying for Mac Mail or even for iCloud email - it doesn't even support custom domains.
Although iMessage + for Android has a nice ring to it if they're really going to go this route. 🤔
 
Considering that almost every app uses Apple's Podcast directory for search/discovery, if they pulled that behind a paywall, that would have some serious implications for the world of Podcasts.
 
This sounds awful. Part of makes Apple great is that they have great apps already installed on the iPhone that see continued improvement. I understand some apps as services, like music and games. Those required content creators for you to consume said content. Making future mail or maps improvements into a premium subscription? That's when Apple jumps the shark. No thanks, not going to be nickled and dimed by the 37 millionth subscription service.
While I agree with this statement, and think this article reads like Apple is creating solutions in search of a problem, there are indeed some use cases where these products could make sense.
Cutting edge stock trading platform like WeBull with innovative integrations (Apple will definitely be stepping out of its wheelhouse if they get into brokerage), or custom domains with Mail+ as another commenter suggested, would be additions that justify the premium.

Otherwise, I think it'll be like you say, basically turning the regular product into a subscription and devaluing the regular exisitng product for the sake of the subscription funnel.
 
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Actually what about FaceTime+, where you can increase the number of users in a call, higher call/video quality etc?
 
Munster is NOT an Analyst !

When it comes to AAPL, he is strictly an "AAPL Cheerleader," masquerading as a so-called pro stock Analyst !

There are three others in "The AAPL Band of Four" as well, Ives, Huberty, & Cramer.

There are some "true" stock analysts who know AAPL very well:

Toni Sacconaghi
Jeffrey Kavaal
Dan Niles
 
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