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Apple and publishers actually thought people want to pay for digital articles in 2019? I get why some WSJ readers might want this service but this was bound to fail from the start. I've never once had a desire to pay for an article and I can't remember the last time I paid for a newspaper or magazine. There's just too much free content available. Their arcade service is probably next.

Just go to every magazine and subscribe. $9.99/mo is a steal.

Why would anyone be insane enough to even think about subscribing to all of them? That's like saying Apple Music is a steal because of how much it would cost to buy every song on it. All that matters is what I was willing to pay for before the service came out... which was nothing. I can't even think of a single one I'd want to subscribe to. For almost every article in those magazines (again, outside of maybe WSJ but I don't care enough about that as there's enough free news content out there), I can find free alternatives that are just as entertaining or informative.
 
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Texture just worked. I spend a lot of time on subways and find this a great way to kill time and read magazines, that then also don't take up physical space. I've found Apple News+ to be slow to opening, navigating isn't very straightforward such as when trying to look at back issues and I really hate that it keeps suggesting new magazines based on articles I read.


For those of you that use Readly, how's it compare to Texture? Any downsides? I didn't even realize there was another option besides Apple News +
 
Perhaps their unique selling proposition should be that they guarantee the news they publish is factual and unbiased. You just can't get that anywhere, so it would be worth paying for.
This is why I got rid of Satellite TV. It was garbage.

As soon as Apple News started continuously prompting me to sign-up for magazines, THAT is when I stopped using the app altogether.
I hate being nagged to pay.

$9.99 per month is too much for the lack of relevant content for me. I'm not much of a magazine reader. Not having the WSJ, Washington Post, and other papers is hurting AppleNews+.
I would cancel a subscription if it included WaPo.

MacRumors users will spell doom for this service...
Just because some people said they didn't like it, we should not conflate that into such a general claim.

Subscription fatigue. Consumers voting with wallets.
This. 1 million times this. I got rid of my $150 per month satellite TV bill, mostly to stop paying for fake news and bad TV. I'm sorry, "Bridezilla" and the Kardashians is bad TV! Why would I go and add magazines and a bunch more $10 subscriptions and give up that newfound cash?

Since way to much news is Fake news, even saying the the Post and Times are making $$ is fake.. As for other media, like one person said, you can find tons of info on most any topic without having to sub to a magazine or paper for free.
Amen, brother!

Tried it once, but my screen time is focused on a few sites like macrumors.com and then I head to WaPo or NYTimes or other common sites. Overseas I go to papers in Sydney or London or wherever a major story may break. You can Google "English language newspapers in . . . ", such as:

English language newspapers in Hong Kong

I just don't see the value of Apple's News Plus. Apple News was fine in the original format, but I don't spend time for today's approach. I don't see it being a huge success.
Love your post, but why would you be going to WaPo or NYT? Believe it or not, you might get more accurate news from the UK Daily Mail!

I paid for Apple News for a month or two, but never found any content that I found useful.

I thought the Wall Street Journal would be of interest, but not being able to easily access the paper's full content was a deal killer.

Meantime, I continue to pay $10 a month each to the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Seattle Times.
So $30 for the same content? It is the same content, just with the paragraphs reordered. I suggest you cancel two of them and take your significant other out for coffee once a month. But not to Starbucks. Fake coffee, real dirt.

I just can't pay for news. I have enough stuff to pay for in subscription for these days, it's draining to say the least.
Yes it is. Subscription fatigue is a thing!

I’m not paying anyone to tell me how crappy this place we call earth is... get reall
This is why I dumped fake news on Satellite. I'm actually much happier now that I'm not afraid of a meteor hitting me or a sinkhole opening up beneath me.

I see in your videos you struggle with vertical video syndrome.

OMG, this is a riot. I love this video!

Last time I paid for a magazine, in any format, was 2014. I was in the airport, my hour and half flight didn’t have WiFi, and amazon prime and Netflix downloading wasn’t a thing yet. All you had was iTunes which cost $5 to 10 per episode or movie. So I bought two fishing magazines and motor trend. Out of the hundred or so pages, maybe 15 were worth the paper it was printed on.
I had a similar experience about 6 months ago.

No one wants to pay for bias bribed journalism.

There are plenty of decent free sources out there.
This guy is 100% correct.

It needs comment sections that can be enabled by publishers. It needs an overhauled app with live news and video section. This app as potential, but as it is right now it’s a big no no for me.
Many mainstream media sites are doing away with comments. I believe they're doing that to make it impossible for people like me to call them out on fake news.
 
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IMHO they should just charge $50 flat for cloud, Apple news, music, arcade and AppleTV +. I’d buy that in a heart beat but I can’t click subscribe 5 times
 
I would subscribe if I got to read the individual publications presented in a sensible format. Instead, News+ gives me a discombobulated mish-mash of articles presented seemingly randomly. No thanks.
 
IMHO they should just charge $50 flat for cloud, Apple news, music, arcade and AppleTV +. I’d buy that in a heart beat but I can’t click subscribe 5 times
No bundles! The only thing worse than a subscription is a BUNDLE for multiple subscriptions!

THIS is how we end up with $150 cable or satellite TV subscriptions! It's because they roll your phone service in with your entertainment and your ISP. And then they've got you by the unmentionables. They can raise your price every year because they know that most customers, once stuck in the bundle subscription, will strongly resist dismantling that relationship.

Don't do it. Bundles are bad.

I would subscribe if I got to read the individual publications presented in a sensible format. Instead, News+ gives me a discombobulated mish-mash of articles presented seemingly randomly. No thanks.
This is a good point. It's not my only reason for not subscribing, but the UI is a significant part of the problem with a lot of existing services.
 
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Publishers thought they could throw so articles and **** or just a stupid PDF of their magazine and thought readers would accept it. Nope. If they want my money they have to prove they want my readership. News doesn’t do it for me because publishers aren’t even giving it their C game.
 
Subscription fatigue.
Too expensive for what it is worth.
Modern day information overload.
Poorly designed app and execution.
Competition heavy segment and no way to engage and interact.

Only time will tell if this goes down the AppleMusic path.
All of the above and more.
But this very story highlights the reality. This story originally came from Business Insider behind a paywall, ..when sites like this report "news" at no cost.

I'm not sure it makes sense for news, and niche content creators have to make the judgment call as to whether it's worth it to them. And Apple is not really about niche anything.
It makes sense for anyone who needs to reach a large market with unique digital content the masses are willing to pay for. But what is that exactly? Music streaming? Movie streaming? Ebooks? And there are already apps for that.
Today publishing is a difficult market and I don't blame them for trying anything and Apple is as good or better than anything to bet on, but I just don't see this as a good solution to energize revenue.
 
Like I said news is different from news+. The latter I want all the mags and newspapers and easy access to them. That needs to be its own app with separate tabs for different media...newspapers, mags.

The mags are there. The newspapers aren’t. That’s apple’s problem. I don’t consider mags as news. They’re specific monthlies in most cases on a subject you like.

But yeah , there’s two newspapers. 2. Just 2. And one is a business journal. The other is LA Times? That’s the best Apple could do? I can’t even get close to local news on something that’s supposed to be premium news.

So lots of problems. A terrible app. Lacks actual news content. If Apple wants to simply do magazines then change the name and get them right.

Jobs would’ve gotten the papers on board. Or more than 2. Apple didn’t get it done.
 
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How is Apple going to guarantee unbiased news? There isn't a single unbiased news outlet in the country. As long as news is written by humans (or by algorithms designed by humans), claiming news can be truly unbiased is foolish.
And that’s exactly why it would be valuable, because it isn’t available elsewhere. But given Apple’s liberal bias, it isn’t likely they would be willing to try.
 
I would like for Apple to charge a monthly flat fee for all of these services rather than $9.99 subscribers to death. For example,

$19.99/mo Bronze Tier: 250gb Family iCloud share, Apple Music Family Share up to 3, News+, Apple Arcade, TV+

$24.99/mo Silver Tier: 1TB Family iCloud share, Apple Music Family Share up to 5, News+, Apple Arcade, TV+

$29.99/mo Platinum Tier: 2TB Family iCloud share, Apple Music Family Share up to 5, News+, Apple Arcade, TV+

This only makes sense and could be a huge revenue generator for Apple rather than have customers purchase individual services. This allows customers to plug into one app for amazing integration with higher adaption rates for their subscription services.

So now we want to go back to bundling? I thought all millennials and the like preferred a la carte?
 
And that’s exactly why it would be valuable, because it isn’t available elsewhere. But given Apple’s liberal bias, it isn’t likely they would be willing to try.

Well if you want right-wing news, it's all free. All you could ever want. Why even consider MSM?
 
IMO it’s too expensive. I think people are tired of the subscription model. Just too many nowadays.
Apple should have a Mostar subscription plan that encompasses ATV+, music, storage, news, etc at a competitive price. That maybe might entice to get one for my entire family. This individual subscriptions just don’t appeal me.
There are just too much free stuff available when it comes to news. It’s hard to entice people to jump into it.
 
Like I said news is different from news+. The latter I want all the mags and newspapers and easy access to them. That needs to be its own app with separate tabs for different media...newspapers, mags.

The mags are there. The newspapers aren’t. That’s apple’s problem. I don’t consider mags as news. They’re specific monthlies in most cases on a subject you like.

But yeah , there’s two newspapers. 2. Just 2. And one is a business journal. The other is LA Times? That’s the best Apple could do? I can’t even get close to local news on something that’s supposed to be premium news.

So lots of problems. A terrible app. Lacks actual news content. If Apple wants to simply do magazines then change the name and get them right.

Jobs would’ve gotten the papers on board. Or more than 2. Apple didn’t get it done.

You make some good points there. I used to actually use Texture, even though Apple News (free) was also available to me. Now that News+ is nested in the same GUI which News is located in, I find that I gravitate to the free content far more frequently, to the extent that I barely read the magazines any more. If it wasn't for the fact that my wife really likes the mags, I would not have subscribed at the end of the trial period, preferring the free content instead.

By providing all of it within a single GUI, Apple is competing with themselves - free vs. paid content. That's probably not all that helpful in driving paid subscriptions. As you say, they need a separate app, including magazines, newspapers, even audio magazines - differentiate from what Texture offered - improve on the model - and don't compete with free in the same GUI. Sheesh, it should be obvious. ALSO - the user experience needs a big upgrade, period - full stop.
 
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For magazines I joined my local library and I can “check out” magazines online and they show up in the ZINIO app ready to read, and I get to keep them forever, or archive them. Totally free.

I’d consider subscribing for news, but even the free stuff around here isn’t worth paying for. Most of the time it feels like 20% news, 80% opinion pieces.
 
If I remember correctly the first version of Apple Music wasn't much better. Maybe it'll work out over a few years?
I hope so. I really like the concept of Apple News and I am currently a disappointed subscriber edging ever closer to dropping the service. I want this to work so I would love to see them do something to turn it around.
 
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