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How an ‘Apple Prime’ subscription could reinvigorate Apple

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Two analysts have suggested a new idea that could re-energize Apple, proposing that the tech giant create...

Apple’s content distribution dilemma

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Apple is serious about content. You just need to look back at the past year to see not just their ambition but also...

Apple hires TV programming veteran Michelle Lee

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Programming veteran Michelle Lee has joined Apple’s venture into scripted television content...

Analyst: Apple should mix hardware and services into ‘Apple Prime’ subscription

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Contrary to popular belief, Apple Inc. isn’t a hardware company. Nor is it a software company...

Why a bundled subscription makes perfect sense for Apple

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Apple could temper its tempestuous and cyclical hardware sales patterns by introducing a new option for consumers...

We might be inching closer to ‘Apple Prime’

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“We seem to be getting closer to ‘Apple Prime.’ Or the ‘Apple Bundle,’ David Marino-Nachison reports for Barron’s. “Or the ‘Apple Extra Value Meal.’ Or — whatever you want to call the as-yet-unannounced offering into which Apple would combine a suite of services for a single price.”

“On Thursday, The Information, citing ‘people familiar with the company’s plans,’ reported that Apple planned to combine news, magazine articles and television into a single subscription product,” Marino-Nachison reports. “Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that such a service might include iCloud storage as well. Apple bought a digital magazine service in March; some have speculated about other possibilities, such as health monitoring.”

“Would you buy the Apple, er, value meal? You might, especially if you’re already a customer of one or more of the company’s other subscription services. Given sufficient consumer perception of value, that could considerably lower the chance a customer unsubscribes,” Marino-Nachison reports. “(Though it’s certainly possible, or even likely, that Apple services would also be sold a la carte.)”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Supersize us!

We’ve got a feeling that this September/October is going to be jam-packed with Apple goodness!

Once again: We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

SEE ALSO:
Why a supersized Apple streaming video bundle just might work – June 28, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018
Apple announces multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey – June 15, 2018

Apple’s reported plans for a content bundle could pave the way for bigger things

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“Apple’s push to turn its services businesses into a $50 billion revenue stream could yield some interesting twists and turns,” Eric Jhonsa writes for TheStreet. “”

“On Wednesday, The Information reported that Apple is thinking about launching ‘a single subscription offering that would encompass its original TV shows, music service and magazine articles,'” Jhonsa writes. “With The New York Times having previously reported that Apple is ‘targeting somewhere between March 2019 and the summer of that year to roll out its slate of new programming,’ it’s possible that a music/video/magazine subscription bundle arrives in about a year’s time.”

“Long before The Information‘s report came out, at least a few people had argued that Apple should roll out more comprehensive subscription services for its giant installed base,” Jhonsa writes. “In May, Matthew Ball, the former head of strategy for Amazon Studios, made a case for the launching of subscription services that could cover not just music and video content, but also other services such as iCloud storage and AppleCare support, and also (notably) the right to upgrade to a new version of one or more devices following the passing of a given amount of time (for example, one iPhone upgrade every two years).”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple rolling out more comprehensive subscription services sounds like an excellent idea:

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

Why not have an “Apple TV” service to go along with “Apple Music” and sell each separately with the option to bundle both at a better price? For example, $9.99/mo. each or $14.99/mo. for both?MacDailyNews, June 27, 2018

SEE ALSO:
We might be inching closer to ‘Apple Prime’ – June 28, 2018
Why a supersized Apple streaming video bundle just might work – June 28, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018
Apple announces multi-year partnership with Oprah Winfrey – June 15, 2018

Tim Bajarin: Apple’s most strategic investment so far this year

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“There has been a lot of speculation lately that Apple is getting ready to create some media bundle that would be under subscription,” Tim Bajarin writes for Tech.pinions. “According to multiple sites, the idea would be to bundle all of their media properties under a special program that mirrors something like Amazon’s Prime services.”

“I have no direct knowledge that this will happen but if you read the tea leaves surrounding Apple’s various acquisitions and new media emphasis, it is not too hard to see this possibility,” Bajarin writes. “With that in mind, their most strategic investment so far this year that could be related to this is Texture, the magazine subscription service that has close to 200 magazines in this service for $9.99 a month. I am a big fan of Texture… The service itself has grown from about 20 magazines at launch to the 200+ available today, and now that Apple owns it, I suspect it will add many more new magazine titles to its offering in the future.”

“If they were to follow Amazon’s Prime example, then any service would also need to have video content too,” Bajarin writes. “I would not be surprised to see Apple buy a couple of the smaller video production companies that already have hits in the market to accelerate their original programming. Also, given their tight relationship with Disney and Pixar, I could even see them trying to tap into some of their skills and content as well. However, well planning by Apple when it comes to subscription infrastructure puts them in an excellent place to deliver an encompassing media subscription service.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: We’re very interested to see how Apple sells Texture subscriptiosn and whether “Apple can save magazines” for real this time around (iPad alone was suposed to do that).

SEE ALSO:
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018


Imagining an Apple All Access plan: What if Apple offered iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music, and more all for a single monthly fee?

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“Microsoft just launched Xbox All Access, a novel way to buy an Xbox console together with its related services without putting down any up-front money,” Jason Cross writes for Macworld.

“Apple is in a unique position to offer a similar bundle. Perhaps no other company integrates hardware and services as deeply, or benefits as much with future sales from customers who are invested in its own services,” Cross writes. “What’s more, Apple has both the retail footprint and financial services infrastructure in place to make it work for tens of millions of new customers.”

Cross writes, “Apple has enough services and products, with enough different price points, that it makes sense to break up our hypothetical Apple All Access plan into two tiers.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Yes, as soon as Apple launches their original content video service, an “Apple Prime” will make even more sense.

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

SEE ALSO:
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018

How Apple is transforming from a hardware company to a services and media company

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“The iPhone has been Apple’s biggest product for many years now, and Apple has leveraged it to become the first trillion-dollar company,” Kirk McElhearn writes for Intego. “But things are starting to change.”

MacDailyNews Take: Starting with, Apple is not a trillion-dollar company anymore. It’s merely a $924.329 billion, post Wall Street’s extended, irrational hissy fit over having their unit sales crutch pulled away.

Pity the pro analysts who were repeated told by Apple to study the company’s services model and to stop relying on the unit sales crutch. Failing that, Apple simply pulled the crutch away. Walk on your own, Apple analysts! — MacDailyNews, November 2, 2018

“In Apple’s recent earnings call, the company said that it would no longer break out unit sales of the iPhone or its other products,” McElhearn writes. ” This change comes as Apple’s iPhone sales have been essentially flat for the past two years – they peaked in the holiday quarter of 2016 – signaling the first time that the company is facing up to the slowing growth in the smartphone market.”

“As Apple increases the average selling price of their device, unit sales are less important, and they don’t want to highlight the fact that they’re not growing any more. But there’s a lot more to it than just the iPhone,” McElhearn writes. “Apple’s ‘services’ revenue for the last quarter was about $10 billion; or about $37 billion for the past year. Services revenues – which include income from the App Stores, the iTunes Store, Apple Music, iCloud, Apple Pay, and AppleCare, along with the money that Google pays Apple to be the default search engine on its operating systems – bring in nearly as much money as the Mac and iPad combined and represent 16% of Apple’s income.”

“This has led a number of analysts to consider the idea of an ‘Apple Prime’ subscription service; one subscription to all of Apple’s services (perhaps including AppleCare),” McElhearn writes. ” Imagine a single monthly fee for Apple Music, Apple’s video service, additional iCloud storage, and perhaps other perks. This would be an easy sell if it were priced right, and it’s a lot easier to get people to pay for a bundle of services than individual services.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Yes, as soon as Apple launches their original content video service, an “Apple Prime” will make even more sense.

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

SEE ALSO:
Imagining an Apple All Access plan: What if Apple offered iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music, and more all for a single monthly fee? – August 29, 2018
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018

Apple’s precarious and pivotal 2019

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Last week, Apple “had to do something they almost never do. They had to revise their earnings guidance. Downward,” M.G. Siegler writes for 500ish Words. “The stock was halted. Yikes… The company is now the 4th most valuable corporation in the world. That sounds like a great thing until you remember that until recently, it was the most valuable company in the world — and for much of the past several years, this was the case by far.”

“Tim Cook’s letter to shareholders on the matter is fascinating. On one hand, he makes a very simple case: chalk it up to China,” Siegler writes. “On the other hand, all of that could have been explained in one or two paragraphs. Cook’s letter is nearly 1,500 words long.”

In one part of his missive, “Cook is basically making a case for the end of buying phones at full price each year and instead, a world in which you pay Apple in perpetuity to constantly get the new iPhone. This is — wait for it — a service! The name is even right there for the taking: iPaaS — iPhone as a Service,” Siegler writes. “And it’s a service Apple already has, in the form of the iPhone Upgrade Program! Unfortunately, it’s not a great service right now — I’m a member — as it’s largely outsourced to a third-party, Citizens Bank. Cook is suggesting that Apple is going to put a lot more emphasis here. Which makes a lot of sense, both to help continue to obfuscate the true price of the iPhone, but also to keep that all-important base of users locked in. It’s also Apple’s most interesting inroad to an ‘Apple Prime’ offering. That is, an all-encompassing suite of services you pay Apple for — just like Amazon Prime, with all that offers from an Amazon-perspective.”

Much more in the full article – recommended – here.

MacDailyNews Take: Well, as “precarious” as you can get when you’ve just brought in close to US$1 billion per day for the last 90 some odd days in a row. Oh, yeah, and with $237.1 billion in cash on hand as of November; more than that now.

Filed under “oh-so-precarious.”

Quotes with which we’re sure Cook & Co. are quite familiar:

Change before you have to. — Jack Welch

I think money is a wonderful thing because it enables you to do things. It enables you to invest in ideas that don’t have a short-term payback. — Steve Jobs

Once again: We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

For more about the idea of “Apple Prime,” please read: “Apple ‘Prime'” by Kevin Williams from Practical Tech February 26, 2016.

SEE ALSO:
Apple plans to launch TV streaming service first in the U.S., then swiftly expand globally with free original content – October 23, 2018
Apple plans to give away original content for free to device owners as part of new digital TV strategy – October 10, 2018
We might be inching closer to ‘Apple Prime’ – June 28, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018

Apple analysts are bullish about rumored ‘Apple Prime’ media bundle

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“With iPhone sales slowing down, Apple could rely on its Services business more than ever to drive growth,” JP Mangalindan writes for Yahoo Finance. “In order to expand that business, the tech giant may need to launch a ‘media bundle’ to rival Amazon’s.”

“In a report published in late January, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty contended Apple’s Services unit — which includes the App Store, AppleCare, iTunes, and iCloud — could reinvigorate Apple’s performance, particularly if Apple follows through later this year with the launch of a ‘media bundle,'” Mangalindan writes. “Here’s how an Apple media bundle, or an Apple Prime, could work: subscribers pay a fee each month to access a Netflix-style streaming service with original films and TV series — the tech giant has at least 20 original projects in the works — as well as Apple Music and a subscription news service.”

“The launch of a compelling Apple Prime-type package is key to shoring up Services growth, reiterates Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi,” Mangalindan writes. “‘To beat our current expectation for deceleration of overall Services revenues from 24% growth in 2018 to 16% in 2019, Apple will need to add mid-to-high single digits growth back to Services revenues through successful launch of the ‘Apple Prime’ bundle including original video that we expect to be rolled out this Spring/Summer’ Sacconachi wrote in a report published on Monday.'”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple could make a more compelling “Prime” bundle than even Amazon can offer because their original content sounds like it will be better and Apple Music + Apple News/Texture are unmatched. If they rolled some iCloud storage deal into it, it’d be tough to resist for many, many people!

As soon as Apple launches their original content video service, an “Apple Prime” will make even more sense. — MacDailyNews, August 29, 2018

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

SEE ALSO:
Apple plans star-studded March 25th event to unveil video and news subscription services – February 13, 2019
Apple to hold special media event on March 25th – February 12, 2019
Imagining an Apple All Access plan: What if Apple offered iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music, and more all for a single monthly fee? – August 29, 2018
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018

Apple’s March 25th event could bring the big bundle that beats Netflix

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“It looks as though Apple will hold a special event next month unlike any it’s held in recent memory, according to multiple reports,” Jason Snell writes for Tom’s Guide. “At the center of the stage won’t be new Mac, iPhone, or iPad hardware, but a new collection of subscription services.”

“The rise of streaming services like Netflix and over-the-top TV services like YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, and DirecTV Now suggest that we are in the midst of a shift from traditional cable and satellite TV to a world where all our video entertainment is streamed over the Internet,” Snell writes. “Apple’s plan is to take advantage of that in two ways: by creating its own content and by reselling premium channels offered by others.”

“Apple’s reportedly spent $1 billion or more on TV series and movies over the last year and a half, and next month we are going to get an idea of the scope of its programming plans. Apple can’t become Netflix overnight, but its offerings can probably blow past Starz or Epix and other lower-tier services with ease,” Snell writes. “It’s the addition of the news subscription service that’s convinced me that there has to be a larger story here. Apple’s adding a whole lot of separate subscription services, and I have a hard time believing every single one of them will be sold a la carte. More likely, Apple will create a bundle of services, offering a small discount in order to sell people the entire suite of offerings…”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Bring on “Apple Prime!”

Apple could make a more compelling “Prime” bundle than even Amazon can offer because their original content sounds like it will be better and Apple Music + Apple News/Texture are unmatched. If they rolled some iCloud storage deal into it, it’d be tough to resist for many, many people!MacDailyNews, February 14, 2019

As soon as Apple launches their original content video service, an “Apple Prime” will make even more sense. — MacDailyNews, August 29, 2018

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

SEE ALSO:
Apple analysts are bullish about rumored ‘Apple Prime’ media bundle – February 14, 2019
Apple plans star-studded March 25th event to unveil video and news subscription services – February 13, 2019
Apple to hold special media event on March 25th – February 12, 2019
Imagining an Apple All Access plan: What if Apple offered iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music, and more all for a single monthly fee? – August 29, 2018
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018

Apple executive shake-up rattles rank-and-file employees; several projects put on hold

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“Apple Inc. is shaking up leadership and reordering priorities across its services, artificial intelligence, hardware and retail divisions as it works to reduce the company’s reliance on iPhone sales.,” Tripp Mickle reports for The Wall Street Journal. “The changes, which can be traced back to last year, have included high-profile hires, noteworthy departures, meaningful promotions and consequential restructurings.They have rattled rank-and-file employees unaccustomed to frequent leadership changes and led Apple to put several projects on hold while new managers are given a chance to reassess priorities, according to people familiar with the matter.”

“The primary reasons for the shifts vary by division. But collectively, they reflect Apple’s efforts to transition from an iPhone-driven company into one where growth flows from services and potentially transformative technologies,” Mickle reports. “Leadership moves of the past few months include promoting artificial intelligence chief John Giannandrea to the executive team; replacing departing retail chief Angela Ahrendts with head of human resources Deirdre O’Brien; and pushing out top Siri voice-assistant executive Bill Stasior. Apple has also trimmed 200 staffers from its autonomous-vehicle project, and is redirecting much of the engineering resources in its services business, led by Eddy Cue, into efforts around Hollywood programming.”

“Apple has said it aims to pass 500 million paid subscriptions across its platform by 2020, up from 360 million now. To help reach the goal, Apple is spending more than $1 billion to create original shows this year starring Hollywood A-listers,” Mickle reports. “It has considered bundling video into a monthly subscription offering that would also include cloud storage, according to people familiar with the plans. The company also is in talks with major newspapers about offering a news service that would cost $10 a month. It has discussed bundling those services together into a single subscription along with iCloud storage for photos and files, a person familiar with the plan said.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Good luck, everyone, and bring on a temptingly-priced “Apple Prime!”

MacDailyNews Note: Today is Washington’s Birthday in the U.S.A., a federal holiday and, as such, the U.S. markets are closed for the day. We will resume our normal posting schedule tomorrow.

Washington’s Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

SEE ALSO:
Apple’s March 25th event could bring the big bundle that beats Netflix – February 17, 2019
Apple analysts are bullish about rumored ‘Apple Prime’ media bundle – February 14, 2019
Apple plans star-studded March 25th event to unveil video and news subscription services – February 13, 2019
Apple to hold special media event on March 25th – February 12, 2019
Imagining an Apple All Access plan: What if Apple offered iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music, and more all for a single monthly fee? – August 29, 2018
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018

Analyst estimates Apple will charge $15 per month for streaming video service

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“Tim O’Shea, an analyst who covers the iPhone maker for Jefferies… estimated that if Apple’s video service had 250 million subscribers in 2023, it still would account for only about 5% of the company’s revenue that year — and wouldn’t make up for its declining smartphone sales,” Troy Wolverton writes for Business Insider. “By point of reference, after offering streaming video for 12 years, Netflix has 139 million subscribers.”

“To figure out the potential of the video service, which Apple is widely expected to launch next month, O’Shea estimated that Apple would charge customers $15 a month,” Wolverton writes. “If the service is extremely successful and attracts 250 million subscribers, it would yield $13.5 billion in revenue for Apple. That’s nothing to sneeze at. After all, Netflix’s total sales last year were $15.8 billion. But in the context of Apple, such a figure would be just a drop in the bucket. In fiscal 2018, the company posted revenue of $265 billion.”

“Apple has shown with its Apple Music service that it can grow such offerings relatively quickly… Apple Music has 50 million paid subscribers, a total it reached much quicker than the market leader, Spotify, he said,” Wolverton writes. “Apple’s smartphone sales accounted for $167 billion in sales last year, and the iPhone may be the biggest product business of any company ever, O’Shea said. Because it’s so huge, even a small percentage drop in its sales can more than wipe out big gains in other parts of Apple’s business.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Once the lengthening iPhone replacement cycle stabilizes, Apple will have a solid base of massive revenue that just happens as long as they can manage to keep iPhone fresh with regularity. Cough * Mac * cough. That coughed, even with some pronounced mismanagement on the Mac side of things over the past 5+ years, Apple still has a solid base of Mac revenue that just happens (to just could’ve been and should be larger today than it is).

As for the $15/month estimate, we’ll wait and see what types of bundles, if any, that Apple comes up with. We’d sign up for a decently-priced bundle that includes Apple Music, Apple Video, and iCloud storage in a heartbeat.

SEE ALSO:
Apple’s March 25th event could bring the big bundle that beats Netflix – February 17, 2019
Apple analysts are bullish about rumored ‘Apple Prime’ media bundle – February 14, 2019
Apple plans star-studded March 25th event to unveil video and news subscription services – February 13, 2019
Apple to hold special media event on March 25th – February 12, 2019
Imagining an Apple All Access plan: What if Apple offered iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music, and more all for a single monthly fee? – August 29, 2018
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018


Reinvention: Apple attempts biggest strategy change since the iPhone in 2007

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“When Apple Inc. boss Tim Cook takes the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater in Silicon Valley on Monday, he will usher in a new era for the world’s largest technology company,” Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg News. “The chief executive officer is expected to unveil streaming video and news subscriptions, key parts of Apple’s push to transform itself into a leading digital services provider. The company may even discuss a monthly video games subscription.”

“‘This is a pivotal shift for Apple and in our opinion the biggest strategic move since the iPhone was unveiled in 2007,’ said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. ‘There is massive pressure on Cook and Apple to deliver on services, with streaming content a potential linchpin of growth,” Gurman reports.

“On Monday, Apple will add video and news subscriptions, and could unveil a similar offering for credit cards. The company may also discuss combining all these digital services into a single bundle, similar to Amazon’s popular Prime program. Apple already has discussed the possibility of discounts for users who subscribe to more than one service,” Gurman reports. “Apple is also working on a premium games subscription for its App Store and discussing it with potential partners, according to people with knowledge of the plans. This service won’t take on new cloud-based streaming offerings like Google Stadia. Instead, it will focus on iPhones and iPads and bundle together paid games from different developers that consumers can access for a monthly fee.”

Apple TV 4K and its Siri Remote

Apple TV 4K and its Siri Remote


 
Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Bring on “Apple Prime!”

Apple could make a more compelling “Prime” bundle than even Amazon can offer because their original content sounds like it will be better and Apple Music + Apple News/Texture are unmatched. If they rolled some iCloud storage deal into it, it’d be tough to resist for many, many people!MacDailyNews, February 14, 2019

As soon as Apple launches their original content video service, an “Apple Prime” will make even more sense. — MacDailyNews, August 29, 2018

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

SEE ALSO:
Analyst: Apple is planning to give billions of dollars in video content away for free – March 18, 2019
Apple analysts are bullish about rumored ‘Apple Prime’ media bundle – February 14, 2019
Apple plans star-studded March 25th event to unveil video and news subscription services – February 13, 2019
Apple to hold special media event on March 25th – February 12, 2019
Imagining an Apple All Access plan: What if Apple offered iPhone, iCloud, Apple Music, and more all for a single monthly fee? – August 29, 2018
A bundled media subscription would be good news for Apple users and for Apple itself – June 29, 2018
Apple reportedly considering subscription bundle of Apple Music, News and original video content – June 28, 2018
Apple is building a media platform like we’ve never seen before – June 27, 2018
Here’s how much Apple could make from streaming – June 27, 2018
Apple’s next $10 billion frontier is content creation – June 25, 2018
Apple intends to beat Netflix on price with standalone subscription to original content – June 19, 2018

Morgan Stanley ups Apple price target to $220 from $197

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Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Apple 3.0 that Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has raised the firm’s price target on Apple (AAPL) to $220 from $197.

Big picture, this strategy aligns with our thesis that Services, not devices, hold the key to Apple revenue and profitability growth over the next 5 years. However, the lack of specifics around pricing and timing limits us from raising estimates today. We still believe Apple is likely to bundle hardware/services and/or multiple services over time, with our September 2018 analysis suggesting Apple could generate $22-37B in revenue by 2025 for an Apple Media bundle alone, up from $3.8B in 2018. While we keep our estimates unchanged today, we mark our sum-of-the-parts (SoTP) driven price target to market, which captures the re-rating of Hardware and Services peers over the last 2 months, resulting in our new price target. — Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty

P.E.D. also offers up 74 seconds of Loup Ventures’ Gene Munster:

Find out what the rest of the Apple analysts are saying after the compnay’s “It’s Show Time” event here.

MacDailyNews Take: In general, the analysts like Apple’s new services, but they, like the rest of us, would very much like to see the prices, launch dates and possible bundle offers (“Apple Prime”) before going further.

I now dread going to the Apple Store, and that’s a problem for Apple

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David Gewirtz for ZDNet:

I have never, not once, been able to have an Apple Store round trip take less than four hours. And that’s on a good day. When my wife and I went to buy our iPhone 6s Pluses a few years ago, the trip took three hours on the road plus four hours in the store due to the wait and fussing time at the store… When we went to get replacement batteries for our phones, it took one round trip of five hours to replace the batteries, and then another round trip of about five hours to replace the phone they broke when they tried to replace the battery…

This goes to Jason Perlow’s Apple Select plan, for all-you-can-geek Apple products. Last week, he advocated that Apple adopt a monthly charge that incorporates all their services, along with a regularly refreshed phone. In a sense, this is the Apple Upgrade program with movies, news, and storage tacked onto it. Having a Prime-like service for Apple services does make sense. But expecting customers to make a regular pilgrimage to the Apple Store to swap phones is not realistic because it is not necessarily something everyone is going to want to (or be able to) do.

Apple has to make the iPhone upgrade process painless. They need to make it work entirely online, and they need to make sure that you’re never, ever without your phone… Failure to do that will result in some number of customers avoiding the Apple Store, and more finding themselves in Apple Store hell. It’s not an enjoyable experience.

MacDailyNews Take: Generally, if the Apple Store is close by, you’re in a populated area, meaning traffic to and from the store can be an issue. Apple doesn’t place stores in low-traffic areas. The reasoning is obvious, but it doesn’t help the customer any. Plus, once you get into the Apple Store, it’s usually crowded. If it’s a mall store, you’ve got a three-ring circus of people trying to do iPhone screen repairs, purchase products, Today at Apple classes, diagnose issues, trying on Watches, etc. It’s nothing like what it once was (and will never be again), a mecca for Apple, mostly Mac, fans with some iPods around for fun. Those days are over.

If Apple were to somehow make the iPhone upgrade process easy and painless with customers always having a working iPhone, removing the Apple Store pain point, they’d likely sell more iPhones, more often (hello, shorter replacement cycle), and iPhone customers would be even happier than they already are!

The iPhone and Apple’s services strategy

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The back glass on iPhone 11 is precision milled from a single sheet of glass — the toughest glass ever in a smartphone.
Apple’s new A13-Bionic-powered iPhone 11 starts at $699

Ben Thompson thinks (and we agree with him) that biggest news from yesterday’s event was that Apple cut prices.

Ben Thompson for Stratechery:

It was easy to miss, given that the iPhone 11 Pro, the successor to the iPhone X and then Xs, hasn’t changed in price: it still starts at $999 ($1,099 for the larger model), and tops out at $1,449); if you want the best you are going to pay for it… [But], the price cuts, which happened further down the line — were so important…

The success of the iPhone XR strongly suggests that there is more elasticity in the iPhone market than ever before. Apple also cut prices in China earlier this year with great success… the final step in Apple truly becoming a Services company, not just in its financial results but also in its strategic thinking [is[ ore phones sold, no matter their price point, means more Services revenue in the long run (and Wearables revenue too).

It does feel like there is one more shoe yet to drop when it comes to Apple’s strategic shift. The fact that Apple is bundling a for-pay service (Apple TV+) with a product purchase is interesting, but what if Apple started included products with paid subscriptions?

MacDailyNews Take: We bet if Apple offered iPhones along with services bundled into one monthly fee – offer tick boxes for Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, iCloud Storage, etc. – they’d have a winning sales strategy (Apple Prime) on their hands!

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

As soon as Apple launches their original content video service, an “Apple Prime” will make even more sense. — MacDailyNews, August 29, 2018

Apple could make a more compelling “Prime” bundle than even Amazon can offer because their original content sounds like it will be better and Apple Music + Apple News/Texture are unmatched. If they rolled some iCloud storage deal into it, it’d be tough to resist for many, many people!MacDailyNews, February 14, 2019

Hopefully, some sort of bundle option will also be available for us all to be able to the combine Apple services we want for a single fee, lower than the cost of subscribing to them à la carte. — MacDailyNews, March 25, 2019

How long before we get a $100 ‘Everything Apple’ subscription including an iPhone?

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If you suspect Apple is heading toward offering us a single all-in subscription package, the company’s moves this week regarding Apple TV+ and, more quietly, AppleCare+, make a lot of sense.

William Gallagher for AppleInsider:

Perhaps Apple itself is looking to a future where subscriptions are the norm. If Apple has thought of this, then the company’s moves this week look very much like it putting some more parts of the jigsaw in place… Apple, at some point, is going to offer you an all-in-one subscription fee. It will be a single-price, probably family-wide, price that gets you all of Apple’s services —and an iPhone.

Right after the September 10 keynote, Apple introduced a new AppleCare+ which within certain constraints, lets you extend your regular AppleCare insurance. And, you guessed it, AppleCare+ is a monthly fee… We’d be surprised if the top end AppleCare+ monthly fee didn’t magically happen to be $9.99, which would make this fantasy all-in subscription [a top of the range iPhone and also for every Apple service] add up to $106.98.

However, we also wouldn’t be in the slightest bit surprised if Apple, at least at first, offered all of this for a straight $100 per month.

MacDailyNews Take: Well, Apple loves nines, so $99 per month gets you an iPhone and every Apple service. Presented like that, it’d be insanely irresistible. And every “new to iPhone” customer will immediately and irrevocably be steeped in Apple’s Hotel California ecosystem.

Hey, Android fake iPhone peddlers: Checkmate!

As we wrote this morning, “We bet if Apple offered iPhones along with services bundled into one monthly fee – offer tick boxes for Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, iCloud Storage, etc. – they’d have a winning sales strategy (Apple Prime) on their hands!”

We’d really like to see a way to pay for all of the Apple services we choose for one price. Give us a bunch of tick boxes and let us choose our combination of iCloud storage, Apple Music, iTunes Match, etc. and let us pay a single price for all of our choices.MacDailyNews, October 17, 2016

As soon as Apple launches their original content video service, an “Apple Prime” will make even more sense. — MacDailyNews, August 29, 2018

Apple could make a more compelling “Prime” bundle than even Amazon can offer because their original content sounds like it will be better and Apple Music + Apple News/Texture are unmatched. If they rolled some iCloud storage deal into it, it’d be tough to resist for many, many people!MacDailyNews, February 14, 2019

Hopefully, some sort of bundle option will also be available for us all to be able to the combine Apple services we want for a single fee, lower than the cost of subscribing to them à la carte. — MacDailyNews, March 25, 2019

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