Anonymous sources point towards Apple preparing a series of subscription bundles to get more people signed up for its services. The Amazon Prime-like approach could prove beneficial as Apple's brand recognition stretches across so many industries that it can be hard for consumers to keep up. These potential bundles could also entice more customers due to lowered costs.
Apple does so many things that it's easy to forget how wide its influence truly is. At their core, you could call them a PC manufacturer except that's hardly what they're most known for these days. People associate the company with the iPhone or iPad more readily and even within the computing space, Macbook laptops have a more profound cultural presence than Mac desktops. The company also has legendary accessories that are now household names like AirPods. But, even beyond hardware, Apple has popular software like Final Cut Pro or iCloud, and its numerous brand acquisitions like Beats headphones.
Somewhere in there, Apple also has multiple subscription services. According to informed Apple insiders with whom Bloomberg spoke, the company is planning multi-tiered bundles for its entertainment services that will be automatically suggested to iPhone and iPad users after the release of iOS 14 this year. The bundles will be modular in that some will include Apple Music and Apple TV+, while others could also add the Apple Arcade gaming service. Apple News+, and expanded iCloud storage.
Apple Service Bundles Are Good for Consumers and Apple
The Bloomberg report states that an individual subscription to each Apple service suggested in these potential bundles would cost about $45 per month. The proposed packages would save most subscribers between $2 and $5 monthly, which means they could be a great deal for consumers. From a public perception standpoint, it also makes subscribing to multiple services easier to stomach. A similar idea seems to have been successful for Disney+ as that service launched with bundles that included Hulu and ESPN+. Amazon is another great example of a company growing a subscription base by combining services, having grown Amazon Prime into one of its biggest revenue sources through bundles.
Scenarios like those reveal why, on the business side, this is a no-brainer for Apple. Investors typically appreciate seeing major corporations add the recurring revenue streams that monthly subscriptions bring. There's also the obvious benefit of being able to pull more Apple customers into the ecosystem. That can then be translated into greater hardware sales too, since the company would be compelled to offer free trials of these bundles with every new iPhone or iPad, for example.
Source: Bloomberg