Originally published at: Apple Subscriptions Expand with Apple Fitness+, Apple One Bundles - TidBITS
Apple has expanded its stable of subscription services with the addition of Apple Fitness+, an integrated “workout experience” that relies on multiple Apple devices and an ever-changing collection of workout classes. Plus, the company will soon offer bundles of services under the Apple One name.
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It’s not quite true that Fitness+ is Apple’s only annual subscription. I’m on the $99/year individual Apple Music plan myself. It comes to $8.33/mo.
Frankly I was hoping for more with the bundles. I currently have the $2.99/mo 200 GB iCloud plan, and no Apple TV+ or Apple Arcade. That meansI currently pay $11.32/mo for all the Apple services I can make time for, which is less than the least expensive bundle.
Like Adam, I tried and let lapse my Apple Arcade account, and I don’t need Apple TV+ when there’s already Netflix and CBS All Access (Star Trek!) competing for my vanishing free time. And as many have pointed out, iCloud storage remains overpriced relative to Google One, Dropbox, and OneDrive, its nearest competitors…
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But as it stands, our days are booked solid from morning until night, and there’s simply no more time to spend on additional services. Perhaps we’re unusual, but I don’t think so—a lack of time is a common complaint among people we know.
No, I’m in the exact same camp. I have no interest in Apple’s services. I don’t rent my music, I’m not going to pay for their cloud storage, I don’t have time for Arcade, and I’m certainly put off by pretty much everything I read about Apple News+. With the limited time I have left I’ll continue to get my workout by running my 5-7 miles a day. Takes nothing but a pair of decent shoes.
If Apple wants to “encourage more loyalty to the Apple ecosystem” in my case that would mean they should knock off the shenanigans and instead put laser focus on producing good hardware, and making a solid macOS and iOS. I don’t need them to attempt to enter new markets where existing players are more experienced, do a better job, and Apple is playing catch-up. IMHO the motto should be stick to what you do best and excel at that. Granted, that might not lead to world domination, but that’s the one thing that would definitely increase my spending with Apple for sure. Not by $14.99/month, by a couple grand a year.
That said, thanks for the overview, Adam. Your article nicely summarized what the offer is.
I already pay for Family music, 2Tb of iCloud storage, and currently (because we have a 10-year-old) Apple Arcade, Hence getting the bundle might make sense for me.
We already have the Family Music plan, the 2Tb storage, Apple TV+ and use them all. My eldest likes Arcade from time to time and I admit I check it out only every now and then. We let News+ go, the Fitness+ has sparked quite a few of us. Jumping to the Premier when it launches. More for what we are already paying.
I remember when Adobe started the monthly plans. Initial pricing was $20.00 - but then it went to $10.00. I think these prices are too high. They should throw out the low end plan and cut the prices of the others to $10 and $20. I suppose they could charge a bit more than that since you can generally fund these with Apple iTunes money which can be had at a 20% discount. For $20 monthly, I can get Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop and Planet Fitness.
I was also hoping for more plan options, particularly a mix-and-match one. I already have iCloud and Music, and the only other paid service I would be interested in adding is News+.
That’s a pretty solid deal. We’re already on a Spotify family plan at $15/month, and Apple TV+ at $5. For the same price, we’d also get a lot more iCloud storage. Not bad.
Thanks! That didn’t pop up in my quick searches yesterday, but I’ll research more to see if it’s still available. I don’t think it is available for Family plans because we’d be all over that if so.
Woo! Good for you! I’m still recovering from plantar fasciopathy so I’m only running about three days a week, but I’m trying to ride my ElliptiGO most of the other days. Hopefully, I’ll be able to run (and then snowshoe) all I want by the time the weather gets too cold for biking here.
Yes, surprised they didn’t do a Pick-any-Three type offer.
You missed a service. I still pay an annual fee of $25 for iTunes Match but wish they’d combine it somehow with Apple Music. Although Apple Music has a ton of content, I still have enough rare items and non-commercial music that having it available from any device is a godsend.
As for the new packages, they might be tempting in a number of months but probably not until my free year of Apple TV+ runs out. And if rumors are correct, I may get a few more free months this fall when I get a new phone.
Similar to Tommy, I had hoped they’d offer a create-your-own kinda bundle.
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Whoa, iTunes Match! You’re right, I completely forgot about it. As did Apple, seemingly. It only gets a support page that I see.
I’ll try to find a few minutes to work it into the article.
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Thanks for the link to the support article. If I’m reading it right it sounds like I’m wasting money as it’s included with Apple Music:
If you have an Apple Music membership, you get all of the benefits of iTunes Match, plus access to the entire Apple Music catalog.
Does Apple still even sell iTunes Match?
I switched to Spotify when Apple mangled the transition from iTunes to Apple Music.
My playlists were still there, but no content in any of them. The problem was compounded when I moved out of the country and left the server with my music library in storage. It might have worked had I been connected to the library on the transition. My guess is Apple never planned or tested for the situation of a missing library.
And to even get that far, I had to agree to a trial subscription of Apple Music.
In any case, someday I’ll retrieve my server. Who knows if it will still work after sitting so long. Or if the Apple Library format will still even work.
We spent $27.97 for Apple Music Family, iCloud 200GB, and News+ last month. Since we’ll probably keep TV+ once the trial ends, the Premier bundle will lower our monthly cost and deliver more services. Arcade and Fitness+ don’t really appeal but the 2TB iCloud tier would mean enough space to finally enable iCloud Photos.
Is this still the case? I went looking for discounted iTunes gift cards recently and discovered Apple has discontinued them. They’ve been supplanted by the Apple Gift Card which can now be used in the app stores and iTunes store. Since they can also be used towards hardware, I doubt we’ll be seeing discounted gift cards in the future.
I don’t know about the cards, but Apple occasionally has sales of 10-20% on adding money to your iTunes account. It’s not really a discount as you pay the full amount, but they give you extra credit. So a $100 spend gets you $110 or $120 in your account.
I watch for those sales and then use it for Apple Music, iCloud, and other regular spending and it’s a good savings.
(You can get to the “add money” screen via your Apple ID login [at the bottom of the iTunes app on iPhone, for instance] and tapping the “Add Money” option. )
Just to note you can use your store credit for subscriptions. So you can pick up those special offers and use them for the bundle.
Looks like the iTunes cards are gone - so 20% discount may be history - and if they offer $120 for $100 and you’re a subscriber - you should jump!
Apple TV+ is also offered in both monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans.