I’d add that I also use iTunes Match. I’m just not sold on streaming music. I get the idea behind it but I only listen to stuff I have already ripped or purchases from iTunes. I’d feel like I’m leasing music I already own.
I also use Apple TV+, but I’m on the cusp of canceling it. The other streaming services raised their prices too and something has to give. Sorry Apple.
I’ve always subscribed to the storage for as long as I can remember for my photos (I do a lot of photo editing.) The beauty of it is it doesn’t matter what device I pick up up, my photos are there waiting for me. So for me that’s worth the price.
As for the rest of the services, I’m not into games. The fitness is a great idea unfortunately for Apple, Nike does it for free. The News sounds like a great idea on paper but feels expensive to me.
You sort of can by purchasing individual services but it’s definitely not as good as it could be. A week after unsubscribing from Apple One Premier the only thing I’ve missed is Apple News+ - primarily because I often read the financial news posted through the Stocks app.
The issue I have is I can’t get a reduced price individual subscription to News+. It’s the same price whether just for me or my entire family (who don’t ever use it). Similar situation for Apple Music. Both my wife and I used it, but the kids use Spotify (regardless of how much I try to convert them). So I have to pay for a family plan for two people.
On the other hand we have Arcade which is forced upon us at every plan level. None of the family has ever even looked at Arcade - for mine it should be a separate category. If they replaced Arcade with News+ I’d likely still be subscribed.
- We use iCloud shared storage and TV+ and Apple Music every day.
- We each dip into News+ from time to time but typically get our news direct from news media.
- Arcade I use very rarely, can’t see my lot using it, Nintendo and Steam seem to have that covered.
- Fitness+ is terrific when I use it, eh, that’s the thing… more a reflection on me than the service.
I do not use any of these Apple services.
I have no interest in some - for example Apple News is US-centric and I have broader news interests. I have similar disinterest in Apple Fitness.
I am very reluctant to use iCloud for any reason other than the basics. I have been burnt by Apple iCloud in the past and there’s no way that I will ever use iCloud to do backups. I just don’t think Apple has ever ‘got’ the cloud. Similarly I cannot trust iCloud as a safe haven to store, let alone backup, my photos and vids. I use external drives and online backup services.
I cannot see any benefits in using Apple Music over better streaming services and internet radio. Besides I can never trust Apple enough to expect it won’t change its service once subscribed. I do use iTunes to buy music but I expect Apple to ditch this service and force the use of Apple Music.
I use a PC for gaming in part because I don’t see Apple as a gaming platform.
So I am a no.
I love AppleOne for Family. I use AppleTV+, Apple Music, and the 200GB storage is great - I put my wife’s files there so I don’t have to worry where the backup drive is. I also use Google drive, but iCloud works better, and is more tightly integrated, for me (had lots of compatibility issues with google and had to install/uninstall too many times, it has been stable for about 6 months now though, so I am optimistic).
It is funny to read about people complaining about price increase, yah who wants that, but it is still a good deal, and increased less than my Netflix account, besides you have to upgrade Netflix to get 4K and atmos which is included in apple One)
Finally, is everyone else tired of listening to people complaining about unsubstantiated “bugs”. I am in the developer beta program, on Sonoma, iOS 17.2, TVOS 17.2, latest HomePod software, including betas for my minis. I would expect I would see more bugs than others, but no, I do not see many bugs at all. Although as it gets disclosed that companies like Facebook include software that deliberately drains batteries and Crunchyroll that issues its own incompatible non-standard codecs that have limited compatibility, I suspect there are other issues going on.
iCloud password is great. Full stop.
And considering the vulnerabilities exploited recently in libraries used in 1Password, iCloud is currently the only password manager I use. I would appreciate a secure reliable alternative but haven’t found one yet.
A “good deal” can only be determined by the consumer. If I’m paying for Fitness+ and Arcade which I’ll never use it’s not a good deal.
There is so much wrong with this statement it’s hard to know where to start. Everyone’s systems are different with different peripherals, people run different software and individuals have differing work procedures. Just because you don’t see a bug doesn’t make it “unsubstantiated”. And where are all these people complaining? If it’s on the beta lists it’s probably for very good reason.
Steve, I have learned that trying to use Apple Music+ without activating the Sync Library setting results in an unacceptably limited experience if you have a Mac and one or more iDevices. Like you, I have a large collection of ripped CD albums (600+) of which many are lossless and have hand-entered metadata and album art that I wish to preserve.
My solution has been to establish a “local” library for my rips and a “subscribed” library for the Music+ service and switch between the two on my Mac by holding the Option key while launching the Music app. Yes it’s one or the other at a time, but I don’t have the stress of relying on Apple to do the right thing and respect my data.
That said, I also like the Music+ service and find it a rewarding expansion of my access to music through its deep catalog — far more than I would have via direct purchase only.
I subscribe to iTunes Match - is that an Apple Music sub?
I’ve never subscribed to iTunes Match but a lot of my Library says “Matched”. I can only assume when I had Apple Music it matched everything but has left it there despite having cancelled AM.
AppleTV+ (along with Netflix) is included as part of my Go 5G Next plan from T-Mobile.
That plan cost $30 more than my previous plan.
When bundled with T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, I received a $20 discount on T-Mobile 5G Home Internet.
AppleTV+ and Netflix are worth the extra $10 ;-)
I’ve known about holding Option while launching to select a different library. I have a separate Classical library that I synced with my business’ iPod that I used for hold music. But I never thought to try it to have a separate Apple Music+ Sync Library. I wonder if I can still be logged in to my account on both libraries but only have one of them sync. I guess I can give it a try. I have a backup of my media drive if things go south.
Two other possible solutions:
Use an old mac for your own music and enable home sharing for that itunes, running any system version you like and that still runs on the old mac. If you don’t have an old box lying around, minis are great for this, and available for cheap. Then use the Music app on your regular mac for streaming Apple Music and home sharing your own. (Or possibly vice versey, but I’m not sure what the oldest version is that supports current Apple Music–el capitan used to, and Sierra still does.)
Or find the hacks that let you install iTunes on Sonoma with Retroactive, which doesn’t yet work on Sonoma. If you’re still on Ventura or earlier, install itunes with Retroactive directly. Use Music app for the Apple Music and itunes for your own.
I’ve used both of these ways with various el cap/sierra/catalina boxes, sometimes along with rogue amoeba airfoil for letting a mac be an airtunes receiver, but haven’t on anything newer because I don’t have anything newer. For the second option, I’ve had them both open at once, but not playing at once. Playing to two destinations should work with rogue amoeba soundsource though.
If you go with the one app / two libraries option, you don’t need to bother with option click. just double click on the library you want, or an alias to the library. (Unless the new systems are even stupider than I’ve come to expect of them…)
So I’m on the AppleOne plan which now costs $38/month. As a family, we really only use AppleTV+, iCloud+ 2TB, and Apple Music (I consult AppleNew although I could do without).
But there’s no way to save, is there? Just subscribing to these 3 services basically costs $38/month.
I pay for iCloud+, Music, and Fitness+. A quick tally shows that it comes out to roughly $25 a month. For me, that’s a reasonable amount to pay for the value and utility that I get out of those services.
I signed up for them under the assumption that the prices would increase over time. I haven’t noticed whether the most recent increase affected any of them. If not for seeing discussion of the increase on message boards, I’m not sure I would have known it happened.
Music is almost indispensable. I have an Individual account. I use it every day, for hours a day. When it launched I assumed I had no need for it because I already had a lifetime of purchases at my disposal. That was a foolish assumption. My library has mushroomed since then.
Fitness+ is also great. I don’t use it daily. More like a couple of times a week to augment my larger fitness routine. I plan to eventually try to make it more central to the overall routine, and maybe then my opinion of its value will change. For now, though, I think the range of workout types and levels is impressive. It certainly meets my needs. The videos are well-produced and seem, to me, to be plentiful enough not to be repetitious or redundant, but maybe more frequent users would disagree.
I have Apple One and use and enjoy all the services. Well, almost all. I don’t set aside much time to play games but others in my family enjoy the games on Apple Arcade. I find most of the content on Apple TV+ to be interesting, well produced, and enjoyable with more hits than misses for me. Before Apple Music I was spending an order of magnitude more on music annually so it saves me money and lets my try out more music than I would otherwise. Apple Music plays via a HomeKit automation throughout the day on a HomePod and an AirPlay capable Denon receiver with a background music playlist throughout the week and on the weekend a playlist of all the new music I’ve added to the library in the past 6 months. I was skeptical of Apple Fitness but found the short, focused workouts engaging and habit forming as well as being well produced.
I’ve cancelled my Apple Arcade subscription as the kids weren’t using it enough.
We pay for a months TV+ when there’s something on, but only for a month at a time. It didn’t help that it was almost impossible to find something to watch on it.
I use a synology NAS for syncing photos between the family so my iCloud storage is now almost entirely iMessages. That also has all my ripped CDs on so no Apple Music. I was tempted by Match when they raised the maximum level, but too many stories of rearranged libraries.
Apple News I got 10 months free and did use it - but the articles that you get are mostly available free on the publications websites. Too often I’d run into the paywall for the publication anyway. There are also way too many UI annoyances - blocked publications still being shown, promoted stories being irrelevant and days late, too many ads etc.
We as a family use all of it, but not all of us use everything. The kids use music and arcade, but have no use for news yet. My wife and mother use fitness, but I don’t. But I use the storage for more than just photos and phone backups. We all have found something on TV we like (it’s actually consistently solid). So the full package, even with the price hike is still worth it for us.
I will probably subscribe to iCloud+ so that I have enough space to store all my photos. It would be at the 2 TB level, for an individual.
My partner and I were on Apple 1, but the price increases plus nothing great coming soon to Apple TV+ led me to drop back to Apple Music and 200 mb iCloud, saving around $9 Aus a month. We’ve never used Arcade, so with TV going up, the value of Apple1 basic is now poor.
Never found good value for the cost of Apple News Plus and neither of us can stand the tone and formulaic trainer style of Fitness plus.