Four perspectives on Apple’s new service bundle – TechCrunch
Apple’s hardware event Yesterday was not a particularly eventful day for its most popular devices and only brought iterative changes Apple Clock and the iPad. However, the company announced a new, aggressive approach to services with a fitness product and a new unified subscription called Apple One. What are the effects of this shift?
For one, Cupertino is relying on some form of future-proofing to offset the decline in hardware sales and possibly the loss of app store revenue.
And yet, some of the services may not survive for the next several years. What if nobody wants to pay for Apple Arcade or TV +? Will the latest service, Fitness +, impact self-employed fitness reps building their own brands by undercutting them and offering an exclusive watchOS integration?
After all, business can look different depending on the country you live in – and no one likes to feel left out.
TC staff explain the following options:
- Brian Heater: This is Apple’s new bread and butter.
- Kirsten Korosec: If you’re a self-employed fitness professional, Apple has just had your lunch.
- Lucas Matney: Apple One is doomed from the start.
- Devin Coldewey: Apple’s increasingly complex global ecosystem.
This is Apple’s new bread and butter
Brian Heater
Credit: Apple
Of course, Apple doesn’t run the risk of losing money on the hardware front. It still sells a ton of iPhones, a lot of computers, and more smartwatches than anyone else. However, certain categories are slowing down. In particular, the iPhone – the long-standing tentpole product in Apple’s hardware offering – has been impacted as smartphone sales plateaued and slowed across the board.
Accordingly, services have become an increasingly important part of Apple’s quarterly revenue. Earlier this year, the company saw a 17% year-over-year increase in revenue, thanks in no small part to recent additions like Arcade and TV +. Today’s addition of Fitness + will no doubt take the numbers even higher and come at a perfect time to workout at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
