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This week Apple made big announcements that didn’t involve an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer or even an Apple Watch. Instead, Apple announced four new services that may change the way you read, pay, watch and play.
Apple’s big news may signal a shift from updating existing hardware to offering new services. Or merely an expansion for the company beyond its traditional products. Either way Apple is delving into new territory and broadening its horizons.
Apple Card
Apple is re-defining the term “credit card” by issuing credit cards without an actual card. Customers who apply for an Apple Card can get one without ever receiving a physical card.
Instead, customers can be issued a virtual MasterCard credit card from Apple that gets added to their Apple Wallet. They can pay with their virtual card using Apple Pay with iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or certain Mac computers when they buy in stores or online.
Apple will offer actual, physical credit cards to those customers who try to shop in stores that don’t accept Apple Pay. These cards are the only “hardware” Apple announced this week.
Apple’s physical credit cards are unlike any other credit card you’ve probably seen. The Apple Card is made of titanium, with the cardholder’s name etched into it. The only other identifier on the card is a chip.
The Apple Card shows no number, expiration date or CVV code on the back. Just your name and a chip. By having minimal information on the Card, Apple hopes to increase privacy and security while keeping the design simple.
Purchases made on the Apple Card will earn Daily Cash. If you use Apple Pay the Daily Cash earned is 3% for Apple purchases and 2% for everything else. If you use the physical card the Daily Cash is 1%. You can use Daily Cash to pay for items in a store or apply it to your Apple credit card bill.
Apple Card bills will look different too. Purchases will be organized into color-coded categories so you can see how you are spending your money. See how much you spent on categories such as entertainment, shopping, etc. in handy graphs.
Information about your purchases isn’t shared with others but is kept on your device.
Don’t recognize a charge? Tap on a map to see where the purchase was made.
Apple Card is free of fees. No fee to get the card, get cash advances, go over your limit, pay after the due date or make international purchases.
Interest will be charged on balances not paid by the due date. Apple says that its credit card interest rates will be among the lowest in the industry.
The Apple Card is due to arrive this summer in more than 40 countries. Sign up to be notified at the Apple credit card page.
Apple News +
Apple is expanding its Apple News app with Apple News + that offers a bundle of newspaper and magazine subscriptions for a single monthly fee of $9.99. Apple News + has Family Sharing so up to six people can use one subscription.
Over 300 newspapers and magazines are currently available in Apple News +, with titles such as:
- The Wall Street Journal
- Los Angeles Times
- Time
- The Atlantic
- New Yorker
- Vogue
- National Geographic
- Bon Appétit
- Sports Illustrated
- GQ
- People
- Vanity Fair
- WIRED
- Scientific American
You can read when you’re connected to the Internet or download articles or entire issues to read offline. Favorite publications can be downloaded automatically to your device when the latest issue is available
Apple News + helps you find interesting articles to read. You can select topics and publications of interest and Apple News + will learn your interests and suggest articles in the For You section of the Apple News app.
Your browsing history in Apple News + will be kept private, according to Apple. Information about you on Apple News + will not be shared with publishers or advertisers.
Sign up for a 30-day free trial to Apple News + at the Apple News + page or in your Apple News app. Apple News + is currently available in the U.S. and Canada.
Apple TV +
Apple will begin offering a subscription streaming service, similar to Netflix and Hulu. Apple TV + will offer TV shows, movies, videos, Apple Channels and original programming.
Apple TV + will be available on the Apple TV and in the Apple TV app for iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. The Apple TV app will be coming soon to non-Apple devices such as Samsung, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
Apple Channels include CBS All Access, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Epix, Sundance Now, PBS Living and more. Apple TV + will be offering original programming across the genres, including special programming for kids.
The event become star-studded as celebrities appeared such as Oprah, Steven Spielberg, Jason Momoa, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Anniston, J.J. Abrams, and Big Bird. These stars talked briefly about the original programming they’re developing for Apple TV +.
Apple has not yet announced a price for an Apple TV + subscription which should be available in the fall. Over 100 countries will have access to Apple TV +.
Sign up to be notified about the launch of Apple TV + at the Apple TV + page.
Apple Arcade
Apple also will be offering a subscription gaming service called Apple Arcade. With over 100 exclusive games, Apple Arcade lets players use their iPhone, iPad, Mac computer or Apple TV to play video games. You can pick up on one device where you left off playing on another.
Games can be played offline as well as streamed over the Internet. Apple Arcade will offer games across many genres, including kids’ games.
Apple Arcade will be available this fall in over 150 countries. Pricing has not yet been announced. To sign up to be notified head to the Apple Arcade page.
Your Thoughts
Are you interested in any or all of Apple’s new services? Which one is the most intriguing to you? Do you think Apple will focus more on services or devices in the future?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Its great to know that, Apple is coming with the Apple Card is free of fees. No fee to get the card, has cash advances, we can exceed our limit, we can pay after the deadline or make international purchases. Thank you for sharing this information, hope this app comes in the market as soon as possible.
Hi Carolyn,
These are some major changes and it will make life much easier for Apple shoppers.
Thanks for sharing, have a good day.
Hi Sajid, Yes, these new announcements will make shopping much easier for Apple fans.
Hello Carolyn,
This is such a great step by apple.
am so happy and excited to use these features
Thank you for letting people know about these amazing
features by Apple.
Great post.
Hi Shreya, I hope you enjoy using these new services from Apple. I am trying out Apple News + and really enjoying it.
Hi there,
This is pretty scary, Apple tries to increase market shares by diversification, by doing everything, like Google does. The thing is, Google has good reasons to do it, simply because of the nature of its main service that is search engine. And the worst in all of this is that Apple will probably succes in it, because of the brand image it has and the amount of money available for every single project. It is getting more and more intrusive…
Thank you for your post, very complete as usual.
Chris.
Hi Chris, I don’t think of this as scary. Tech companies need to expand and diversify to keep up. We don’t have to use any of these services if we don’t want to. If they help us and make our lives easier, we can use them. Otherwise, we can stay away from them and not support them.
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you for your answer. Of course you need to keep inovating in order to be competitive. I also asume you’re right by saying only people who are interested in those devices will use them. I can’t feel comfortable with it though. I think Apple should improve its products, such as its smartphones, instead of expanding its business to other horizons. Having a core business in a main area is the best way to provide a high UX. In addition to this, Apple has too many bareers that make people not to want to leave, what is an awesome strategy I presume, but pretty unfair as well. Google tried to make a video game, a community platform, but failed. I guess it will come back with Apple and probably Facebook, enjoying the dematerialization of this sector. I find it quite sad that a few companies provide everything and at a worldwide level… Don’t you ? Of course, companies go where there is profit to make. “Business is business”.
Chris
Hi Chris, I absolutely agree with you that there is a real danger in so much power being consolidated into so few tech companies. But I don’t blame them for expanding and broadening their reach. Imagine if Amazon stayed as an online book seller instead of expanding to the Everything Store. Our lives would be quite different.