Apple Announces Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and Apple Card
Apple's March 2019 event introduced Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and Apple Card. See what each offers and when it launches.
Apple held its “It’s show time” event at its headquarters this week, and as expected, unveiled a run of new services rather than new hardware, with one exception: a titanium credit card.
Apple News+
The event opened with Apple News+, a new subscription service bringing together more than 300 magazines, newspapers and digital publishers into a single subscription inside the Apple News app on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It includes major titles like The Atlantic, Vogue, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, GQ, WIRED, and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Toronto Star.
Apple News+ is available today in the US for US$9.99 a month1 and in Canada for C$12.99 a month1. Apple said it would come to Australia and the UK later in 2019.
Apple Arcade
Apple also announced Apple Arcade, a new game subscription service launching in Q4 2019 in more than 150 countries, accessible from a new tab on the App Store across iOS, macOS and tvOS. It’ll feature over 100 new and exclusive games from well-known creators including Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong and Will Wright, with new titles added over time.
The pitch is simple: every game in Arcade’s curated collection is all-you-can-play, with no ads, no ad tracking, and no in-app purchases. Apple is contributing directly to development costs and working closely with creators to bring games to the service.
Apple Card
In a genuine surprise, Apple also unveiled Apple Card, a new credit card created by Apple and built into the Apple Wallet app on iPhone. It’s designed to simplify the entire credit card experience, with no application paperwork, no fees, and tools to help you pay less interest.
Apple Card includes a rewards programme called Daily Cash, giving back a percentage of every purchase as cash directly on your Apple Cash card each day. Transactions show up in real time in Wallet, using AI and Apple Maps to make sense of the often cryptic merchant names banks usually show you, and support is available around the clock through the Messages app.
For places that don’t yet accept Apple Pay, there’s also a physical Apple Card, made from titanium, with no card number, CVV, expiry date or signature printed on it, all of that information lives in the Wallet app instead, making it considerably harder to compromise than a standard physical card. Apple said Apple Card would launch in the US later in 2019.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is planned for later in 2019 inside the Apple TV app. The announced line-up includes projects from Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa and M. Night Shyamalan, among others. It will be ad-free and available on demand.
A redesigned Apple TV app, and Apple TV Channels
The redesigned Apple TV app is due on iOS and tvOS in May 2019 and on the Mac later in 2019. Apple also plans support for Samsung, Amazon Fire TV, LG, Roku, Sony and VIZIO devices.
Alongside the redesigned app, Apple TV Channels launches in May, letting you subscribe à la carte to services like HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, Smithsonian Channel and EPIX, all watchable directly in the Apple TV app with no extra apps, accounts or passwords needed. US customers will also get access to sports, news and network TV from existing cable and satellite subscriptions through the same app, alongside the ability to buy or rent iTunes movies and shows.
What’s next
Apple Arcade, Apple Card and Apple TV+ are planned for later in 2019, along with the Mac version of the Apple TV app. Apple News+ is live today in the US and Canada.
1. Prices were current at launch in March 2019.
