Struggling To Sell iPhones, Apple Bets Heavy On Paid Services To Force People To Buy More

Last week, Apple unveiled a number of hardware updates, including some tweaks to its iPads. This week, the company gave us a slew of a different kind of news, with subscription services galore to avail of. So here's everything you might have missed out on.

Apple News Plus

Images courtesy: Apple

This is probably the most "meh" news from the Apple event. Apple News Plus is a $9.99 monthly subscription service that adds magazines to the Apple News lineup. It's currently only available in the US and Canada right now, with the first month free.

The magazines are added in with a new "Live Cover" display, that slightly animates the covers presented to you. Stories you might like are recommended from within the magazine so you can jump straight to them, and you can download a magazine to read offline.

Apple Card

Ah, the Apple Card. This is at the same time the most confusing Apple launch, and the one that makes the most sense. It clicks because this is yet another status symbol from a company that prides itself on its elite, premium, clientele. It's basically a credit card for your Apple Pay.

You can apply for the card directly from your iPhone and, once approved, it's stored digitally in the Wallet app. There you can view your statements, current balance, and payment due dates. It also shows you locations and retailers you've visited, to help you better identify where you spent that money.

There's no credit card number, CVV, or expiration date on this card, and it generates new security codes each time you use it. You can however generate those details from within the app in case you want to use the card on a website that only takes traditional credit cards. The Apple Card is backed by Goldman Sachs and Mastercard, and offers a 2 percent cashback reward that's paid to you everyday, though it's 3 percent if you're spending on Apple stuff.

I am in love with the new Apple Card #AppleCard #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/WEMFyvLleS

¡ª Peter+? (@Andersen_14) March 25, 2019

Apple also lets you buy a physical titanium card, so you can use it at ATMs and real-life terminals when travelling for instance. Which is the confusing part, because Apple Pay was introduced specifically so you don't have to carry an extra card. Go figure. The physical card offers you only a 1 percent cashback however, which is probably an acceptable tradeoff to you for looking slick with your white Apple Card swag.

Supposedly, there are no late fees or incrementing interest rates for late payments, but the fine print isn't yet available to confirm loopholes there. The Apple Card will be available later this year, though there's no word yet on when or if this will reach India.

Apple Arcade

Apple Arcade seems to be the company's attempts to buff the iPhone as a gaming platform. Contrary to previous rumours, it's not a cloud gaming service like Google Stadia. Instead, this is a subscription service that gives you access to iOS-exclusive games. Though a price is as yet unspecified, it'll supposedly allow you to play around 100 games on any iOS device, from the iPhone to the Apple TV, to the Mac, and will also make them available for offline play.

Passion. Creativity. Vision. Imagination. ?Arcade is coming this fall.
Sign-up to stay up to date: https://t.co/zFVGhE7sil #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/T0S1IYMjaW

¡ª App Store Games (@AppStoreGames) March 25, 2019

Apple TV Channels

Apple TV is also getting a bunch of new channels like HBO, PBS, CBS, and more, without having you shifted out to their third-party app. Called Apple TV Channels, users can choose which channels they'd like to subscribe to and pay for each one, kinda like how your DTH packages work. The update will arrive this May in the US (though no price was announced), and though it will expand to 100 countries, there's no timeline on that either.

Apple TV Plus

Here¡¯s a look at our newly announced original series, exclusively on Apple TV+. Coming this fall. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/cAkCN4Ikdy

¡ª Apple TV (@AppleTV) March 26, 2019

Apple TV Plus is the company's new home for exclusive original content, though there weren't many other details announced. The only thing we know for sure is that it will have everything from documentaries to kids' shows, and Oprah Winfrey is releasing two documentaries on the service around workplace harassment and mental health.

All in all, it seems like the more Apple's iPhone sales decline, the more they try to just push more expenditure on their customers. Instead of just lowering their prices a tad, it seems they're determined to push this whole premium image to its limit. Only time will tell if it actually works.

Well, I think Chris's expression just about summed that up #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/jp7X1MWWts

¡ª Icegirl - Whatever it takes (@Icegirl69) March 25, 2019