Apple TV+ Subscription Price Goes Up & Competition In Streaming Continues
Starting this month subscription price for Apple TV+ streaming services is going up from $4.99 to $6.99. I am a long time user of Apple products and have used Apple TV+ since it started a couple of years ago. I always thought their monthly subscription fee of $5 was very low, and have expected that it would go up at some point. Even with this increase this subscription fee is among the lowest compared to other streaming platforms. Yet again, I am impressed with Apple's business strategy and deliver of quality services. Apple's streaming platform has been growing slowly but steadily. They keep adding new Apple Original content and growing their collection of movies, documentaries, and TV shows.
Apple's entry into TV business was among one of the top goals of Steve Jobs. It took them a while to get here, but now that they are among the contenders to remain as major streaming platforms, it is great to see Apple to be successful, once again. Not only when Apple TV+ was first launched the subscription price was super low at $5, they offered these services for free for a year for those who purchased apple products like iPhones, Apple TV devices, etc. Apple has been able to build a loyal customer base with their quality products and how they all integrate into one ecosystem. It was a clever business strategy to focus on their customer base and offer them additional value. In return their customers did not disappoint them either. Their streaming is growing, and other streaming platform may want to reevaluate their business strategies.
When Apple's TV goals were only rumors, I didn't quite understand what their plan was. Are they trying to make a TV? ~ I would wonder. I didn't really understand what they goal was at that time. Small Apple TV devices were useful, and they kept getting better. They never were expensive, so it would make sense for any Apple product user to have one of those. They worked well with other Apple devices. Later it became clear, that Apple did not was to make TVs. They wanted to reinvent TV experience. Of course they were late to the streaming game. Netflix, Hulu and others already dominated the space and had market shares split already. But when Apple puts its mind into something, they do indeed think outside the box, while creating magical boxes.
There is a reason Apple is the highest valued company in the world. Technology is about innovations in hardware and software. Some companies are really good at hardware innovations, others are great at software. It is rare to see a company that does well with both, and able to influence human experiences in daily lives. For example, Microsoft has been a top software company for a long time, Samsung has been great at all tech hardware. Both struggled when it came to do both. Apple on the other has been doing this since the beginning of the company. This and its ability to focus on what it does best, has made it one of the successful companies in the world, despite the years of failure they have had in the past.
Many of us would attribute Apple's success stories to Steve Jobs. And it true. It was the Job's vision and stubborn insistence of highest quality made Apple what it is today. Even after he passed away, I can see his vision and business strategy being implement with Apple TV plus. True innovators and visionaries inspire many, especially those who worked closely with them. These people carry on the torch and continue innovating in the same manner for a long time. Just like with many other products and services Apple has delivered, I don't think Apple looks at its new endeavor in streaming as competition. I doubt they even consider any competition edges or angles in their business planning meetings. It seems they just embrace their passion to creating something new, something useful, something amazing. If it works great, continue innovating. If it doesn't, so be it.
It is not easy for companies to enter new markets and try to gain market share. This is true event for the biggest companies in the world. Look at Microsoft. They have tried to enter *search market with beam, failed. They tried to enter mobile phones market with mobile windows phones, later with Nokia partnership, etc. All failed. They tried to get into music business with Zune. Nobody knows what Zune is. Forget about entering new markets, it is difficult to hold on the the market shares companies are in. Technology doesn't stop, it continues to advance forwards with newer and better innovations. Same thing is happening with streaming. Netflix was brilliant to create the space and have done great as business. I still love their business strategy. But they too have been struggling as of late. There are a lot more competitors in the streaming space today.
However, streaming competitions seems to be different than other markets. Yes it is great to see competitions. It is great for customers. We get to see quality, we get to see better prices. This will continues. I think this competition can continue with all participants in play. We the customers, don't have to choose between these services. We can if we want to. But it looks like we will just keep using multiple services and let them all exist. All while they continue competing to earn our business. Sounds like everybody wins.
There also has to be losers. Those who fail to improve in quality of their content and services will probably won't survive. User experience of these platforms is important too. While Apple TV+ doesn't have large collection of content like Netflix, Paramount+, Disney+, and others, I think Apples user experience is the best at this time. Paramount+ has been improving a lot too. Amazon's Prime video services have not been doing that great. They do offer some content that may not be available in other places, but I have notices some technical issues with their services. Amazon is good at fixing things. If they want to stay in the space, I am sure they will figure things out as well.
Apple has continuously been bringing new TV Shows and movies. I have written about some of them in the past. One of the best ones is the TV show SEE. But there are many more. Among the lates new seasons are Mythic Quest and The Mosquito Coast. There are also new TV series like Echo 3. If you want to watch a holidays themed movies, there is Spirited. I am glad Apple is doing great and wants to have permanent presence in streaming. New content and delivering quality service costs money. $7 a month for such services is not bad at all. I am sure they will continue raising the fee sometime in the future. It seems they are doing it is a smart way by still keeping the subscription price low, and not driving people away. In my opinion anything under $15 a month for streaming service is reasonable, as long as they have quality content.
One question I have is, wether Apple TV+ is available in non-Apple devices and TVs? For Apple product users who most likely also have Apple TV devices, access to Apple TV+ is easy. I am curious to know how those who prefer non-Apple products could use Apple TV+ streaming. If you know, please let me know in the comments. What are your thoughts about Apple TV+ or streaming competition?
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