Tag: Apple TV Plus

Apple Event 2019 Highlights: New iPhones, details on Apple TV Plus and Arcade

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Apple Inc revealed on Tuesday that its streaming TV service will kick off November 1 and cost $4.99 a month and new cameras for the latest iPhones, as the tech giant reaches a turning point where it focuses as much on services as its hardware and software.

• Apple Arcade: $4.99 per month with a single-family subscription pack. Apple also announced a new videogame subscription service will cost $5 a month when it rolls out on September 19. Called Apple Arcade, the service will allow subscribers to play more than 100 games selected by Apple and exclusive to the service.
• Apple TV+: $4.99 per month with a single-family subscription pack.
  The service will launch with nine original shows and films, with more expected each month. Apple TV+ will be available in over 100 countries and buyers of an iPhone, iPad or Mac will get a free year of streaming television service, the company announced.
• iPad 7th-generation with 10.2-inch display for $329.
• Apple Watch Series 5 with GPS and cellular models starting at $399 and $499. The Apple Watch Series 5 will have an always-on display, 18-hour battery life and international emergency calling in over 150 countries. Prices start at $399 or $499 with cellular service and will be available to order Tuesday and in stores September 20. The Series 3 Apple Watch will start at $199
• iPhone 11 with dual cameras and 6.1-inch super retina XDR display for $699. Apple revealed that its new iPhone 11 will come with two back cameras, including an ultra-wide-angle lens and the next generation of microchips, the A13, but few big apparent changes. Prices start at $699.
• iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max with triple cameras for $999 and $1,099. The iPhone 11 Pro will have three cameras on the back – wide-angle, telephoto and ultra-wide. It can create videos with all three back cameras and the front camera at the same time and starts at $999. The iPhone 11 Pro Max with a bigger screen starts at $1,099. The new phones are available to order Friday and will start shipping September 20.

(With inputs from Reuters and AP)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Analyst calls Apple TV Plus price ‘show stopper’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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One analyst says Apple’s $5-a-month price for its new Apple TV Plus streaming service is a “shot across the bow” to Netflix and Disney as competition heats up.

Apple announced the price and a November 1 launch date at an event on Tuesday. It didn’t say how many titles the service will start with. Its library will likely be much smaller than Netflix and Disney.

People who purchase a new Apple device such as an iPhone, computer or tablet will get a year free. Apple announced a new iPhone, iPad and Watch models on Tuesday.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives says the streaming price is a “show stopper.” Netflix’ most popular plan is $13 a month and Disney’s service launching in November will cost $7 a month.

Ives says that with an installed base of 900 million active iPhones worldwide, Apple could gain 100 million consumers on streaming in the next three to four years.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Apple’s streaming service to cost $4.99/month; unveils new iPad, updates Watch

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Apple Inc on Tuesday launched a new streaming TV service, which will showcase original shows at a monthly price of $4.99, and unveiled a new iPad and updates for its Watch.

At an event held at the Steve Jobs Theater at the company’s Cupertino, California headquarters, Apple is also expected to launch new iPhones.

Apple’s Arcade game streaming service will also be available later this month.

iPhone 11

• Unveils iPhone 11, with 6.1-inch display; available in six colours.
• Has a dual-camera at the back, 12 megapixel wide, ultra-wide 12 megapixel.
• The front camera is also 12 megapixel.
• Will have a new night mode.
• To feature the latest A13 bionic chip.
• iPhone 11 priced starting at $699.

Apple TV PLUS

• Shows to be available from November 1.
• Will be available in over 100 countries.
• Priced at $4.99 per month.
• Customers who buy iPhone, iPad or Mac will get the one-year streaming subscription free.
• Through family sharing, up to six members can share one subscription.
• Original shows to include Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard staring “See” and “The Morning Show”, produced by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

Apple Watch 

• Features always-on retina display.
• Battery life of 18 hours.
• Series 5 Watch starting from $399; Series 3 Watch from $199.
• Available for orders from Tuesday.

iPad

• Launches the 7th-generation iPad.
• New iPad to feature a 10.2-inch retina display.
• Will be priced at $329.
• Available for orders starting Tuesday, in stores from September 30.
• Available in the Apple Store app in the U.S. and more than 25 other countries and regions.

Apple Arcade

• To launch 100 games; available on September 19.
• Unlimited games for $4.99 per month.
• One month free trial.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Apple to launch video service from November 1 for $5 a month

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tech giant Apple will charge $5 per month for a highly anticipated video streaming service, the latest challenge to Netflix. The company will roll it out on November 1.

Like Netflix and similar services from Amazon and Hulu, Apple has been doling out billions of dollars for original programs featuring stars such as Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

The service will be available in 100 countries at launch.

The iPhone maker provided a peek at the video service called Apple TV Plus in March but didn’t reveal pricing and the launch date until now. Apple showed a trailer for “See,” a show starring Jason Momoa that takes place in the future in a world without sight.

iPhone sales are mired in a deep slump, prompting Apple to look for revenue growth from services. Expanding into video streaming is part of that effort.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Warren Buffett says Apple content plan hard to predict, touts airline safety

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Warren Buffett on Thursday said he could not predict the success of Apple Inc’s new suite of services but was confident the public would benefit as content providers vie for their wallets.

The billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, which owns big stakes in the four largest US airlines, also said that industry would weather fears about safety even after Boeing Co’s 737 MAX planes were pulled from service.

He also said the pace of growth in the US economy, which expanded at a 2.2 percent annualised rate in last year’s fourth quarter, appeared to have slowed down, but “that doesn’t change anything we do” at Berkshire.

“You really want to bet on America,” said Buffett, who was speaking in Grapevine, Texas at an event broadcast by CNBC.

Apple on Monday announced an ambitious plan to reorient itself as an entertainment and financial services company, including a plunge into video streaming and the launch of a Goldman Sachs-branded credit card.

Buffett, whose company owned $40.3 billion of Apple stock at year end, said the iPhone maker “can afford a mistake or two” as companies such as Amazon.com Inc, Netflix Inc and Walt Disney Co compete for customer attention.

“Eyeballs aren’t going to double,” he said. “That’s not an easy game to predict, because you have very smart people with lots of resources trying to figure out how to grab another half hour of your time.”

But he said a decade from now, as the delivery of entertainment content improves, “the public will be the winner.”

Buffett also defended Berkshire’s roughly one-tenth stakes in American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Southwest Airlines Co and United Continental Holdings Inc, despite problems with the 737 MAX.

Berkshire began amassing those stakes in 2016, surprising many investors because Buffett had viewed the sector as too competitive and capital-intensive after making an investment in USAir Group he later regretted.

“I don’t think it’s a suicidal business any more,” he said on Thursday.

Buffett added that Boeing, which has not been a Berkshire investment, “has a lot of work to do very promptly,” but that “the airline industry has been so safe.”

Buffett also showed his usual humour, prompting audience laughter as he removed a flip phone from his pocket during the Apple discussion.

“Alexander Graham Bell lent it to me and I forgot to return it,” said Buffett, 88, who was born eight years after the telephone inventor died.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Apple TV Plus is latest Apple ‘service’ offering announced

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Apple announced a new streaming service, Apple TV Plus, which will house its original shows and movies and could compete with Netflix, Amazon and cable TV itself.

Apple is making the announcements at its Cupertino, California, headquarters, in a Monday event studded with celebrities including Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell. The iPhone has long been Apple’s marquee product and main money maker, but sales are starting to decline . The company is pushing digital subscriptions as it searches for new growth.

The company also laid out the details of its news subscription service, Apple News Plus, and a new credit card.

The news service costs $10 a month and includes roughly 300 magazines and a handful of major newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. Missing from the announcement were other major newspaper publishers, who have reportedly been wary of Apple’s terms. Apple says advertisers won’t track readers inside the app. That distinguishes it from Facebook and Google, the other major online news hubs.

The company also said it is launching a MasterCard credit card called Apple Card. It will integrate Apple Maps to show users where they spend money, but at the same time, Apple says it won’t know where you spend or where.

It won’t have any late fees or annual fees and offer 2 percent cash back. Other cards also offer cash-back rewards.

But the biggest splash was its video service. Apple also noted Monday that its Apple TV app brings together different streaming services and traditional cable subscriptions.

Netflix, which didn’t show up during Apple’s presentation, turned “binge watching” into a worldwide phenomenon several years ago. Apple’s new video service is expected to have original TV shows and movies that reportedly cost it more than $1 billion — far less than Netflix and HBO spend every year.

Making must-have TV shows and movies that are watchable on any device has turned Netflix into a force in both Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

But Apple remained focused on making on gadgets: iPhones, iPads, computers and its Apple TV streaming box for TVs. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs began toying with the idea of building a powerful TV business, but he couldn’t pull it off before his death in 2011. It has taken his successor, CEO Tim Cook, nearly eight years to draw up the script that the company will now try to execute.

“Apple is very late to this game,” eMarketer analyst Paul Verna said. “Netflix has become the gold standard in how to create and distribute content, using all the data they have about their viewers.”

Netflix’s prowess has attracted 139 million subscribers worldwide. But Apple will have several other deep-pocketed competitors fighting for consumers’ dollars. Amazon has also become a formidable force in video streaming. Walt Disney Co. is launching its own service this year, armed with an imposing library that became more formidable with its purchase of 21st Century Fox’s films and TV series. AT&T is debuting another streaming service built around HBO.

Apple has plenty of money to spend, though, with about $245 billion in cash and marketable securities. It must prove itself attractive to Hollywood even without a track record for supporting high-quality programming and then ensuring it gets widely seen.

As part of its efforts to make quick connections, Apple hired two longtime Sony television executives, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, in 2017. They have signed up stars such as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Sofia Coppola, who spoke during a video Monday.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow