Everything About Apple TV+, The New Streaming Platform That’s Coming to S’pore

Before anything, read this: no, it’s not a new TV set by Apple. Thank goodness for that.

If you’re a die-hard Apple fan, you might have stayed up on 10 Sept for the Apple Special Event.

Aside from the release of the new iPhone 11, Apple also announced its own streaming TV service.

Which is not that surprising, given that we’ve known about it since 1965. But more details were revealed during the event.

Apple TV+

The streaming service will be priced at S$6.98 per month, and it will be available in more than 100 countries, including Singapore, starting from November 2019.

Just like Netflix, Apple TV+ will be showing originals including The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell.

It will be available on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac and other platforms. It will also be available online at http://tv.apple.com/sg. 

And if you’re not ready to spend your money on the streaming service yet, Apple has got a seven-day free trial for you.

Also, customers who purchase an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch or Mac will get one year of Apple TV+ for FREE.

Apple Might Top Netflix’s Number Of Users 

Wall Street expects Apple to sell at least 130 million iPhones outside of China in the 12 months. In addition, it has already sold more than 60 million Macbooks and iPads last year.

Given that they are giving a free Apple TV+ subscription (for just one year, of course) to everyone that purchases an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch or Mac, having more than Netflix’s 160 million users should be a piece of cake for Apple.

Could This Possibly Be The New Netflix? 

The intention to distrupt Netflix’s lead in the streaming industry is clear.

Apple TV+ costs a dollar less than Netflix’s monthly subscription. In fact, out of all the other streaming services available like the Amazon Prime subscription and HBO Max, Apple is the cheapest of the bunch.

Yes, you heard that right. Apple is the cheapest.

The reason? It offers much less content than its competitors.

While Netflix has a huge library of shows and movies to rely on, Apple TV+ promises its consumers this: that their movies and shows will be of higher quality than what they will find elsewhere.

In case you’re not aware, Netflix is kind of suffering: many streaming services are now available in the US, and these services, which are usually big players in the entertainment industry, are taking back the rights of their shows.

For example, Disney+ is a streaming service by Disney and since they own Marvel, they can take back the rights of all their Marvel movies and Disney films, which would lead to Netflix having less shows.

In other words, Netflix, the disruptor, is getting disrupted, which could explain why they’re spending so much on originals like House of Cards or Stranger Things.

Anyways, back to Apple TV+.

Shows Announced On Apple TV+

Apple had announced in 2017 that it was going to spend $1 billion on original programming.

The following nine titles will be available at launch date: The Morning Show, See, Dickinson, Oprah’s series, Ghostwriter, Helpsters, For All Mankind, Snoopy in Space and The Elephant Queen.

It can be seen by the titles alone that Apple has partnered up with many big names- including DHX Media, to create new Peanuts content.

The tech giant plans to roll out new shows each month.

So is Apple going to be the next Netflix? I don’t know about that. Personally, the titles of the nine shows that are set to premiere in November don’t really attract me.

Besides, analysts say that the US $2 billion Apple plans to spend this year does not guarantee it would pull in viewers. More accounts from the free Apple TV+ subscriptions also does not equal more views.

But hey, you never know what Apple can surprise you with.

Apple and chill, anyone?