Apple’s hardware event yesterday wasn’t particularly eventful for its most popular devices, bringing only iterative changes to Apple Watch and the iPad. But the company tipped its hand as to a new, aggressive approach to services with a fitness product and new unified subscription called Apple One. What are the implications of this shift?
For one thing, Cupertino is engaging in a form of future-proofing to offset slowing hardware sales and potentially a loss of App Store income. And yet some of the services may not survive the next few years. What happens when no one wants to pay for Apple Arcade or TV+? Will its newest service, Fitness+, impact self-employed fitness workers who are building their own brands by undercutting them and offering exclusive watchOS integration? Lastly, the whole deal may look different depending on what country you live in — and no one likes to feel left out. TC staff dilate on these possibilities below:- Brian Heater: This is Apple’s new bread and butter.
- Kirsten Korosec: If you’re a self-employed fitness pro, Apple just ate your lunch.
- Lucas Matney: Apple One is doomed from the start.
- Devin Coldewey: Apple’s increasingly complex global ecosystem.