7 ms·

Apple jacks prices to juice profits because $19.3B a quarter isn't enough

47 points by mdhb 3y ago

OccamsMirror 3y ago
Have to imagine that Apple will lose a lot of Apple TV+ subscribers. I personally can’t justify paying 40% increase taking into account the lack of good content.
- oldbbsnickname 3y ago
  Yep. And most US-based actors are still on strike. There's no new content except what's already in the can. Paying more for less.. hell no. Cancel button.
- LeafItAlone 3y ago
  > I personally can’t justify paying 40% increase taking into account the lack of good content. Out of all of the streaming services, I have found Apple’s originals to be the ones I like the most. They may have the least shows available, but I’ve liked everything I’ve watched from them and I only have limited time to watch anyways. That said, all streaming services are getting to the top of their price/value for me, Apple included.
turnsout 3y ago
We’re in a phase where every streaming service will raise prices until the growth stops… I’m curious to see how high it can go.
- oldbbsnickname 3y ago
  Until it's more expensive than premium satellite was, or $200/mo all-in. (Or $300/mo in today's USD.)
  - metadat 3y ago
    Comcast cable is like $60-90/mo, including Internet+TV service. $300USD/mo ($10/day) is ludicrously expensive for the average north American for disposable entertainment.
    - oldbbsnickname 3y ago
      That's my point. The trend of the sum of streaming prices + internet all-in with inflation is absurd.
    - tcbawo 3y ago
      Where I’m at, $100-150 is more likely (introductory rates) for cable TV + internet.
    - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
      > Comcast cable is like $60-90/mo, including Internet+TV service. I don't think that is anywhere close to the average cable + internet bill, which is north of $100, but I would be happy for some hard figures on it. The problem with cable, and Comcast in general, is that they offer that introductory only $60/month! And then after a year, its around $150 or something. Anyways, I'm not even sure who gets cable anymore, people who like to watch sports I guess.
      - thejazzman 3y ago
        I have a lot of elderly relatives and their Xfinity bills for tv and internet are around $250/mo If they would call and cancel, a routine we used to do, it can drop as low as like $99 for a year or so This is their bread and butter. It's pretty disgusting
        seanmcdirmid 3y ago
        Agreed. We were surprised at my mom's cable bill when she died, no one should pay that much for cable. I don't like trying to cancel every year either. I'm happy with T-mobile and Century link, both offer for life monthly plan pricing. I don't have to worry about yearly shenanigans with either. Now I just have to worry about Netflix and Disney jacking up their rates.
stuckkeys 3y ago
Am I the only one who still does not pay for these streaming services? What is it so special about it? On demand? Is entertainment that addictive? Like what do people gain from this? I been using my local library for content and I just recently was told by Xfinity that I can get free peacock since I am bundling internet and cellphone. They will increase prices as long as suckers pay for it.
- austhrow743 3y ago
  For basically anyone that has a job having a subscription service is better value than regularly going to the library. If your library has a digital option then I guess it would depend on the UX if that makes sense or not. Keep in mind that many (most?) of these subscriptions are used by multiple people in a household.
  - stuckkeys 3y ago
    I guess it makes sense.
  - frognumber 3y ago
    For me, it doesn't make more sense. The overhead of needing to be deliberate means I have less screentime. Less screentime means better mental health, more time for other things, etc.
- pfannkuchen 3y ago
  > Is entertainment that addictive Yes absolutely it is. I’m guessing you underestimate how much media content a lot of people consume.
- smabie 3y ago
  Yes, you probably are the only one.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
tryptophan 3y ago
I hope apple uses that money to fix the windows client. It is the only program that managed to hard-crash my computer(multiple times) in as long as I can remember. Must be some very...talented programmers there.
- NicoJuicy 3y ago
  Remember iTunes? See a pattern? :)
walterbell 3y ago
Do new Apple devices still include 3 free months of Apple TV?
- expertentipp 3y ago
  Yes, an urban legend exists that once someone activated it and watched something with it.
  - Kon-Peki 3y ago
    Tim Apple can’t afford to be handing these things out with the purchase of every high-profit-margin device, so you get one free trial per lifetime (read the fine print). It’s your own damn fault you used yours back when there was no content. /s
silisili 3y ago
Not sure if it was intentional, but the choice of words made the headline immensely confusing to me, reading it as 'apple jacks' the cereal. That out of the way, based on what I read on fora and such, it seems people are growing tired of the wheel of constant streaming price increases and claiming to be canceling. The next couple quarters should show how true that actually is.
- inemesitaffia 3y ago
  The Register is a tabloid
- Tostino 3y ago
  I clicked into the article because I was dumbfounded that the cereal was making that much a year before my brain kicked in.
wellthisisgreat 3y ago
Apple TV original content just sucks. It’s neutered and toothless in the worst ways possible. The only somewhat decent thing there was Severance but you can tell by the last episode that they already know how they will ruin it
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
jdechko 3y ago
It certainly caused me to rethink my spending. I signed up for Apple One Premium as soon as it was available. With the latest hikes, I’ve ditched the bundle and now I just have Music and iCloud storage. So in their quest for increased revenue, I’m now spending less than I was before. Also dropped Prime and Netflix (though basic is included for no additional cost with T-Mo).
- LeafItAlone 3y ago
  I signed up for Apple One Premium primarily to be able to get 4TB of iCloud storage (since you got 2TB and could also sign up for separate 2TB). Now that you can get more tiers of storage directly, I may just do that.
wtcactus 3y ago
Well, the only thing I still subscribe is Prime, and that's just because where I live, Amazon deliveries aren't free (even the standard ones). I run Radarr, Sonarr and the likes in my homelab and have a somewhat old Nvidia Shield acting as my Plex server. It does what Netflix/Apple+/HBO+ and company do, and sometimes better.

47 points by mdhb 3y ago

Have to imagine that Apple will lose a lot of Apple TV+ subscribers. I personally can’t justify paying 40% increase taking into account the lack of good content.

oldbbsnickname 3y ago
Yep. And most US-based actors are still on strike. There's no new content except what's already in the can. Paying more for less.. hell no. Cancel button.
LeafItAlone 3y ago
> I personally can’t justify paying 40% increase taking into account the lack of good content. Out of all of the streaming services, I have found Apple’s originals to be the ones I like the most. They may have the least shows available, but I’ve liked everything I’ve watched from them and I only have limited time to watch anyways. That said, all streaming services are getting to the top of their price/value for me, Apple included.

turnsout 3y ago

We’re in a phase where every streaming service will raise prices until the growth stops… I’m curious to see how high it can go.

oldbbsnickname 3y ago
Until it's more expensive than premium satellite was, or $200/mo all-in. (Or $300/mo in today's USD.)
- metadat 3y ago
  Comcast cable is like $60-90/mo, including Internet+TV service. $300USD/mo ($10/day) is ludicrously expensive for the average north American for disposable entertainment.
  - oldbbsnickname 3y ago
    That's my point. The trend of the sum of streaming prices + internet all-in with inflation is absurd.
  - tcbawo 3y ago
    Where I’m at, $100-150 is more likely (introductory rates) for cable TV + internet.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    > Comcast cable is like $60-90/mo, including Internet+TV service. I don't think that is anywhere close to the average cable + internet bill, which is north of $100, but I would be happy for some hard figures on it. The problem with cable, and Comcast in general, is that they offer that introductory only $60/month! And then after a year, its around $150 or something. Anyways, I'm not even sure who gets cable anymore, people who like to watch sports I guess.
    - thejazzman 3y ago
      I have a lot of elderly relatives and their Xfinity bills for tv and internet are around $250/mo If they would call and cancel, a routine we used to do, it can drop as low as like $99 for a year or so This is their bread and butter. It's pretty disgusting
      - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
        Agreed. We were surprised at my mom's cable bill when she died, no one should pay that much for cable. I don't like trying to cancel every year either. I'm happy with T-mobile and Century link, both offer for life monthly plan pricing. I don't have to worry about yearly shenanigans with either. Now I just have to worry about Netflix and Disney jacking up their rates.

stuckkeys 3y ago

Am I the only one who still does not pay for these streaming services? What is it so special about it? On demand? Is entertainment that addictive? Like what do people gain from this? I been using my local library for content and I just recently was told by Xfinity that I can get free peacock since I am bundling internet and cellphone. They will increase prices as long as suckers pay for it.

austhrow743 3y ago
For basically anyone that has a job having a subscription service is better value than regularly going to the library. If your library has a digital option then I guess it would depend on the UX if that makes sense or not. Keep in mind that many (most?) of these subscriptions are used by multiple people in a household.
- stuckkeys 3y ago
  I guess it makes sense.
- frognumber 3y ago
  For me, it doesn't make more sense. The overhead of needing to be deliberate means I have less screentime. Less screentime means better mental health, more time for other things, etc.
pfannkuchen 3y ago
> Is entertainment that addictive Yes absolutely it is. I’m guessing you underestimate how much media content a lot of people consume.
smabie 3y ago
Yes, you probably are the only one.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

tryptophan 3y ago

I hope apple uses that money to fix the windows client. It is the only program that managed to hard-crash my computer(multiple times) in as long as I can remember. Must be some very...talented programmers there.

NicoJuicy 3y ago
Remember iTunes? See a pattern? :)

walterbell 3y ago

Do new Apple devices still include 3 free months of Apple TV?

expertentipp 3y ago
Yes, an urban legend exists that once someone activated it and watched something with it.
- Kon-Peki 3y ago
  Tim Apple can’t afford to be handing these things out with the purchase of every high-profit-margin device, so you get one free trial per lifetime (read the fine print). It’s your own damn fault you used yours back when there was no content. /s

silisili 3y ago

Not sure if it was intentional, but the choice of words made the headline immensely confusing to me, reading it as 'apple jacks' the cereal. That out of the way, based on what I read on fora and such, it seems people are growing tired of the wheel of constant streaming price increases and claiming to be canceling. The next couple quarters should show how true that actually is.

inemesitaffia 3y ago
The Register is a tabloid
Tostino 3y ago
I clicked into the article because I was dumbfounded that the cereal was making that much a year before my brain kicked in.

wellthisisgreat 3y ago

Apple TV original content just sucks. It’s neutered and toothless in the worst ways possible. The only somewhat decent thing there was Severance but you can tell by the last episode that they already know how they will ruin it

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

jdechko 3y ago

It certainly caused me to rethink my spending. I signed up for Apple One Premium as soon as it was available. With the latest hikes, I’ve ditched the bundle and now I just have Music and iCloud storage. So in their quest for increased revenue, I’m now spending less than I was before. Also dropped Prime and Netflix (though basic is included for no additional cost with T-Mo).

LeafItAlone 3y ago
I signed up for Apple One Premium primarily to be able to get 4TB of iCloud storage (since you got 2TB and could also sign up for separate 2TB). Now that you can get more tiers of storage directly, I may just do that.

wtcactus 3y ago

Well, the only thing I still subscribe is Prime, and that's just because where I live, Amazon deliveries aren't free (even the standard ones). I run Radarr, Sonarr and the likes in my homelab and have a somewhat old Nvidia Shield acting as my Plex server. It does what Netflix/Apple+/HBO+ and company do, and sometimes better.