Last month, Apple launched Apple News+ amidst quite a bit of fanfare. While all-you-can-eat subscription services are nothing new, Apple jumping into the market will always have some major implications. Despite Apple’s prowess, Apple News+ has had a less than stellar start with around 200,000 people signing up for it within 48 hours of launch.
For any other service, 200k subscribers on launch day would have been a massive number. However, Apple News is used by millions of iPhones and iPad users in the United States and Canada on a daily basis. Coupled with Apple’s marketing prowess and reach, 200k people signing up for Apple News+ within 48 hours of its launch does not sound like much.
There’s also the fact that the first month of Apple News+ is free for subscribers. This means that it is only after a month that we will come to know as to how many people are willing to pay for Apple News+ and keep their subscription.
I am definitely not undermining the 200k subscribers that Apple News+ managed to sign up in 48 hours of its launch. That number is more than what Texture ever managed. However, unlike Texture, Apple has created quite a bit of hype around Apple News+ and it already has an existing userbase to lean on to.
To me, it looks like Apple still has a lot of work to do if it wants it to attract more subscribers. Firstly, by keeping Apple News+ limited to the United States and Canada, Apple is really limiting the reach of the subscription service. Secondly, Apple News+ needs to get more major newspapers onboard. Right now, it only has three major newspapers including The New York Times which is clearly not enough. The list of magazines available on the service is a bit more exhaustive but not all of them use the more user-friendly and interactive Apple News format for publishing content, though this is something that’s bound to change over time.
Have you signed up for Apple News+ yet? Do you plan to pay for it once your free trial period expires? Take part in our poll below and let us know.
Feel free to drop a comment and also let us know as to how you are liking Apple News+ so far and how your overall experience with it has been.
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