While consumers say they hate bundles, they actually seem to love them. The frustration we feel when locked into a bundle that includes services we don’t necessarily use is connected to the joy we experience when saving money. Apple’s subscription bundle,Apple One, is a perfect example of how product bundling can retain consumers by offering discounts when purchasing a collection of services – even if they don’t need or want all of those platforms.
Apple One was officially announced in September 2020 with three tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier. The subscription bundle appeared following months ofrumorsand expectations regarding the California tech giant launching a discounted package offering several of its services together in order to boost uptake and retention.
While Apple One was a pretty good deal back in 2020, four years later, does it still offer a worthwhile discount? Let’s look into it.
What is Apple One and is it worth trying?
Apple’s best services bundled into one. Let’s dive into how much it costs and what exactly is included for the price.
My personal experience with Apple One
It’s a story of cancellation
But then came the price increases. With the first and second price hike, I just rolled my eyes and accepted it. But when the third came around, I started wondering, “What are we actually using?” So, I asked my family, and the answer from them was justiCloud+and Apple Music. After finishing school, I stopped using Apple News+ and never got into Apple Arcade. That left Apple Fitness+ and Apple TV+.
To this day, I love Apple Fitness+. I’ve never been one for the gym, and Apple Fitness+ has made workouts comfortable and accessible. While I admit Apple TV+ features great content, I’m a big fan of terrible comedies I can throw on in the background, and this is basicallyNetflixis known for now. I loved Silo, Loot, Ted Lasso, Severance, and Shrinking. Other shows like The Morning Show, Trying, and For All Mankind eventually lost my interest. And with many of my favorite shows ending or going years without a new season, I just stopped watching Apple TV+.
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Is Apple One good value in 2024?
It all depends on you
The challenge with Apple One is that it’s a premium subscription. It’s difficult for people to spend $40 per month on entertainment in addition to Netflix, Disney+, and whatever else a household chooses. Those decisions become even more challenging when iCloud, a near requirement for backing up and syncing Apple devices, is often considered essential.
When Apple One launched, the Individual tier cost $14.95, the Family tier was $19.95, and the Premier tier was priced at $29.95. Premier was expensive, but it felt like a no-brainer for someone like me who was already subscribing to many of Apple’s services. The individual and family tiers felt pretty reasonable. Now, in 2024, the Individual tier is $19.95, the family tier is $25.95, and Premier is $37.95. The problem is less with the price and what you get for it.
I’d argue that the value of Apple One comes from if you regularly get use out of most, if not all, of the included services.
You arguably don’t get much more for the five to seven-dollar price increases. The iCloud storage tiers are the same, Apple TV+’s content has expanded a bit, Apple Arcade releases are pretty flat, Apple News+ feels like it lost more titles than it’s gained (although that may be a personal opinion), and Apple Music hasn’t done anything revolutionary either. Arguably, Apple Fitness+ is the only service that gets iterative improvements year-over-year, and its price hasn’t ever changed.
Much of the price increases have come from Apple Music increasing a little and Apple TV+ getting jacked up too soon from its once highly competitive price point. I don’t mind paying for services that I find value in, but Apple, come on, you can’t just keep raising prices for no reason. Part of the deal with subscriptions is for a regular monthly payment, you continuously deliver value through new and fresh content.
So, does Apple One still offer great value in 2024? For me, no, absolutely not. For you? Maybe. I’d argue that the value of Apple One comes from if you regularly get use out of most, if not all, of the included services. The “is it worth it” equation changes if you have a family and how much iCloud storage is used between you. If anything, determine what is actually being used by you and your family, and weigh what annual subscriptions to some services may offer.
