Lindsay Stamhuis
If you’re anything like me, you are connected to the outside world via some sort of Apple device at one point in your day or another. Maybe you use an iPhone to send iMessages to your significant other, or to FaceTime your bestie. It’s possible you spend your day catching up on your must-see-TV lineup via iTunes, or listening to the curated playlists on Apple Music (and maybe even on AirPods. #WeirdFlexButOkay). Perhaps you get all your current events information from Apple News. And during your off-hours, you tuck into gaming apps downloaded from the AppStore.
If Apple has its way, very soon you may be watching all your TV and film content on their as-yet-unnamed video-streaming service, which seems poised to enter the market very soon.
Apple has told its investors that the service is nearing its launch date, which may be as soon as April of this year. Like Netflix—the service most directly threatened by Apple’s introduction to the streaming market, though they count Fortnite as their major competitor—Apple plans to release original content, as well as content from major outlets like HBO. They’ve even struck content deals with major Hollywood A-listers such as Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon.
If Apple releases its platform in April, it may be in a bid to disrupt Disney+, Mickey’s long-touted video streaming service. Nothing is known yet about pricing, though with Netflix recently raising prices and Disney promising lower prices than their competitor, its anyone’s guess where they’ll fit in the larger pricing scheme.
The question may end up coming down to how many people will actually show interest and subscribe in yet another streaming service offering exclusive content. Cord cutters everywhere cut cords for exactly this reason; if we all end up paying $10+ every month for each one of an ever increasing number of streaming platforms we subscribe to, what’s the difference between this and a cable bill?
That, like many of the salient details of Apple’s plan, remains to be seen.
