Apple is planning to launch its own paid magazine and newspaper subscription service, which will serve as a premium part of the existing Apple News app.
It is based on Texture, the $9.99 a month magazine service Apple purchased back in March. As happened with the Beats Music technology that went into Apple Music, Apple will use its acquisition as the basis for its own branded product offering.
Bloomberg claims that Apple will launch its paid Apple News feature as soon as spring 2019.
The company is supposedly trying to bolster the 200 magazines that were on offer through Texture by building up new partnerships. The publication notes that:
“Apple is trying woo newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times to join Texture and plans to refine its design, which currently creates an image of what magazines look like in print, the people said. The new approach is expected to look more like typical online news articles.”
Not good for everyone?
Not everyone is likely to be happy about the news, however. Charging a one-off fee for all the news readers want access to could wind up hurting publishers, potentially more than it helps them. A $9.99 per month fee would, for instance, be cheaper on its own than the cost of an unlimited digital subscription to the New York Times.
Some publishers have previously expressed their concerns about Apple News, and how it has not helped individual news outlets as much as hoped.
If Apple is able to make a success of its paid Apple News service, however, it could be good news for Apple.
With shrinking iPhone sales, Services is becoming an increasingly important part of Apple’s business. If Apple News could find similar success to Apple Music — which currently has 56 million subscribers — this could be a major new business for Apple.
