Video served as both form and function today at Apple’s media event, and the company wasn’t stingy with classic Apple event videos. Ranging from previews of new services like Apple Arcade to a look at the artists creating content for Apple TV +, the videos should give folks who missed the live stream a quick look at what’s next out of Apple services.
As with most events, today’s kicked off with a teaser video:
The first product Apple announced was Apple News+, which offers access to more than 300 magazines and newspapers for $9.99/month. Of note, Apple News+ is the only product Apple announced today that’s also available today.
The second new product out of Apple is Apple Card. Apple Card is essentially an electronic credit card that works anywhere that Apple Pay is accepted. The Apple Card app lets you see your transaction history, pay your card and earn 2 percent cash back daily on your purchases, all within the Wallet app.
And yes, it comes with a physical card, which is made of titanium, laser-etched with your name, and has no number. The Apple Card should make credit card fraud more difficult.
Apple then announced a new gaming subscription service called Apple Arcade.
The service won’t launch until this fall, but will include more than 100 premium games at launch from partners including Disney, Konami and Lego. Importantly, this is a cross-platform product, meaning games are playable on iOS, MacOS and tvOS, giving Apple the chance to leverage iOS to get gaming on the Mac.
This one came with two videos, but no price.
And finally, Apple announced Apple TV+, a forthcoming subscription service that would give users access to Apple’s new library of original content. This includes a new show from Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell about a morning news show and an anthology series from Kumail Nanjiana that tells the true story of everyday immigrants, among many others.
And one more thing… Oprah has signed on to do two new shows with Apple TV+.
Apple TV+ doesn’t come out until the fall and there’s still no word on pricing.
Update: Apple just published the Apple TV+ preview (which is the best video from the event, imho).
