What is Apple One: subscription, features

Apple One is the latest all-in-one subscription deal to come from the tech giant which will group together all its streaming services in various bundles. Announced in September 2020, Apple One will be available to customers in 3 different price packages with each offering different combinations of their most popular services including iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV Plus and more, at reduced prices.

What is Apple One?

The aim of the game here is to subscribe to Apple’s services but save money at the same time. Why bother? I hear you ask. Well while it is a way of enticing more people to sign up for Apple’s multiple streaming services, you also get some pretty cool features and certainly more bang for your buck if you’re already paying for any of them individually.

The service is slated to be released as early as October 2020 but no official release date has been announced just yet. The three bundles offered to customers will be Individual, Family and Premier plans and the savings you can make on each are detailed in the image below. Note that the Premier plan will only be available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

What services are included?

The combination of services on offer in every bundle is similar, with just Premier providing News+ and Fitness+ as extra services. There is a significant difference in the amount of iCloud storage on offer though, so it’s worth going through each plan and carefully weighing up your options before selecting your plan. We’ll walk you through each of the services here:

• Apple Music is the Apple equivalent of Spotify. Boasting a huge library of over 50 million songs across practically every genre, podcasts and Apple 1 Radio, this is definitely a service everyone can enjoy. It can be accessed on your smartphone, TV, computer or Apple HomePod.
• Apple TV + could be considered Apple’s version of Netflix albeit on a far smaller scale (for now). Most of these streaming services are very similar, with each just offering their own unique content and that is exactly what’s on offer here. Apple TV Plus offers its own original shows (such as Jennifer Anniston’s The Morning Show) and has gradually expanded it’s collection to provide a more robust, well-rounded offering. It is still unclear what will be included in the subscription fee and what (if any) licensed content will be available, but it’s definitely an interesting service to have included in a bundle.
• Apple Arcade is a fee-paying subscription service for iOS games. It offers over 100 different alternative titles that can be played on most Apple devices from iPhones to MacBooks to Apple TV. Whilst you might not find the biggest names in the gaming industry on this service, there are some hidden gems including LEGO Brawls, Sayonara Wild Knights and Card of Darkness among others. Gamers can even connect a PS4 DualShock or Xbox One controller to enjoy gameplay.
• Apple News + is pretty nifty for those who love newspapers and keeping their finger on the pulse of world events as it provides access to over 300 high quality digital publications. Premium subscriptions for newspapers such as The L.A. Times, The Wall Street Journal and National Geographic magazine are also included in the subscription.
• Apple Fitness+: information is sparse about this new service but what we do know, is that it will be offering online workouts with world class trainers. Users can benefit from new workouts added weekly and for those who own an Apple Watch, all personal fitness details will be recorded in sync with your workouts. Heart rate, calories burnt, distances travelled, progress recorded. It’s not necessary to own an Apple Watch though to benefit from this service and everyone from beginners to pro athletes can find and enjoy suitable workouts for their fitness levels. Categories are wide ranging including dynamic sports such as rowing and HIIT workouts to yoga, dance and mindful cool-downs.
• iCloud is of course world renowned and is the best place to store all of your photos, files, documents and more. It stores them in one safe place and means you can retrieve any and all of your data from any Apple device connected to your iCloud account. Depending on your lifestyle, work and family size you can choose a storage size most suited to your needs.

How does Apple One work?

Similar to other bundled subscription services such as Amazon Prime or Google One, users will pay a monthly fee to access all services in their chosen plan and can access the services and apps from any device associated with the account. Whilst there is relatively little information available on how to sign up for Apple One at this time, it is more of a software update and so should be available sometime late 2020. There will be a 30 day free trial period for all services in whatever bundle you choose and you can cancel your subscription at any time.

Subscribers can also purchase additional iCloud storage if needed and can swap between bundles. If you subscribe to the Family or Premier plans, you can also share the service with up to 5 other family members, making it good value for money. Learn more about family sharing services here.