Apple’s vision: Taking a bite out of Netflix
APPLE launched its new streaming service last night in a drive to take on Netflix and Amazon.
Apple TV will launch in 100 countries in May although no prices have been disclosed.
The project marks a significant shift for the tech giant, moving away from gadgets and Apple boss Tim Cook declared it could ‘change the world’.
He added: ‘We feel we can contribute something important to our culture and to our society through great storytelling.’
The new streaming service will have a very similar layout to Netflix, with recommendations based on what a user has previously watched and the option to return to films or episodes they have already started.
Entertainment streaming is becoming increasingly competitive with US giants Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV already competing for membership fees and customers.
A host of Hollywood stars who will be working on projects with Apple attended the launch in California, including Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. Other famous names who will be involved include actors Richard Gere, Brie Larson and Steve Carell.
Apple also revealed its first credit card operated with Goldman Sachs. The Apple Card will be available in both a physical and iPhone version.
The titanium card will bear only the holder’s name and the Apple logo which the company claims will make it more secure than rivals.
In other moves, Apple unveiled a gaming platform called Arcade and subscription service Apple News+. This will allow users to read magazines such as The New Yorker, Vogue or National Geographic all in the same place. Yesterday’s host of announcements come as Apple’s success in the phone market has dwindled in recent months as it struggled to shift devices in emerging markets like China.
Customers have started to turn away from the iPhone amid soaring prices and cheaper alternatives on the market.
In January, Cook admitted revenue for the last three months of 2018 would be billions less than expected. Analysts told of a ‘major black eye’ and a ‘dark day’ in Apple’s history.
However, the celebrities at the launch of Apple TV lavished praise on the company.
Film director Spielberg hailed it as: ‘The place where imagination and technology join forces to change the world through sight and sound and touch.’
He also revealed he would be bringing a remake of a 1920s science fiction magazine series he read as a child to the platform.
Friends star Aniston, 50, said that working with Apple had convinced her to return to TV rather than only making films.
She will appear with Carell, 56, and Witherspoon, 43, in a series called The Morning Show about a group of television anchors.
The two female stars are said to be taking home £ 834,000 ($1.1million) for each episode. Aniston added she ‘so proud’ to be taking part in the project.
Chat show host Winfrey will host an online book club, interviewing authors and making a series of documentaries for the platform.
In a frank statement on Apple’s reach, she declared: ‘They’re in a billion pockets, ya’ll.’
In turn, Apple boss Cook hailed the stars, saying: ‘They have impacted our culture, our society, we are so excited and so humbled to be working with them,’ he said.
But the tech giant appeared to have struggled to get many newspapers on board for Apple News+.
It has announced partnerships with a small number of publications including the LA Times and The Wall Street Journal. The subscription will cost £7.50 ($9.99 a month).
‘Imagination and technology’