Apple CEO Tim Cook’s ‘It’s Show Time’ event felt rushed and incomplete

“Apple CEO Tim Cook began Monday’s highly anticipated event at the Steve Jobs Theater by defining the word ‘services.’ The conceit was to lay out a new vision for how to think about Apple,” Alex Sherman writes for CNBC. “If Apple Version 1 was the Macintosh computer, and Apple Version 2 was mobile hardware from the iPod and iPhone through the Apple Watch, then Apple Version 3 would include a variety of subscription services with recurring revenue.”
“Monday’s event was supposed to be the big coming-out party for this services vision,” Sherman writes. “But if Apple v.3 is going to change the way investors value Apple, they’ll need more answers than Cook gave Monday. Apple was so sparse on key details around its video and news services that it felt like Apple had rushed the event or was waiting on a critical deal that never came through.”
“Apple introduced Apple TV+, its subscription video service for original programs,” Sherman writes. “But it didn’t say how much Apple TV+ would cost… In addition, even if the shows are fantastic, a consumer could watch them all in a month. It made no sense to announce a subscription video service with no library.”
“Apple also has negotiated the right to bundle some of the existing streaming services in its new Apple TV Channels product for a discount, according to people familiar with the matter. This could give Apple TV Channels an advantage over the competing Amazon Channels by giving customers the ability to sign up for multiple streaming services for a lower price,” Sherman writes. “But again, Apple offered no pricing details at all.”
“Apple’s new subscription gaming service, Apple Arcade? Again, no price given,” Sherman writes. “Several spectators wondered if Apple’s new services would be bundled together, themselves, perhaps with Apple Music. Nope, no news on that.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The Apple TV+ presentation was quite long on feel-good pablum, but rather short on details and execution. In other words: Tim Cook’s Apple in a nutshell.
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Apple unveils Apple TV+ original video subscription service – March 25, 2019