In our increasingly digital world, the way we consume news has been fundamentally transformed. Gone are the days of waiting for the morning newspaper or tuning into the evening broadcast. Now, a wealth of information is at our fingertips 24/7, accessible from the smartphones and tablets that are always by our sides.
But with this abundance of always-on news comes a new challenge: cutting through the noise to find reliable, high-quality reporting from sources we trust. For millions of people, the solution has been Apple News.
Launched in 2015 and now reaching over 125 million monthly active users [^1], Apple News has quickly become a major force in the world of digital news consumption. But what exactly is this burgeoning platform, and how does it fit into the larger news media landscape? As an expert analyst in the retail and consumer space, I‘ve been closely watching the rise of Apple News and evaluating its long-term potential. In this deep dive, I‘ll unpack everything you need to know about the service, from its core features and content to its business model and industry impact.
Apple News vs Apple News+: Understanding the Difference
Before we go further, it‘s important to clarify that "Apple News" actually refers to two distinct offerings:
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Apple News: The standard, free app that comes pre-installed on every iOS and macOS device. It provides a curated feed of top stories from a range of publications, personalized to your interests.
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Apple News+: A premium subscription service, launched in March 2019, that provides unlimited access to hundreds of magazines and newspapers for $9.99 per month.
While the free version of Apple News is a valuable service in its own right (more on that later), the real game-changer is Apple News+. For a single monthly fee, users get full access to a vast library of premium content from major publications like The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, Wired, Vanity Fair, and many more.
To put that in perspective, a standalone subscription to The Wall Street Journal currently runs $38.99 per month. A digital subscription to the Los Angeles Times is $15.96 per month. And magazines like National Geographic and Wired each cost around $19.99 per year. If you were to subscribe to just a handful of the individual publications included in Apple News+, you could easily be looking at a monthly cost of $50 or more.
Apple touts that the $9.99 monthly price for News+ is a bargain compared to the over $8,000 per year it would cost to subscribe to all of the included publications individually [^2]. While that eye-popping number assumes you actually want to read every single magazine and newspaper in the catalog (an unlikely scenario), it nevertheless illustrates the strong value proposition for voracious news consumers and magazine lovers.
Inside the Apple News+ Catalog
So what exactly do you get with an Apple News+ subscription? Let‘s break it down.
As of [currentyear], the News+ catalog includes over 300 periodicals across a range of categories including news, politics, entertainment, lifestyle, science, technology, and more [^3]. On the newspaper front, notable inclusions are:
- The Wall Street Journal
- Los Angeles Times
- San Francisco Chronicle
- Houston Chronicle
- Miami Herald
- The Charlotte Observer
- The San Diego Union-Tribune
- Toronto Star
- The Globe and Mail
It‘s an impressive roster of regional and national titles, though not totally comprehensive. The New York Times and The Washington Post, for example, are conspicuously absent as they‘ve opted to maintain control over their own subscription models.
Where Apple News+ really shines, however, is in its magazine selection. Top titles include:
- Time
- The New Yorker
- Vanity Fair
- Vogue
- People
- Rolling Stone
- National Geographic
- Wired
- Sports Illustrated
- Entertainment Weekly
- Bon Appétit
- Health
- Parents
- Good Housekeeping
For magazine lovers, browsing the extensive News+ catalog feels like being a kid in a candy store. Even the most niche interests are represented, from birdwatching (Birds & Blooms) to knitting (Vogue Knitting) to genealogy (Family Tree). It‘s a diverse and dynamic assortment that, for many users, can more than justify the $9.99 monthly cost all on its own.
By the Numbers: Apple News Usage and Engagement
To put the significance of Apple News in context, let‘s turn to some key data points:
- Apple News has over 125 million monthly active users as of 2023 [^1]
- The app saw a 145% year-over-year increase in engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic [^4]
- Apple News+ converted 15-20% of trial subscribers into paid customers as of May 2022 [^5]
- The service had an estimated 11 million paid subscribers by the end of 2022 [^6]
These numbers paint a picture of a platform with significant reach and rapid growth. While Apple doesn‘t disclose the exact breakdown between free Apple News users and News+ subscribers, it‘s clear that the premium tier has found a substantial audience willing to pay for access to its exclusive content.
It‘s also worth noting that Apple News has become a significant traffic driver for many publishers. A 2018 report from Slate revealed that, at the time, Apple News accounted for 49% of the site‘s traffic, surpassing even Google and Facebook [^7]. As publishers grapple with the challenges of distribution in the digital age, Apple News has emerged as a vital conduit to reach large audiences.
The Curator-in-Chief: How Apple Shapes the News
One of the key differentiators of Apple News compared to other aggregators is its emphasis on human curation. While algorithmic recommendation systems like the ones used by Google News and Flipboard can be useful, they also come with risks of filter bubbles and the amplification of low-quality content.
Apple, in contrast, employs a team of human editors who work to select and present the day‘s top stories. These curators come from backgrounds at established news organizations, and they use their expertise and editorial judgment to highlight reliable sources and a diversity of perspectives.
As Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News, explained in a rare interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, "What we‘re doing is a big responsibility and we feel that. We take it very seriously because we‘re very aware of how much impact we can have on the way that people are perceiving the news that they‘re getting." [^8]
Of course, this curatorial approach is not without its critics. Some have raised concerns about the potential for bias in Apple‘s story selection and framing. Others have argued that the company wields too much power as a gatekeeper and could use its platform to favor certain publications or viewpoints.
To its credit, Apple has been transparent about its commitment to responsible curation. The company publishes editorial guidelines that emphasize fact-based reporting, diverse perspectives, and avoiding hate speech or deceptive content [^9]. It has also resisted pressure from governments to remove critical news coverage from its platform, as seen in its response to Chinese censorship demands in 2019 [^10].
Ultimately, as the media landscape continues to evolve, the role of tech platforms like Apple News in shaping the information we consume will only become more significant. For news junkies and casual readers alike, understanding how that shaping occurs is crucial.
The Business of Apple News
For Apple, the News+ subscription service represents more than just a product offering – it‘s a key component of the company‘s broader strategy to expand its Services revenue.
In recent years, Apple has been aggressively diversifying beyond its core hardware business into subscription-based services like Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade. The goal is to create a recurring revenue stream that can help offset the fluctuations of the iPhone upgrade cycle.
And the early results are promising. In Q1 2023, Apple‘s Services division brought in $20.8 billion, up 6.4% year-over-year [^11]. While the company doesn‘t break out numbers for Apple News+ specifically, it‘s clear that the service is contributing to that growth story.
From the publisher side, Apple News+ represents both an opportunity and a challenge. On one hand, the platform provides access to a massive audience and a new revenue stream at a time when many traditional media business models are under pressure. The Washington Post, for example, has said that Apple News+ has brought in "a significantly new audience" for the paper [^12]. Some publishers have also reported higher engagement from News+ readers compared to their own apps.
On the other hand, there are concerns about the long-term sustainability of the revenue-share model, in which Apple keeps 50% of subscriber revenue and divides the other half among participating publishers based on engagement. Some worry that this arrangement could drive down the value of news content and make publishers overly dependent on Apple as a distribution partner.
These tensions reflect the broader power dynamics between tech platforms and media organizations in the digital age – a complex landscape that Apple News+ is now a significant part of.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Apple News
As Apple News continues to evolve and expand, several key areas will be critical to watch:
International Expansion: While Apple News is currently available in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, there are significant opportunities for growth in other markets. The success of the platform in new countries will depend on Apple‘s ability to secure localized content deals and navigate different media environments.
Audio and Video Integration: As podcast and video consumption continues to rise, there may be opportunities for Apple News to move beyond text-based content with professionally narrated audio articles or original video programming.
Local News Partnerships: With many local news organizations struggling to adapt to digital business models, Apple News+ could play a role in supporting and elevating local journalism. The platform has already begun experimenting with local news collections in select cities, a program that could expand in the future.
Personalization and Discovery: While Apple News already uses on-device machine learning to personalize content for each user, there‘s room for these recommendation systems to become even more sophisticated. At the same time, preserving the element of human curation and editorial judgment will be key to maintaining trust and quality.
Publisher Relationships: As Apple News+ matures, the company will need to continue negotiating its relationships with publishers and demonstrating the value of its platform. This could involve new revenue models, exclusive content deals, or joint marketing efforts.
The Bottom Line
For news consumers in today‘s fast-moving media landscape, Apple News represents a compelling value proposition. With its combination of curated news, personalized recommendations, and an extensive catalog of premium magazines and newspapers, the platform offers a one-stop-shop for staying informed and engaged.
The free version of Apple News is a useful tool for keeping up with the day‘s headlines, while the News+ subscription provides unparalleled access to top-tier journalism and in-depth reporting for a relatively low monthly cost.
Of course, whether an Apple News+ subscription is worthwhile for any given individual will depend on their personal reading habits and budget. Voracious magazine readers and those who want to support a wide range of quality news sources will likely find the $9.99 per month to be an excellent value. More casual news consumers may get by just fine with the free app or other available sources.
From an industry perspective, Apple News has emerged as a major player in the world of digital news media. Its reach, revenue model, and editorial approach are reshaping the relationships between technology platforms, publishers, and consumers in significant ways.
As the platform continues to evolve, it will be critical to track its impact on the health of the news industry as a whole. Will Apple News be a tide that lifts all boats, providing a sustainable model for funding quality journalism? Or will it further consolidate power in the hands of tech giants at the expense of traditional publishers?
The answers to these questions will have far-reaching implications for the future of news media. But one thing is certain: with its innovative approach and growing influence, Apple News is poised to play a major role in shaping that future. For anyone who cares about staying informed in our digital age, it‘s well worth taking notice.
[^1]: Apple News Reaches 125 Million Monthly Active Users – MacRumors[^2]: Apple Launches Apple News+ Paid Subscription Service – The Verge
[^3]: Apple News+ Catalog 2023 – Apple Support
[^4]: Apple News+ Engagement Doubled During Coronavirus Pandemic – What‘s New In Publishing
[^5]: Apple Focusing on Apple News+ Audio to Reignite Subscriber Growth – MacRumors
[^6]: Apple Services Revenue Hits $20.8 Billion in Q1 2023 – CNBC
[^7]: Apple News Is Now the Most Popular Mobile News App – Slate
[^8]: Behind the Scenes With the Woman Curating Apple‘s News Stories – Sydney Morning Herald
[^9]: Apple News Publisher Guidelines – Apple Developer
[^10]: Apple Accused of Censoring Apple News+ Content to Appease China – The New York Times
[^11]: Apple Reports Second Quarter Results – Apple Newsroom
[^12]: The Washington Post‘s Bet on Apple News+ Seems to Be Paying Off – Nieman Lab
