Editor's take: Apple has increased the prices on several of its subscription services in the US and elsewhere in a straightforward attempt to generate more revenue. A few bucks more per month isn't going to break the bank for most but percentage wise, the price increases are significant. Worse yet, they come at a time when the cost of virtually everything is on the rise. Increasingly, end users are going to start taking a closer look at their subscriptions and trimming some of the fat.
From today, Apple Arcade will set you back $6.99 per month after a free one-month trial. That's a 40 percent increase from the previous monthly rate of $4.99. Apple News+, meanwhile, is now $12.99 after a 30 percent bump from $9.99 a month. Apple TV+ is going up, too, from $6.99 a month to $9.99 – a 43 percent increase.
The Apple TV+ price hike is the second in as many years as the streaming service originally debuted at $4.99 before jumping to $6.99 a month in October 2022.
Apple One, Cupertino's tiered bundle of subscriptions, is now more expensive as well. An individual plan, which includes access to Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and 50 GB of iCloud storage, now goes for $19.95 per month, up about 17.5 percent from the previous rate of $16.95.
Family and Premier plans are not exempt from the price hikes, either. The top-end package now commands a lofty $37.95 per month, while the family plan has been bumped up to $25.95 a month.
Apple Music and Apple Fitness+ managed to avoid a higher price point for the time being.
Just last week, Netflix again increased the cost of its basic and premium plans in major markets including the US, the UK, and France. The basic plan now goes for $11.99 a month in markets where it is still offered, while the premium tier went from $19.99 to $22.99 a month. In the US, the most affordable Netflix plan is the standard with ads package for $6.99 a month.