Apple’s spring media event is set to kickoff today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time) at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus. We’re going to take a look at what to expect during the event.
Apple is expected to debut a $9.99 per month subscription news service via its Apple news app that will offer unlimited access to stories from the subscription paywalled areas of major new sites, like The Wall Street Journal. In addition, the subscription will include magazine content, similar to that offered by the Texture magazine service, which Apple purchased last year.
While magazine publishers seem to be widely on board, many major news sites aren’t jumping on the bandwagon. Sites such as the Washington Post and The New York Times are holding off joining, due to Apple’s asking 50% of the action on subscription fees, and they also are reported to have an issue with Apple keeping subscribers information close to their vest.
Apple is also expected to premiere a streaming television service that will offer the over two dozen television series and movie that the Cupertino company reportedly has in the works. The service is also expected to offer subscription-based access to content from other cable providers.
We can expect to see Apple provide the ability for viewers to sign up for premium services – such as Showtime, HBO, and Starz – and may also offer channel bundles providing access to content from multiple cable channels at a reduced price.
Celebrities that are appearing in Apple’s new shows and movies are expected to make an appearance at today’s shindig; including Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, and Jennifer Garner.
While the streaming TV service will debut today, it sin’t expected to go live until later in the year. No word as yet on what the service will cost.
iOS 12.2, currently in beta testing, is expected to be released immediately following the event. the new version of Apple’s mobile operating system will include access to the new Apple News subscription service.
In addition to the new news service, iOS 12.2 is expected to bring the Apple New service to Canada, will include HomeKit support for many third-party television sets, the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements, and perhaps most importantly for many user new Animoji characters.
Apple is also expected to preview new features for its Apple Pay service at the event, perhaps announcing a new credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, and a possible redesign of the Apple Wallet app in iOS 12.2.
The new Apple/Goldman Sachs credit card could offers special features in the Wallet app that are unavailable to other cards, such as budgeting tools, spending recommendations, spending limits, and more.
We aren’t expecting to see any new hardware announcements. However that doesn’t necessarily mean there might not be a “one more thing” unveiling at the event.
New hardware isn’t expected though, due to the release last week of a new iPad mini, and iPad Air, refreshed iMacs, and second-generation AirPods. A seventh-generation iPod touch and the AirPower wireless charging mat are also expected to be announced sometime soon, so that could possibly occur at the event.
Today’s event will begin today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time) at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus. The event will be live streamed on its website and through the Events app on the Apple TV.
MacTrast will report on all the action, immediately following the event, so stay tuned.