Apple in search of new markets

On March 25 Apple made a dazzling presentation, as only Apple can, in a luxurious venue. Among the guests were dozens of American show biz stars, such as Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. This time however the purpose of the event was different, not the launch of yet another iPhone device, but the presentation of a service, or rather multiple services, four in total.

Three of them are information and entertainment services. TV+ is a subscription service that will offer access to tens of channels, News+ will offer access to the informational content of tens of magazines and newspapers and Apple arcade is a platform with hundreds of games.

Another tech giant, Amazon, has already developed a similar platform, offering however all three Apple services in a single package, Amazon Prime, where subscribers have access to hundreds of magazines, entertainment channels and games.

Netflix is already active in the market and this year it will invest almost 15 billion Euro in the production of movies and tv shows and in the purchase of content to be streamed exclusively on its platform.

Between these three giants, who over the coming years will clash in their attempt to gain as much market share as possible, Apple seems to have an advantage, despite entering the race last. The difference is made by the 900 million iPhone users, almost 6 times more than Netflix subscribers. Apple estimates that 10% of iPhone users will subscribe to its new services immediately, while the other 90% is potentially a very dynamic customer base.

The fourth service presented by Apple is not a technology or entertainment service but a banking one. It is an Apple credit card, with which it hopes to complete its service package. Initially the Apple credit card users will have the privilege of big discounts in Apple services purchased with it.

 In recent years, Apple has been unable to increase the revenue from iPhone device sales, on the contrary, sales show slightly declining trends. In an attempt to pursue new business opportunities, it has launched services in industries different from those it was operating in until now. Due to its size and name, it is certain that it will disrupt the markets it enters, however it is doubtful that it will ever reach the profits made with iPhone devices.