So if you are like me, you have a lot of different streaming or on-demand services. A quick count reveals that I have Amazon Prime/Music, Apple Music, Tidal, Disney+, Netflix, and my Xbox subscription. So we pay a lot for these subscriptions between my other family members and me. But what if there was a cheaper alternative that bundled many of these into one more affordable subscription. Enter Apple One.

Priced at $14.95 for Individual, $19.95 for Family, and $29.95 for Premier, these might be the option you are looking for to streamline your subscriptions and put a few bucks back in your pocket. Let’s discuss. 

What Is Apple One?

Apple One is a single subscription to ALL of Apple’s services. Their base and family subscription includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+. Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+ get added with the Premier tier. 

It promises a streamlined process to pay and manage your Apple subscriptions. If you are part of the Apple ecosystem, you can enjoy a seamless experience across your Apple devices. 

Who Will This Appeal To?

The most obvious answer is that this appeals to those who have one or more subscriptions and are paying full price for each and want to save some cash. It will also appeal to families with multiple Apple users who can share the plan and cut down on costs. 

With each tier, you save more money overall. For the Individual Apple One plan, you save $6/mo, Family saves you $8/mo, and $25/mo for Premier. This is, of course, over subscribing to each service individually.

Who Isn’t This For?

I think the obvious answer is for Android users who are not in the Apple ecosystem or use the Google ecosystem for their subscriptions. This plan will also not appeal to those who use a single Apple subscription and don’t need anything else. I fall into the latter camp. I have an Apple Music subscription because of the ease of integration with my Apple Watch when I am working out. Aside from that, I use Tidal.  

Why Should You Consider It?

Let’s put money-saving aside; Apple One has some excellent value. For example, Apple Music has a massive catalog and offers lossless and spatial audio at no extra cost. So while I think that spatial audio is a bit gimmicky (right now anyway), I do like the lossless audio, and they have some great curated playlists. 

While relatively new with few originals, Apple TV has some great gems like Ted Lasso that are probably worth watching. Plus, as Apple TV+ grows in popularity, we will likely see more content. And, let’s not forget that Apple has some deep pockets and can afford to invest in something they think will be worthwhile. 

While I am not a mobile gamer, I can’t deny that mobile gaming is hugely popular, We are starting to see some AAA games, like Call of Duty, get ported over to mobile devices. With mobile chips getting increasingly more powerful with each generation of phones, Apple Arcade will appeal to those who spend most of their gaming time on phones and tablets. 

iCloud+ makes sense. If you are an Apple user, you know how quickly you can eat up your device storage with photos and videos, not to mention music and downloaded content from other subscription services. Yes, you can get 5GB free, but with Apple One, you get 50GB, 200GB, or 2TB (!!), depending on the tier. I know that my wife can quickly fill her phone with pictures and video, so this would appeal to us. 

Lastly, for those that use News+ and Fitness+, bundling these with everything else makes sense. You get access to tons of online magazines and newspapers, with News+ and curated workouts with Fitness+. On top of this, you can share it amongst five other family members and share the cost. For example, my daughters split an Apple Music subscription, so they pay much less than getting individual subscriptions. Plus, they can share apps they purchase, saving one another more money. 

Our Take

Since I am cynical by nature, let’s point out the obvious. Apple is locking you deeper into their ecosystem or enticing you to join. Plus, it’s easy to say, “Well, it’s just $5 more to get all these subscriptions!” and Apple has an extra $60 a year from you with no additional cost to them. 

All that said, I don’t have anything negative to say about Apple One. If you are in the Apple Ecosystem and have (or want) two or more of these subscriptions, it just makes sense. You will get more for less, which is never a bad thing. 

Will you subscribe to Apple One? Let us know in the comments.