As with everything in this country, prices are going up. No, we don’t mean petrol prices, though those are (probably) going up. This time around, it’s Apple hitting us with the price-hike stick. Apple, which became the first $3 trillion company earlier this year, is blaming rising licensing costs as the reason behind the move.
Prepare yourself
Both Apple Music and Apple TV+ are spiking prices, making the music service more expensive than its main competitor, Spotify. In the States, the service has increased by a dollar, bringing the total cost up to $11p/m. South Africa was a little luckier in this regard, as our Music prices have only increased by R10, now costing R70p/m. Family prices are up too, going from R90 p/m, heading up to R110 p/m, effective immediately.
Even students were unable to escape the hike, with their prices going up R5, now costing R35 p/m.
Spotify still manages to offer its product for just R60p /m, along with its R100 family plan. Upon hearing of Apple’s increase, Spotify shares rose to 9.4%, as share prices shot to $97. Of course, there’s a worry that Apple may be setting a precedent here, allowing Spotify to increase its prices too.
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Now, it’s time to break the news to the nine TV+ users in the country. Gather around – this isn’t pretty. The streaming service is increasing from $5 up to $7p/m. The same goes for its standard Apple One service, also increasing by $2, now costing $17p/m.
In South African values, this increase equates to a R40 jump, going from R85 p/m to R125p/m. Apple One is now R180p/m, up from R140p/m.
Apple claims that its original TV+ prices started low due to a lack of content on the platform. Now that it has a larger selection and more customers, it feels the time is right for a hike. Whether there is actually enough content to warrant the hike is a matter of opinion. You don’t just become the world’s first $3 trillion company without ripping off a few customers, right?
Source: TechCentral
