The Apple News subscription service preview has been spotted in iOS 12.2 beta, according to The Verge. This new service would offer access to newspapers and magazines for a monthly fee, estimated to be around $10. In addition to subscription based news, Apple is also aiming to package access to a some select daily-news publications, such as The Times, The Post and The Wall Street Journal, into the app.
The New York Times notes that Apple, with a touch of the grandiose, is aiming to help ‘save journalism.’ The news site quotes Apple News’s editor-in-chief, Lauren Kern stating: “There is this deep understanding that a thriving free press is critical for an informed public, and an informed public is critical for a functioning democracy, and that Apple News can play a part in that.”
While it might be expected that news and magazine publishers might welcome Apple’s deal for easier access to their content, not all publishers, as The Wall Street Journal finds, are happy with Apple’s suggestion that it takes 50 percent of the generated revenue.
In terms of how the other 50 percent will be divided up, The Verge reports that this proportion will be split based on how much time users spend reading each publisher’s content. This is a similar model to how Spotify pays music artists and record labels.
As to why Apple is even considering a news feature, The Verge further speculates that this is a counter measure to the company’s falling iPhone and iPad sales, predicting that Apple may well move further into service provision rather than putting too much emphasis upon device manufacture.
