Apple One Bundles All of Apple’s Services into One Monthly Subscription, But Is It Worth It?

At Apple’s fall announcement event, the company revealed that in late 2020 it will be releasing the Apple Fitness+ service, which combines the health-tracking features of the Apple Watch with custom workout lessons that are viewable on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. This new subscription will cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Joining the ranks of iCloud storage, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ is the sixth of Apple’s active services. With this critical mass of services, it only made sense for Apple to bundle them into one monthly service bundle, which the tech giant is calling Apple One.

What Does Apple One Cost & What Does It Include?

Beginning this fall, you’ll be able to get up to six of these services for one monthly price. The cost is broken down into three plans, so you can choose the subscription that’s right for you and your family.

Apple One Individual Plan

For the cost of $14.95 per month, the Individual plan gives you access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50 GB of iCloud storage. Apple TV+ and Arcade are accessible to family members, but these are solo subscriptions to Apple Music and iCloud.

Apple One Family Plan

For $19.95 per month, the Family plan gives you access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200 GB of iCloud storage for multiple users.

Apple One Premier Plan

For $29.95 per month, the Premier plan gives you access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and a whopping 2 TB of iCloud storage.

Is Apple One Worth it?

Let’s break down each service and find out what you’re getting for the cost.

• iCloud ($0.99/month for 50 GB, $2.99/month for 200 GB, $9.99/month for 2 TB) Allows cloud access to all of your files, photos, contacts, calendars, notes, and videos.
• Apple Music ($9.99/month for individuals, $14.99/month for a family) Apple Music gives you access to stream a growing library of 70 million songs across all of your devices. It’s very similar to Spotify, but has better integration on Apple devices.
• Apple Arcade ($4.99/month for individuals or a family) Allows unlimited access to over 100 high quality iOS games which work across devices, most of which you can play offline.
• Apple TV+ ($4.99/month for individuals or a family, free with the purchase of some new Apple devices) Apple’s streaming service featuring Apple Originals, which can be accessed across devices and downloaded to watch offline.
• Apple Fitness+ ($9.99/month) Available later this year, this is Apple’s new service that offers world-class workouts by renowned trainers across a variety of fitness styles.
• Apple News+ ($9.99/month) Apple News+ is a curated news experience with top stories across a variety of sources. It also gives you access to hundreds of magazines and local, national, and international newspapers.

So, for Apple One at the Individual subscription level, you’re saving about six bucks per month. If you’re someone who is certain you’ll use all of the included services, it’s definitely worth it! It’s worth noting that you can also share Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ with your family even with the Individual Apple One subscription. Apple One at the Family subscription level represents a monthly savings of around $8. This is a good bargain, but it’s only really worth it if you and your family are likely to use all of the services. The Premier subscription represents a monthly savings of around $25 for all of Apple’s services. While obviously being the best deal, $29.95 a month is a pretty high monthly expense. This is still an incredible deal, even if your family isn’t likely to use every included service. Apple hasn’t yet given a clear date on when Apple One will be available, only that it’s coming this fall. While it may come as a surprise to some, this subscription bundle is something that Apple has been building for a long time. Over the past several years, they’ve announced new services one-by-one, putting the pieces in place for this greater vision of becoming a more subscription-oriented company. It’s likely that Apple One will be a significant part of Apple’s future and it would not surprise me if Apple adds more services in the years to come. Apple's revenue from its services business has been on a rapid upward trajectory, becoming a more and more essential part of its business. While it does lock users into the Apple ecosystem, this service bundle is a logical response to decreasing iPhone sales. We’ll be watching for a release date for Apple One.