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Apple makes move sure to frustrate loyal customers

22/08/2025
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I am an Apple person—I always have been—and they’ve got me just where they want me.

In addition to the five iPhones in my household, plus the various iPads, iMacs, MacBooks, etc., I’m paying $37.95 monthly for the Apple One Premier services bundle, even though I don’t use half of what’s included in the package.

I can do the math, though, and know that paying separately for the services I do use — News, TV, and storage — would cost more than what I am paying now.

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But when I hear that Apple is raising its prices again, I get annoyed.

Apple knows it has people like me captive, which is why it’s leaning more heavily on its growing services business. 

The tech giant announced that it is raising prices across several offerings, including Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and its Apple One bundle.

It’s the latest in a string of streaming and subscription price increases as companies seek to balance rising costs with demand for exclusive content.

Apple is betting its customers will stick with the company’s services packages even as prices go up. 

SOPA Images/Getty Images

What’s changing for Apple subscribers

Like its rivals, Apple (AAPL)  is betting all that exclusive content — from hit series like “Ted Lasso” and “Severance” to critically acclaimed films — will keep subscribers paying, ever higher prices.

Still, the price of Apple TV+ has more than doubled in the years since the service launched:

  • Apple TV+ launched at a monthly subscription price of $4.99 in November 2019
  • The monthly fee increased to $6.99 in October 2022
  • It rose again to $9.99 in November 2023
  • The most recent increase brought the subscription to $12.99 per month on August 21, 2025

Apple Arcade, the company’s gaming subscription, will climb from $6.99 to $9.99 per month. 

Meanwhile, Apple One — which bundles services like Apple Music, TV+, Arcade, and iCloud storage — will see monthly increases ranging from $3 to $5 depending on the tier.

Apple’s services business is key

The higher prices come as Apple increasingly looks to its services unit to drive growth.

iPhone sales have leveled off in recent years, and services have become a reliable revenue stream. Apple reported a record $27.4 billion in services revenue for Q3 2025, up 13% year over year.

Related: Apple iPhone faces a major threat from Samsung

That puts services on track to account for more than a quarter of Apple’s total revenue, helping to offset less frequent hardware upgrades. Raising subscription prices, especially on a growing customer base, could add billions of dollars annually to Apple’s bottom line.

Apple is following a streaming trend

Apple isn’t alone in asking consumers to pay more. Over the past year, nearly every major streaming platform has boosted rates. 

Netflix increased its ad-free Standard plan to $17.99 per month in late 2024, while Disney+ increased its ad-free plan to $13.99. Even Amazon raised the price of its Prime Video service, now charging extra for an ad-free experience.

For customers who subscribe to multiple services, the changes could add up quickly. A Family plan for Apple One will now cost $25.95 per month, up from $22.95. Households that rely on Apple TV+ for streaming, iCloud for storage, and Apple Music for listening will face noticeably higher monthly bills.

Related: Costco quietly gives Apple buyers better deals and perks

Some subscribers may decide to rotate services — canceling one platform for a few months before switching back — a trend that has already emerged as streaming prices rise across the board.

Apple is clearly wagering that its subscribers will stick with the ecosystem. With millions of iPhones, iPads, and Macs already tied to Apple services, the company has a built-in advantage. Bundling entertainment, storage, and music into Apple One also makes it harder for customers to walk away.

For now, Apple is joining its streaming rivals in charging more. The big question is whether consumers, faced with inflation and subscription fatigue, will keep paying or start trimming their digital bills.

Related: Apple brings back a popular Covid-era feature to its watch

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