Apple One brings all of Apple's subscription services together(Image credit: Apple)
From Macs to iPhones (via iPads, Apple Watches and more), Apple has had quite the busy year when it comes to hardware announcements. But it hasn't slacked on the software front either, with both iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur proving hits online. One of Apple's most curious software offerings of the year has just launched, and it might just be what Apple fans have been waiting for.
Announced during WWDC in June, Apple One combines the company's many subscription services into a series of handy bundles (much like Adobe's Creative Cloud plans). Whether you're already a committed user of Apple's entire services offering or discovering it for the first time, there might just be an Apple One bundle for you. It's certainly one way to get more out of the best camera phones – but is it really One subscription to rule them all?
Apple One: What's included
Since launching Apple Music in 2015, Apple has been steadily expanding its services offering, covering everything from gaming to news. The company currently offers six different services: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+.
Apple is offering three different tiers of subscription to Apple One. Both the Individual and Family subscriptions include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and iCloud storage. While Individual includes 50GB of iCloud Storage and access for a single user, a Family subscription features 200GB of iCloud Storage and support for up to 6 users. (Check out our best cloud storage services if you're looking for alternatives.)
The Premier package includes Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+ as well as all of the above services. iCloud Storage is also maxed out at a whopping 2TB, and like the family package, Premier can be shared with up to five other users. It's worth noting however that Apple's new Fitness+ service, also announced at WWDC, isn't currently available – and Apple is yet to announce a release date.
Apple One offers three different subscription packages (Image credit: Apple)
Apple One: How much it costs
Of course, the headline feature of Apple One ought to be the cost – and it is indeed cheaper to bundle the services together under a single subscription than to sign up to each individually. But how much can you actually save?
An individual subscription costs $14.95/£14.95 per month, offering a saving of $6/£6. The Family subscription is $19.95/£19.95, saving you $8/£8 per month. Unsurprisingly, the biggest saving comes with the Premier offering – at $29.95/£29.95, this bags you a saving of $25/£25 per month.
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Apple One: Is it worth it?
It all depends on how many of Apple's services you plan to use. If you already use a couple of Apple's offerings, an Individual or Family package seems like a no-brainer. Whether you already listen to Apple Music, watch Apple TV+, play Apple Arcade or read magazines with Apple News+, an Individual or Family package will likely reduce the cost of multiple subscriptions – as well as potentially throwing in an extra service or two.
And for those who are already pretty much going the whole hog with Apple's services, including using lots of iCloud Storage, the Premier package could offer a huge monthly saving. But with Fitness+ currently unavailable, and the $29.95/£29.95 not exactly cheap, we'd say this is for only for those fully committed to Apple's ecosystem.
Of course, Apple One won't be for everyone. Android users need not apply, with several services such as Apple Arcade unavailable on non-Apple devices. And as we all know, there's a rather overwhelming amount of streaming services out there these days – if you're using Spotify or Netflix for example, you might not want to shell out for Apple's alternatives. (Speaking of alternatives, here's how to get 15% off Disney Plus.)
You can sign up for Apple One at Apple.com, and get a free one-month trial on any services you don't already use. And if you're looking for a brilliant new device to try out Apple One, it doesn't get much better than the iPhone 12 – check out today's best deals below, and don't forget to check what offers are available as part of Apple Black Friday.
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
