At a Special Event yesterday, Apple announced Apple News+. Apple News+ is a subscription service that brings access to more than 300 popular magazines, top newspapers, and digital publishers into a curated experience within the Apple News app.
Apple News users in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia will still be able to use the free version of the news app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac including access to Top Stories, Trending Stories, and a personalized feed.
Available in the U.S. and Canada, Apple News+ has articles published by Vogue, Better Homes & Gardens, The Atlantic, National Geographic Magazine, People, GQ, ELLE, InStyle, The New Yorker, Martha Stewart Living, Condé Nast Traveler, ELLE, Entertainment Weekly, ESPN The Magazine, Parents, People, Real Simple, Rolling Stone, Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated, TIME, Vanity Fair, Vogue, WIRED, Woman’s Day, Toronto Star, The Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times. Plus Apple News+ also features rich layouts, animated covers, brilliant photography, and bold typography. Plus Apple News+ is going to offer access to premium subscriptions to theSkimm, The Highlight by Vox, New York Magazine’s sites Vulture, The Cut, and Grub Street, and Extra Crunch from TechCrunch.
“We’re committed to supporting quality journalism, and with Apple News+, we want to celebrate the great work being done by magazines and news outlets,” said Apple News editor-in-chief Lauren Kern in a statement. “We think the breadth and quality of publications within Apple News+ will encourage more people to discover stories and titles they may never have come across before.”
Apple News+ – Credit: Apple
Meredith CEO and president Tom Harty added that Apple News+ validates the power of premium content and “being a part of it makes good business sense.” Hearst Magazines president Troy Young explained that Apple+ News amplifies the company’s ability to create consumer value through “high-quality content and great experiences.” Condé Nast president and CEO Bob Sauerberg noted that Apple News+ brings a premium experience to millions of more readers so that they can enjoy “the conversation-shifting journalism.” News Corp. chief executive Robert Thomson explained that they are proud to work with Apple as it a company “that believes in the profound importance of journalism and journalists.” And Los Angeles Times executive editor Norman Pearlstine pointed out that Apple News+ “provides a perfect platform for our expanded coverage of news, analysis, and opinion.”
Apple News+ is now available at a price of $9.99 per month in the U.S. and $12.99 per month in Canada. There is a free one-month trial available for users and the plan automatically renews after the trial ends. To use Apple News+, users will have to be running iOS 12.2 or macOS 14.14.4. And through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share one Apple News+ subscription. Apple News+ is coming to the UK and Australia later this year.
Apple News+ was built out of the acquisition of Next Issue Media (founded by
John Squires) — the creator of the Texture app. The Texture app allowed users to subscribe to high-quality magazines for the same price: $9.99 per month. Texture had essentially become a digital publishing consortium joined by Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. And rumors about Apple’s discussions with newspaper companies surfaced around September 2018.
