I pay $120/year for one of the 300 periodicals highlighted in Apple’s new Apple News+, so I will likely subscribe to the $10/month service.* However, this launch crystallizes a contemporary conundrum, more is not always more.
I would rather pay half price for 5% of the periodicals. Let me pick 15 of the 300 I truly value. I don’t value having access to 300 periodicals, just like I don’t value having access to 100 television channels. It only distracts me further.
Steve Jobs, who famously honed Apple’s focus on far fewer hardware products upon his return to the company, understood less is almost always more. Today’s launch is decidedly non-Jobsian.
But that won’t stop millions from biting and Apple from transforming news, gaming, and television. And me, as an AAPL investor, making even more money.
*although I’ll lose access to the hard copy, and most likely, the website
Tough life!