Has Apple Won with Apple One?
By: Paul Alvarez
Tags: Events, Gadgets, Technology, Apple, Services

Has Apple Won with Apple One?

Why I will be getting Apple One and if it makes sense for you.

All technology podcasts, magazines, blogs and websites have covered Apple One in great detail. They go over the things that could be better, like larger iCloud storage sizes for each option, and discuss Apple’s clear goal in getting more into services.

These things about Apple One are interesting but I wanted to talk about how one specific tier not only benefits me but feel it may be one of the best deals Apple has ever offered.

I have been big fan of iCloud storage and the benefits of having all of my photos, messages, app data and other data in constant sync with the Apple cloud storage. Making it available on my Mac, iPad, or iPhone anytime I need something. Not only does Ulysses sync each post that I have started writing, but if I forgot to email a document that is in my downloads folder on my Mac, I can get that document through my iPhone and email it from there.

Apple’s 2 TB iCloud tier was my biggest reason for why I now only buy iPhones and iPads with the base storage option. If you have enough iCloud storage and you trust Apple to optimize and store your data that is not being used in the cloud, you don’t need a ton of local storage. It also makes it so whatever device you pickup you know you will always have access to the same data. It is magical.

So, iCloud storage for me is a big necessity. Not only do I have all of my data syncing but I also have my wife’s data syncing as well using the Family Share feature. So, all the same things that I can do with my gear, I also have set up for my wife. The biggest benefit of all though, is iCloud Photo sync. We are using about 500 GB of the 2 TB storage for just our photos syncing to iCloud.

Now looking at the other services the Apple is offering in the Premium bundle, I am currently only signed up for Apple Music (Family plan), News+, and AppleTV+ (still on the free trial from iPhone 11 Pro). So picking this option I will also be getting Apple Arcade and Fitness+. I had Arcade for a while but didn’t fall in love with any game and Fitness+ is not yet available, so we will see how good that is.

Overall though I am already paying for two-thirds of the services offered in the Premier bundle. Once AppleTV+ trial ends I will be paying $39.96 in total for all of my services without the bundle.

So, right off the bat I am going to be saving $15.01 by signing up for the Premier bundle since it only costs $29.95. If you don’t currently pay for News+ for $9.99 a month, I know many people think it isn’t worth it, this bundle still saves you $5.00 and you are getting News+ extra, let alone all the other services not mentioned

If we break down the cost of all the services in the Premier bundle it equals to about $54.94. That is almost double the $29.95 that Apple is charging for their top-tier Apple One bundle. Even if all I do is continue to use the four services I have and never use the other ones, I am still saving money which is pretty great.

I look forward to seeing how Fitness+ goes. Since we are all stuck at home and I have an Apple Watch, I am very curious to see if I take advantage of this service for my new workout routine. I am also interested in Arcade more now that I have an iPad. When Apple Arcade was originally announced I only had a MacBook Pro and iPhone, so I am curious to try some of these games on my iPad.

I really hope that Apple comes up with more bundle options in the future. Right now the only one I see worth it is the Premier option. But if I were to recommend any of these to friends or family it would be difficult. This is mostly due to the small storage options for both the Individual and Family option. I think you can add more storage on top of the bundles if you want but that defeats the purpose of a bundle since you will be paying separately for more.

For now, though, I am going to jump on this deal as soon as it becomes available in the next month or so. The benefit of saving money is huge but also having a single charge each month will also be better. Right now all of my services are charged on different days for different amounts which can be annoying. Having a single charge each month makes my minimalist brain tingle with excitement.