Apple recently unveiled its latest products and services at the Steve Jobs Theater (named after its late co-founder) located in its Cupertino, California campus.
During the Apple Show Time event, CEO Tim Cook and other Hollywood A-listers went on stage to help introduce a stream of new tech. Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities pitched Apple’s newest products. Here are the highlights of the event.
Apple Credit Card
The product is both a physical titanium card and a virtual one that people can use for a variety of financial transactions. Its design is primarily for the iPhone, and it links to the Wallet app. Apple Pay, which has a growing retail acceptance in the United States, handles the payment process.
What makes the card different is its minimalist design. It’s so simple that it doesn’t even have a number, CVV, signature, or expiration date. Should a merchant need such information, the Wallet app will supply the details.
The Apple Credit Card will become available to US customers this summer.
Apple TV+
Apple is transitioning from a gadget maker to a service provider. According to Cook, the company is now more about “services that deliver incredible content and experiences directly” to consumers regardless of where they are. And Apple TV+ is one of the services the tech giant wants to provide.
It is an ad-free subscription video service that is positioned to rival Netflix and HBO, but it also streams subscription content from HBO, CBS All Access, Starz, and Showtime. Its associated app will work with smart TVs, devices running on iOS and macOS, Amazon’s Fire TV, and Roku’s hardware.
Apple News+
This new subscription service has been added to Apple News, giving the old app an overhaul. News+ subscribers can access more than 300 magazines, both current and past issues, and other digital news subscriptions for just $10 a month.
The goal is to provide readers a better experience when reading the news. As Cook himself said, “We felt we can make a difference in the way that news is experienced and understood — a place where the news would come from trusted sources and be curated by experts.”
Apple Arcade
This ad-free, cross-platform gaming service lets users enjoy their favorite titles on macOS, iOS, and tvOS. At launch, more than 100 titles will be rolled out, including Konami, LEGO, and Disney.
Apple promises to deliver new content “all the time,” alluding to the possibility of working with developers to build out the titles to be included in Apple Arcade.
The all-access ad-free gaming service allows offline access.
Apple Pay on transit systems
Pay for subways and bus rides with just a tap on your phone and Apple watch. With transit systems, beginning with Portland, picking up support for Apple Pay, passengers can do away with the reloadable cards and paper tickets. New York City and Chicago have also confirmed plans to become Apple Pay-friendly.
All of that will be available later this year.
Following the latest Apple event, the company also announced hardware upgrades to the AirPods, iPad Mini, and iMac Pro.
