For over five years, Apple One has been in existence, yet its fundamental tiered system has remained relatively consistent. However, with recent developments and upcoming enhancements, Apple is making its higher-tier ‘Premier’ option increasingly attractive.
Fundamental offerings and structure of Apple One bundles
If you’re new to the concept, Apple One is a subscription bundle that comprises several of Apple’s first-party services.
When considering an Apple One subscription, there are three tiers available:
- Individual: $19.95/month
- Family: $25.95/month
- Premier: $37.95/month
The initial two tiers encompass iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade. The primary distinction lies in user access: one caters to a single user, while the other is designated for the entire family.
The Premier plan, on the other hand, encompasses all the Family plan’s benefits plus three additional offerings:
- Apple News+
- Apple Fitness+
- and a larger 2TB iCloud+ storage option
While this foundational structure has not altered significantly over the years, the Apple One Premier plan has recently become much more appealing.
Apple enhances its Premier plan’s appeal, significantly upgrading News+
A key factor in making Apple One Premier more appealing is through significant improvements to Apple News+.
In the past year, News+ has seen enhancements in three major areas:
Games: In terms of gaming, Apple has emulated The New York Times model by introducing daily puzzles to encourage users to frequent the News app. Alongside the established Crossword and Crossword Mini, a new daily puzzle called Quartiles was added last spring, followed by daily Sudoku introduced at the end of 2024.
News: Regarding news, Apple finalized an agreement with NYT just over a year ago, allowing all News+ users access to Wirecutter and The Athletic. The inclusion of The Athletic significantly enhanced Apple’s news offerings, making News+ an obvious choice for those already subscribed to the sports publication.
Food: Recently, Apple News+ introduced a new Food section in the iOS 18.4 beta, set to launch for all users in early April. This Food hub aggregates restaurant news, reviews, lifestyle articles, and, most importantly, recipes. Thousands of recipes are available in an elegant format, and users can save favorites to their Recipe Catalog. A ‘Cook’ feature is also integrated to guide users step-by-step through the cooking process.
Enhanced benefits from Fitness+ and iCloud+
Alongside the improvements in Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ has also received notable enhancements, including:
- a comprehensive redesign of the Fitness app as part of iOS 18
- integration with Strava
- multi-week programs for strength building, pickleball conditioning, advanced yoga poses, and breath meditation
- new Time to Walk episodes featuring guest Fitness+ trainers, and more
For Apple Watch users, Fitness+ continues to provide a distinct advantage over competitors through seamless integration with hardware.
Additionally, iCloud+ has seen recent enhancements with the launch of the Apple Invites app, allowing only subscribers to organize new events.
This holds true regardless of which Apple One tier you select, serving as an additional incentive to maintain the bundle overall. As our reliance on cloud storage grows, the 2TB provided by Apple One Premier becomes an even more valuable asset.
Future updates for Apple One Premier
As mentioned earlier, Apple News+ is set to introduce a significant new Food section and recipe feature in iOS 18.4.
This new feature will become even more functional with the debut of a forthcoming Home product it seems tailored for.
Apple is expected to release the ‘HomePad’ this spring, which could serve as an ideal kitchen companion. To fully leverage the capabilities of the HomePad, upgrading to Apple One Premier may prove advantageous.
There are also whispers of a completely new service anticipated to arrive at Apple One later this year, likely exclusive to Premier subscribers.
This AI-driven “wellness and coaching” service appears to be integral to Apple’s extensive ambitions in the health sector.
Moreover, all the various enhancements to Apple One Premier benefit from Apple’s growing success in its other service categories.
For example, if Apple TV+ can sustain its momentum post-Severance, it will likely result in an increase in Apple One subscribers overall. The Individual and Family plans for Apple One serve as an entry point for Apple to encourage more users to transition to the Premier tier.
Are you currently subscribed to Apple One Premier? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
