The Apple bundle I'd buy costs $20 per month

Apple Rumored Bundles (Image credit: Apple)

Apple could finally reveal a services bundle and it couldn't come at a better time. Of course, the devil is always in the details. The package I'd like to see is $20 per month and features services for the entire family.

Where we are

Cupertino currently offers four entertainment subscription services, including Apple New+, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, and Apple TV+. Created at various times over the past few years, these services are priced as follows:

Apple News+, $10 per month, access for up to six family members included
Apple Arcade, $5 per month, with up to six family members
Apple Music, $10 per month or $15 for up to six family members
Apple TV+, $5 for up to six family members

There's also iCloud storage, which is available at various price points. The least expensive family plan is $2.99 per month and includes 200GB of storage.

If you purchased all four entertainment subscription services plus iCloud storage for your family, the monthly price is $38. This number rises to $45 per month if you get the 2TB iCloud storage plan.

What Apple should offer

Before bundling its packages, Apple would be wise to:

Eliminate the Apple Music family plan and instead offer Apple Music for $10/month for up to six family members.
Remove the 200GB iCloud storage plan and replace it with a 1TB plan at $5/month.

Under this scenario, the cost of these plans purchased separately would become $35 per month.

In creating a bundle, Apple should keep things simple. A good starting point on this would be to offer 1TB of iCloud storage for free. From there, Apple should charge $20/month for all four entertainment packages. In other words, this bundle would save subscribers $15/month.

Also worth considering

Of the four services shown above, Apple News+ is the one least based on entertainment. Another solution could be to forget about Apple News+ and bundle the other three for $15, then offer Apple News+ as a $5 add-on.

Regardless, I'm convinced $20 per month is the best solution for Apple and the price point that would generate the most interest among users. Throwing free iCloud storage in the mix would be another essential component to making this work.

The company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off on Monday, June 22. Hopefully, we'll hear more about Apple's possible bundling plan then.

What say you?

Tell us the type of bundling plan you'd like Apple to offer in the comments below.

Bryan M. Wolfe has written about technology for over a decade on various websites, including TechRadar, AppAdvice, and many more. Before this, he worked in the technology field across different industries, including healthcare and education. He’s currently iMore’s lead on all things Mac and macOS, although he also loves covering iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Bryan enjoys watching his favorite sports teams, traveling, and driving around his teenage daughter to her latest stage show, audition, or school event in his spare time. He also keeps busy walking his black and white cocker spaniel, Izzy, and trying new coffees and liquid grapes.

2 Comments

That would be awesome, but I think it’s unrealistic. $25/mn is probably the lowest they could possibly go. Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+ can’t go much less than they already are because Apple has signed agreements in place with the labels, developers, and publishers. They have to pay set licensing fees on every song, game, and article in those subscriptions. So that’s $25/mn right there, and those publishers aren’t going to agree to less. They could discount Apple TV+ since they own the licensing on those shows, and they already give away a year for free with every new purchase. And they could certainly discount iCloud Storage. So that would make people fee like they were getting a bit of a discount. But with the licensing agreements above, I don’t think they could go less than $25/mn on a bundle, unless they want to pay out more than they take in.
No interest in Arcade or News+. I get my news already from good sources and they cost enough. And Arcade just isn't my kind of gaming. Music is okay, but not sure it's worth it for how much I use it. Maybe if it had a better interface that made it easier to find artists who aren't hip hop or pop.