Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Goodbye, Apple TV+

Yesterday Apple announced a price increase on its services. Primary to my concern is the $2.00 increase to Apple TV+, now costing $6.99. That impelled me to cancel my subscription. At least the company makes it easy to cancel! I did it right on my iPhone via the Apple ID settings. Shame on companies like The New York Times forcing you to make a phone call. Just so the minimum wage agent on the other side of the line can try their best to convince you to stay. No, thanks. My decision is absolute.

Apple TV+ at $4.99 is apparently low enough of a price for me to keep my subscription long after I finished watching the show that made me sign up in the first place: Pachinko. Since then, I did not launch the app even once to watch another thing. Great shows like Succession and Ted Lasso that everyone rave about? I could not care less. I simply do not watch TV shows. The latest Marvel and Star Wars stuff on Disney+ I’ve yet to start. The impetus is not immediately there.

The price for these subscription services only ever goes upward. Apple did me a favor by reminding me I’m still paying for Apple+. $6.99 for something I don’t use is too much. I don’t even share that account with my friends, which I absolutely do with Disney+. Accounting sharing is how I am able to watch stuff on all the major streaming platforms for the price of one or two. Though to be perfectly fair, Verizon wireless pays for my Disney+ subscription (and Hulu, and ESPN+). The friend who is paying nearly 20 bucks a month for HBO Max is the real MVP.

Not that I watch a lot of stuff on HBO (not a single hour of Game of Thrones). If I were on my own, I’m not sure I would subscribe to even one of the streaming services. If anything, I would pay for Youtube Premium, a platform I watch videos on every single day.

The clan.