In recent years, in quarterly financial results reports, the so-called “services” are not only representing an increasingly large part of Apple’s revenues but also the company’s highest-margin company. In practice, the one from which you earn the most. In fiscal second-quarter data released in early May, services such as iCloud, Apple Music, the App Store and Apple TV+ generated $20.91 billion in revenue, an absolute record.
Services are an integral part of the Apple product experience and they are the ones on which the Cupertino company is focusing the most after having consolidated its user base over the years. In practice, users must be made to make the best use of the hardware they have purchased, also to entice them to stay as long as possible in the large ecosystem.
According to Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, Apple’s services “they enrich the lives of millions of users every day, so we constantly strive to provide the best experience possible”. Apple’s intentions, is not only to “make services more powerful for users”but wants to make them too “funniest”.
“I think the teams have done an incredible job with the range of new features we’re delivering this fall, from collaborative playlists in Apple Music, to offline maps in Apple Maps, to new experiences in Apple Podcasts.”
Although apparently there are not many new features in the latest major releases of the operating systems announced in recent days, currently in beta testing in view of the public release in the fall, Apple has still added many small features and improvements in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10 and tvOS 17 which will further expand the possibilities of use of its devices
Let’s start with Apple’s music services. The collaborative playlistscreated and edited by multiple people who can also add emoji reactions to specific songs. Apple Music Singles, instead, he uses the Continuity Camera (an iPhone connected wirelessly to the AppleTV) to see himself in real time on the TV screen and apply new filters while singing.
Also in Music, they are now available complete data on the artists who contributed to the making of the musical pieces, including the roles and instruments they played. SharePlay also comes to CarPlay as well allowing other users to contribute to what’s playing and control the music from their own devices, even if they don’t have an Apple Music subscription.
In Maps and now You can select an area and download it to have the possibility of using it even without an active connection, not only to explore it but also for turn-by-turn navigation with estimated arrival time. Furthermore, with the spread of electric cars, it is becoming increasingly important to know where the charging stations are located. In Maps, Apple has also acted this level filtered by charging network, plug type and more.
Finally, maps is also being enriched with information on thousands of trails in the parks with placeholders that offer data on length, type, difficulty and elevation gain. Initially, this feature will be available in the United States.
Apple Fitness+ now offers users the ability to build a workout or meditation routine with customized plans based on day, duration, type of workout, and more. It’s also coming to Fitness+ introducing a new feature called Stacks that lets you select multiple workouts and meditations to do consecutively. Finally, Audio Focus allows users to prioritize the volume of music or coaches’ voices
Also new for i Podcasts now have a new design for Listen Now with a dynamic background that offers advanced controls for queue management and previewing. Additionally, you can link your subscriptions to apps on the App Store (Bloomberg, Calm, The Economist, L’Équipe, Lingokids, The Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and WELT) with Apple Podcasts to access new shows and other benefits.
Apple Cash (not available in Italy) will allow users to set up weekly, bi-weekly or monthly payments as well as being able to choose to automatically top up their balance when it runs out. Starting this fall, companies will also be able to accept ID documents in Apple Wallet, without the need for additional hardware. Users will be shown what information is being requested and whether the receiving party will keep the information.
In Messagesusers will be able to share their location with others and request location. Once obtained, they can easily create a route to reach them via Maps.
Last function mentioned by Apple concerns AirTags. As anticipated also in recent days, it is now possible to share a tracker with up to five people who will be able to see its position without receiving unwanted tracking notifications and obtain indications to locate the position through Precision Finding.
Some features, applications and services, as noted by Apple, may not be available in all regions or in all languages.
