In a bid to keep Apple TV+ subscribers paying for the service, content is key, but Apple is apparently going to offer a very different form of content next year by embracing augmented reality (AR).
As Bloomberg reports, Apple is expected to launch a new content feature in 2021 to sit alongside its growing list of premium shows while also encouraging the use of the company's hardware. AR linked to a show will be introduced as a form of bonus content that can be viewed on an iPad or iPhone. For example, Apple's space-focused TV series For All Mankind will get space-themed AR content, allowing a virtual lunar rover to drive across your coffee table.
It seems unlikely AR content alone will be enough to entice new subscribers to sign up, but it does offer Apple another bullet point on its feature list of reasons to pay. 9To5Mac also points out that Apple's very generous free year trials of Apple TV+ are set to come to an end starting on Nov. 1, which is focusing Apple to ensure as many of those subscribers as possible are convinced to keep using the service.
We should apparently expect free trial offers to continue, but for far shorter periods than a year. New bundle deals are also expected, with the most recent being a $9.99 CBS/Showtime bundle, which is a 50 percent discount over paying for both channels separately. We are also expecting the launch of so-called "Apple One" bundles later this year, which combine a number of Apple's digital services including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud storage plans.
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