Apple services achieve major milestones in 2021

On January 9, exactly 15 years ago, co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs revealed a first-generation iPhone that revolutionised the telecommunication sector. It was akin to reinventing the wheel and over the years, the iPhone has pushed established players such as BlackBerry, Motorola and Nokia to irrelevance in the industry.

Also, Apple with the iPhone has made huge strides not just in terms of the utility of hardware but also with allied services to improve the user experience such as Music, Fitness, Arcade and App Store, among others.

Now, the Cupertino-based company has revealed that the services segment, despite the pandemic-induced hardships has hit all-time record highs and in the way, helped all — customers, app developers- in terms of convenience of getting services done and earning good revenue, respectively.

Apple App Store

Apple Store registered all-time high double-digit growth during the year-end Christmas festive season and new year's eve than ever before. Since the launch of the App Store in 2008, it has registered active 600 million people each week across 175 countries and the developers were able to sell digital goods and services earning more than $260 billion.

Apple App Store. Credit: Apple

Apple Arcade and Music

In 2021, Apple Arcade saw the biggest jump in terms of the launch of new gaming titles and is now home to more than 200 premium ad-free games suitable for all age groups. It offers exclusive original games such as ‘Sneaky Sasquatch,’ ‘NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition,’ ‘The Oregon Trail,’ and the recently released ‘LEGO Star Wars: Castaways’ and ‘Disney Melee Mania.’ They also get access to award-winning games including ‘Monument Valley,’ ‘Mini Metro,’ and ‘Galaga Wars, and also timeless classics such as ‘Solitaire by MobilityWare’ and ‘Good Sudoku by Zach Gage.’

Apple Music introduced spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, lossless audio, and support for dynamic head tracking feature to all compatible devices. Furthermore, it brought new features such as autoplay, lyrics share, city charts, motion cover art, enhanced search, Shared with You, and more.

Also, Apple Music Radio which offers Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country — delivers award-winning music, is subscribed by tens of millions of customers worldwide.

Apple Music Voice Plan is available in India. Credit: Apple

Just a few weeks ago, Apple launched the Music Voice Plan for just Rs 49 per month, the most affordable subscription service in India. Users just have to ask Siri-enabled devices with simple voice commands to play any of the 90 million-plus songs in the library.

Apple Podcasts subscribers can look forward to new contents including Marvel’s ‘Wastelanders: Black Widow’; NPR’s ‘The Limits with Jay Williams’; Luminary’s ‘The Roxanne Gay Agenda’ Univision’s first daily news podcast ‘Univision Reporta’ with León Krauze; the next season of Campside Media’s popular investigative series ‘Chameleon’; and a six-part narrative series from National Geographic that follows explorer Tara Roberts and a team of Black scuba divers ‘Into The Depths,’ as they unearth stories from the lost shipwrecks of the transatlantic slave trade.

Must read | Apple App Store facilitated $643 billion in billings and sales in 2020

Apple Books

With more than eight million books and audiobooks (including paid and free titles), Apple Books now serves more than 100 million users each month.

Apple Card and Apple Pay

In 2021, Apple Card was recognised as the numero uno midsize credit card service company in J.D. Power’s U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study.

And Apple Pay, with the expansion to nine new countries including Colombia, Israel, and Mexico, the previous year, it is now available in nearly 60 countries and regions and works with nearly 9,000 bank partners worldwide.

Also, thanks to the Covid-19 safety protocol, contact-less transactions rose and so did the Apple Wallet’s usage. The latter is in use in more than 200 cities around the world. In just the US and Canada alone, last year, customers used 30 million NFC tickets in Wallet for events across music, sports, theater, and more.

Furthermore, Apple Wallets are being used to store Covid-19 vaccine cards and also medical insurance details in several countries as well.

The Tragedy of Macbeth poster. Credit: Apple

Apple TV+

Despite jumping in late into the OTT arena, Apple TV+ was able to make create history, as Apple Original series such as Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, original films including Swan Song, The Tragedy of Macbeth, The Velvet Underground, and The Shrink Next Door were able to garner millions of subscribers and also received 763 award nominations and 190 wins, including Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations, 12 Primetime Emmy Award wins across major program categories, Daytime Emmy Awards, SAG Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Peabody Awards, AFI Awards, Critics Choice Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, Kidscreen Awards, and many more.

Time to Run — an audio running experience designed to help users become more consistent and better runners. Credit: Apple

Apple Fitness+

Within one year of launch, Fitness+ has grown big with the addition of close to 2,000 studio-style sessions, the largest library of workout content in 4K Ultra High Definition, covering 11 different workout types — including HIIT, Strength, Core, Yoga, Pilates, Dance, Cycling, Rowing, Treadmill (for running and walking), and Mindful Cooldown — with new content added each week.

Furthermore, Fitness+ has introduced guided meditation and also mindfulness activities to improve mental health and overall wellbeing.

Also, the Apple Fitness+ feature Time to Walk, has become popular among Apple Watch users. It offers an inspiring audio experience on Apple Watch, with 42 guests to date including Prince William, Dolly Parton, Anthony Joshua, Randall Park, Camila Cabello, Kurt Fearnley, Naomi Campbell, Bebe Rexha, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and more.

Apple Cloud+ and One service

Last year, the company introduced the new Cloud+ service giving more value-added features including Private Relay, a novel service that protects privacy online. The Hide My Email, is an easy way to create a unique, random email address that forwards to a personal inbox.

Also, Apple One Individual and Apple One Family are now available in over 100 countries and regions, while Apple One Premier is now available in over 20 countries and regions after expanding to 17 new markets last year, including Austria, France, Germany, Malaysia, Portugal, and the United Arab Emirates.

With the Apple One premium plan, users get access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud+.

Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cybersecurity, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.