professorkamrankhan@gmail.com 
The Apple One subscription provides access to Apple’s premium online services for a single monthly fee. Almost five years after launch, is it still something that is worth paying for?
Launched in late 2020, Apple One became an essential collection of services if you’re highly enmeshed in the Apple ecosystem. With the fifth anniversary a short few months away, it is a collection that still offers a compelling bundle, to the right customer.
However, as an all-in-one service covering multiple areas, it’s not necessarily going to cover everyone’s needs. In some cases, a person may find more worth in getting separate subscriptions instead of a package.
This is where Apple One stands as it approaches an important milestone.
Is Apple One Individual worth it?
Apple One is available in three broad plans, with each offering a bit more incentive to subscribe than the last.
The base package is Individual, which costs $19.95 per month. For that money, you get access to Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud+.
The small iCloud+ allowance is a bit deceiving, as that doesn’t include all of the extra features that iCloud+ provides beyond storage. There are things like iCloud Private Relay to hide your UP address, Hide My Email, HomeKit Secure Video support, custom email domains, and even features of the Invites app.
Apple One combines multiple services into one subscription
Broken down on price, the iCloud allowance is worth $0.99, Apple TV+ is $9.99, the Apple Music subscription is $10.99, and Apple Arcade is $6.99 per month.
In effect, Apple One Individual is the equivalent of $9 per month cheaper than paying for all of the services separately.
In terms of when it is worth buying Apple One over separates, it certainly makes sense if you subscribe to Apple Music and Apple TV+, as you would be saving money. If all you subscribe to is Apple Music, it’s harder to justify unless you like the look of the other services and think they’re worth the $9 shortfall.
Is Apple One Family worth it?
The Family plan is the middle package, and is pretty similar in makeup to the Individual plan, with some exceptions.
First, as the name implies, it’s a plan that can be shared with up to five people. If you have a family that all uses Apple’s services, this could be a good way for everyone to save a bit of money instead of paying for separate subscriptions.
The allowance for iCloud+ is also increased, going from 50GB to 200GB. Given you’re sharing the storage capacity with other people, that makes sense for this element to be bumped up.
‘Severance’ is a massive show on Apple TV+ – Image Credit: Apple
In terms of the cost breakdown, it is $25.95 per month, which is about $11 cheaper than buying separates. That includes the increased $2.99 cost for more iCloud+ storage and the $16.99 monthly fee for Apple Music under the shareable family plan.
This is certainly a better deal if you have multiple people who use Apple Services and wants to have it all. It’s less useful if you’re on your own, as you would have a better time with the Individual plan and paying for the iCloud increase separately.
Is Apple One Premier worth it?
The highest level of the collection is Premier. At $37.95 per month, it is the most expensive, but it also offers the most.
At its core, it’s the same as the Family plan, in that it can be shared with up to five people. However, for a start, the iCloud+ allowance is up to 2TB, which costs $9.99 per month on its own.
Along with Apple TV+, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade, you then gain access to Apple Fitness+, which would cost $9.99 per month. The addition of Apple News+ is also beneficial, if your group includes avid readers or news junkies, priced at $12.99 per month normally.
Apple Fitness+ is added for Apple One Premier subscribers
In effect, Premier covers the equivalent of almost $67 in subscriptions, or a savings of $29 per month.
This all sounds great, but only if you and your family actually use the additional elements. Not everyone particularly wants to use Apple Fitness+, or read from the additional publications of News+.
If these elements aren’t really used by the group, or you’re on your own and don’t need them either, sticking to one of the lower plans may be a better idea.
Apple One into the future
While Apple One is an appealing subscription that offers pretty good value, it’s also one that has improved that value over time. It’s certainly better than it was two years ago, with advancements made in Apple Music and Apple TV+ content, not to mention the expanded Apple Arcade catalog.
Apple is rumored to be working on an AI health companion that could use data stored on your device and process it locally. This seems like a service Apple could tack on to Apple One as a future benefit, especially considering the existing Apple Fitness+ inclusion in Premier.
Maybe Apple Intelligence could play a role, with subscribers getting credits for advanced AI features down the road.
With the prospect of Apple widening its Services always on the horizon, Apple One is a decent subscription for the company’s users, both now and for the next few years.
