IT WAS NOTHING like Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone. However, the 2-hour show on March twenty-fifth, put on with the aid of Tim Cook, Jobs’s less histrionic successor as boss of Apple, may nevertheless be remembered as a milestone for the organization—and the entertainment enterprise. Mr. Cook no longer announced the modern-day sleek system. Instead, he unveiled a set of merchandise and services, which included video streaming, information, video games, and even a credit card. As theatre, it becomes underwhelming—celebrity-studded supporting solid along with Oprah Winfrey notwithstanding. But, as a business case, it appears more compelling.
Apple’s 900 million iPhones worldwide, more than six times as many as Netflix subscribers, give it access to a massive capability target market. Analysts speculate that Apple will eventually provide them with a variation of Amazon Prime. Clients pay a flat month-to-month fee for a combination of news, video games, cloud storage, music, and video, which can probably hook up with the employer’s iPhone subscriptions.
Mr. Cook stopped short of announcing a specific subscription carrier, promising instead to roll out five separate services, some of which are merely old services in more excellent packaging. Together, they threaten fellow tech giants, Hollywood, and banks.
