Apple rolls out virtual fitness service, subscription bundle, catering to pandemic work-from-home

(Reuters) - Apple Inc rolled out a new virtual fitness service and a bundle of all its subscriptions, Apple One, focusing a holiday-season product launch on services that are the backbone of Apple’s growth strategy and that cater to customers working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apple also introduced a new Apple Watch Series 6 that monitors blood oxygen and will cost $399 and a more basic Apple Watch SE for $279.

But the bevy of incremental updates to existing hardware and subscription price tinkering disappointed investors, with Apple shares closing up 0.2%.

The Apple One bundle will cost $15 per month for an individual plan or $20 per month for a family plan and include television, music and games. Apple is also offering a bundle for $30 per month that adds news, the fitness service and more storage.

“It’s a lot more aggressive pricing than I thought,” said Ben Bajarin, principal analyst for consumer market intelligence at research firm Creative Strategies, adding that Apple customers already paying $15 a month for family plans to some of the company’s content servers would likely find the largest bundle a “nobrainer.”

Apple’s top streaming music rival Spotify Technology criticized the bundle, saying Apple was abusing its dominant market position to favor Apple Music. Spotify, which is pursuing an antitrust case against Apple in the European Union and has spoken with U.S. authorities probing the iPhone maker, charges $10 a month for its streaming service that competes with Apple but will not be eligible for Apple’s bundle.

In a statement responding to Spotify’s criticism, Apple said the bundle was aimed at existing users of its services and that “customers can discover and enjoy alternatives to every one of Apple’s services.”