Apple has just announced the launch of several different services to bolster its media offering to the public.
Apple Credit Card
The technology giant announced the launch of a credit card in conjunction with MasterCard and Goldman Sachs. There will be no annual fees, no international fees, no late fees and a "low interest rate".
Initially this card is limited to the US, but you can easily imagine the tech giant will want to take it worldwide which would put it in direct competition with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB).
As a bonus, the card will come with 2% cash back for every purchase. Apple plans to integrate machine learning and Apple maps into the card's offering so users can easily see their spending.
Apple TV+
In direct competition to Netflix, Apple is launching its own content subscription service which will have content from Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Anniston, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Carrell and Reese Witherspoon.
We didn't get any details of the price, but you can imagine it won't cost much more than Netflix. It may even be cheaper to start off with.
Apple is also launching a new Apple TV app that will work with pay TV and streaming services like HBO. Users will be able to pay for only the channels they want to pay for.
Apple News+
Apple also announced it is launching a paid subscription service which will include access to around 300 magazine titles like Men's Health and National Geographic. Subscribers will also get access to a limited number of online newspapers.
The service is expected to come to Australia later this year.
Foolish takeaway
The Apple share price was down around 1% since the start of trade on Monday (including after hours) in response to this news.
In the longer-term I expect this could significantly add to Apple's earnings because it is already leveraging off Apple's current App Store, Apple TV and Apple news ecosystems. One of the best indirect ways we can invest in Apple is through BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ). I believe that the FAANG shares will make excellent long-term holdings as long as they are not broken up.
