iCloud+ gets an upgrade in 100 countries: Free Apple TV, Arcade, and new Music Select

Macworld

Apple has announced that paying iCloud+ subscribers now have access to Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and curated Apple Music stations as well as the cloud storage they originally signed up for. But this applies in certain countries only, and the list doesn’t include the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.

The upgrade covers every paid tier, all the way down to 50GB, and Apple insists there’s no extra cost for the additional services. Wherever the new offer is available, the company will stop selling standalone subscriptions to Apple TV and Apple Arcade, and any existing standalone subscriptions will be cancelled and moved to iCloud+. It isn’t entirely clear how the transition will be handled but Apple says those affected “will continue to have uninterrupted access to Apple TV and Apple Arcade through their iCloud+ subscription.”

The TV and Arcade elements are straightforward: paying iCloud+ subscribers gain access to these exactly as if they had a standalone subscription. But the Apple Music feature requires a little more explanation:

“With an iCloud+ subscription, [users] will also have access to Apple Music Select, a collection of ad-free stations programmed by Apple Music for lean-back listening, offering a wide range of regionally relevant music to enjoy, as well as Top Songs, 80s, 90s, and more,” says Apple. “Apple Music Select stations are available in the Home tab of the Apple Music app.”

But it’s important to note that Apple Music itself is not included, although there is a discount for those who wish to add it to their portfolio.

A press release for the move can be found on individual Apple country pages. There are more than 100 such countries, but (without wishing to be too Euro-centric) the list may strike Macworld readers more for what’s not on it. Aside from the names above, the larger European nations all miss out: there’s no Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Denmark, Norway or Sweden.

But the new offer does include the most populous country in the world, and some Indian customers have been debating its merits as compared to the larger Apple One bundle, which is being phased out in countries which get the expanded iCloud+ offering. Apple One is still officially listed on Apple’s India site at 195 rupees per month for the individual package, which includes Apple Music as well as iCloud+, TV, and Arcade. The cheapest 50GB iCloud+ subscription, by contrast, costs 75 rupees per month, so customers can add a full Music subscription for the discounted price of 115 rupees (revealed on the Indian press release) and still come out slightly ahead.

iCloud+ is effectively replacing Apple One, in other words, at a fractionally better price and with the option of leaving out Apple Music (and replacing it with Apple Music Select). Of course, that doesn’t mean Apple can’t use the additional services to justify putting up the price further down the line.

Apple says the upgraded offering will roll out in the 100+ included countries “through the end of September.” It isn’t clear when the offer will appear in the U.S. and other excluded countries, or if it will at all.