I only get this feeling once a year. It’s stronger and stronger than what I get when I hear that the Apple store is down pending a new product release. You see, this is the feeling of intense indifference I get when, just before a new iPhone is released, Apple tells you that the latest iPhone is the one to get. Cupertino follows me around my favorite sports telecast and sends me ads — ads that say, “The iPhone you’re sick of hearing about! It’s so cool!” This year, however, it’s as if Apple realized that this isn’t the best strategy. Instead, I’ve been bombarded with a whole new message — and it’s not even about the iPhone 13. Instead, it’s an ad that asks a simple question: “What’s in the Apple One?” Honestly, I have no idea. I know it’s a kind of software package, with different levels depending on your level of dependence on Apple software. Here, the ad lists all the great things you can get: Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, and Apple iCloud+. This immediately leads me to a stark thought — why isn’t there Apple Music+ or Apple Arcade+? This is certainly a desperate omission. Of course, the ad bounces to a quirky, quirky tune as it goes through each service in turn. Apple Music has “Spatial Audio,” Apple Fitness+ has “Every Kind of Workout,” and Apple TV+ has “The Biggest Stars.” Which makes me feel sorry for Apple Arcade. It has only 200 games without ads. A strange temptation from the company that seems more excited about giving customers more ads than less. Finally, one is left slightly breathless. So much so that one can’t really be bothered to see which packages include how much software and how much they cost. Also: Both used Apple AirTags to track their belongings. Only one turned out good Now, why would Apple market the Apple One at this particular time? The iPhone 14 is released, so strongly rumored, on September 7. Could this ad mean that Apple wants you to delve into its ecosystem before the new phone arrives? Could this, in turn, mean that Apple fears the iPhone 14 won’t be all that? Oh come on now. It will definitely have a better camera. Every iPhone does. Every iPhone ad tells me that.
