Apple 'to bundle subscription services'

The bundle could group together services such as Apple Music, TV+ and News+ under one monthly subscription fee.

This is according to 9to5Mac, which claims it found evidence of a potential Apple services bundle in the company's beta version of iOS 13.5.5, including phrases such as "bundle offer" and “bundle subscription” in internal files that weren’t present in previous versions of iOS.

“These codes are related to the management system of Apple’s own services subscriptions like Apple News+, so we believe the company still has plans to offer a discount combo with its services,” the 9to5Mac report reads.

Last year, Apple introduced a number of subscription services, which led to complaints of subscription fatigue.

In November, Bloomberg reported that an Apple services bundle could be offered as soon as 2020. The report also said Apple was considering the move "in a bid to gain more subscribers".

But there may a stumbling block to rolling out the service bundle plan, which exists in Apple’s contracts with the 'Big Three' record labels. Last year, The Financial Times reported that Apple’s contracts for Apple Music does not allow the company to bundle the music streaming service with its other subscription services.

Apple's contracts include multi-year licensing deals with Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music for Apple Music. However, the deals could be amended to include new provisions.

Launching one bundle plan could see users ditching multiple subscription services for one comprehensive plan. However, some have said they prefer a combination of services offered at different companies, like Apple Music for music and Netflix for video content, instead of Apple TV+.