Apple News+ Subscriptions Have Sputtered Since Launch

Apple News+, the tech giant’s paid news service, has failed to add new subscribers since it launched in March, according to CNBC.

The service attracted about 200,000 subscriptions in the 48 hours after it launched, but the number has stayed at that level since then. Subscribers who use the service have access to about 300 top publications, including The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal. The service costs $9.99 a month, and features categories like news, sports and entertainment. Apple Music has significantly more subscribers, with a user base of about 60 million.

Many publishers are disappointed with the revenue from the service, as they expected it to be much bigger. Apple takes about half the revenue from every subscriber, and publishers divvy up the rest, based on how much time a person spends reading content. One publisher said that his company gets between $20,000 and $30,000 a month, which is much less than it planned to get.

The company hasn’t really been advertising the service, and is reportedly considering adding it as a bundle with Apple Music and Apple TV+. People familiar with the matter said that Apple is committed to the service, and will continue to nourish it.

Apple News+ attracts a younger and more female demographic, the company said.

In other Apple news, Apple’s Mac Pro — which, according to some reports, is the tech giant’s most powerful computer — will debut in December at a retail price of $5,999. CNBC reported that the starting price does not include a display.

The 6K Pro Display XDR will be available to accompany the Mac Pro, but that retails for an additional $4,999. That means the total setup would cost roughly $11,000 before taxes and ancillary items. The display stand costs another $1,000.

There is no official December release date yet.

The site noted that the computer is not geared toward everyone, but targets professionals who need a high level of computing power, such as video editors and those who work with music for media.