Apple unveils subscription news service

Apple on Monday unveiled its news subscription service, Apple News+, which will offer customers access to over 300 magazines, as well as some of the country’s largest newspapers, through their Apple News app.

Apple will charge users $9.99 per month for the service, which has been described as a “Netflix for news.” Apple News+ customers will gain access to high-profile magazines including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire, Wired and more.

{mosads}The magazines will be available in a digital format designed specifically for a phone screen, with “live covers” that play videos on a loop and tables of contents designed to be easily clicked.

“It’s like having National Geographic designed for my phone,” Roger Rosnor, Apple’s vice president for applications, said at the launch event in Cupertino, Calif., on Monday.

The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal, both of which are mainly available behind a paywall, will be available through Apple News+ as well.

Rosnor said it would cost $8,000 per year to subscribe to each publication individually.

Earlier this month, the Journal reported that Apple had frustrated publishers with its plan to keep 50 percent of the revenue from the subscription news service. The rest of the revenue will be divided among the publishers based on how much time readers spend reading each outlet, according to Apple’s plan.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reportedly declined to join the news service.

Apple began installing the Apple News app in its iOS software in 2015. Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday said it is the No. 1 news app in the world, with 5 billion articles read per month.

The Apple News+ feature became available on Monday in the United States and Canada, with availability in the United Kingdom expected for later this year.