New York Times Offers In-App Subscriptions

The New York Times has begun offering digital subscriptions via Apple's in-app subscription feature. The subscription offering puts the Times app in compliance with Apple's revised in-app subscription guidelines. The Times rolled out its digital subscription offerings earlier this year, but they couldn't be purchased directly in an app until today.

NY4
The Times is now the highest profile app to work with Apple's requirements surrounding subscriptions. Current NYT subscribers can login and access their content, and non-subscribers can quickly sign up using their iTunes accounts.

For new users signing up through the app, the Times is charging $14.99/month for NYTimes.com + iPhone App access, $19.99 for website + iPad, and $34.99/month for website + iPhone + iPad. Apple will receive a 30% cut of these subscriptions.

These prices are similar to those offered via the Times website, though NYTimes.com offers a $0.99 promotional price for the first month. In-App subscribers will receive a week-long subscription for free if they share their name, email address and ZIP code with the Times.

Though the deadline for compliance with the new In-App Subscription guidelines came and went yesterday, Apple is reportedly helping developers update their apps to work within the guidelines and allowing some additional time for them to come into compliance.

Top Rated Comments

PDE Avatar
153 months ago
I don't get the NYT pricing. I mean, they could go after a huge market and yet they choose to overprice and limit themselves to a small, but affluent market.

By contrast, I subscribe to the UK's Guardian app for 4 pounds/year and get superb content. Of course, the Guardian still has a free website too.

Crazy to make customers pay for each device they access information on. Why not just limit how many devices you can use at any given time? Well, actually we know why: because they want more money.

I used to read the NYT daily, but because of this I've pretty much stopped.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aawil Avatar
153 months ago
Pretty difficult to justify spending that much every month for news I can get somewhere else for free.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fuchal Avatar
153 months ago
$15 additional to access on your iPhone? What a crock
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chaos215bar2 Avatar
153 months ago
So they want me to pay 75% more if I happen to have an iPhone and iPad and want to use my subscription on both?! How can they possibly justify charging as much as the iPhone + web subscription just to add iPhone access to the iPad + web subscription?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cozmot Avatar
153 months ago
Delusional pricing

The App store issue aside, the Times' pricing scheme, unveiled this spring, is delusional. You will pay more to access the paper's content on your browser, iPad and iPhone than getting a daily paper subscription. Check out the comparison chart at http://read.bi/mJnnDZ. It is this, and not Apple getting a slice of the pie that will make them fail. There aren't enough fools out there to pay these ridiculous prices to sustain the model.

I would have gladly subscribed to a more reasonable pricing scheme, but the Time's has shown that just like most of the old news media, they've got their heads stuck in the past.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KALLT Avatar
153 months ago
I think that the NYT could do much better. A subscription of the paper version of the IHT costs in Europe at around € 35 per month and includes website access. I would have to pay the same amount just to get access on an iPhone and iPad. I do not understand why they just don't offer one reasonable, flat price for any online content, regardless from which device I read it.

The iPhone app of the Guardian, for example, offers a 6-months subscription for just € 3,99. There is no iPad version yet, but the price for the iPhone subscription alone speaks for itself. The price does not have to be that low, but certainly not too high either.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
apple park at night 1

Apple 'Tracking Employee Attendance' in Crackdown on Remote Working

Thursday March 23, 2023 3:41 am PDT by
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer. Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Rumor Recap: 10 New Features and Changes to Expect

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:42 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...
dynamic island

iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor

Friday March 24, 2023 12:27 am PDT by
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models. According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...
maxresdefault

Nothing Launches $149 Ear (2) Wireless Earbuds to Compete With AirPods Pro 2

Wednesday March 22, 2023 9:48 am PDT by
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash. The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
TMobile Sprint

Apple Stops Allowing Sprint iPhone Activations, Removes Sprint References From Online Store

Thursday March 23, 2023 12:06 pm PDT by
Apple is no longer allowing customers who purchase an iPhone, cellular iPad, or Apple Watch to activate a device with now-defunct mobile carrier Sprint. Apple has also removed remaining references to Sprint from its online store. When checking out with a new purchase, Sprint is no longer an option for connectivity, a change that Apple appears to have implemented today. Prior to now, Sprint...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...