Apple Takes Its $1 Bundle to More Than 100 Countries

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple Inc. is extending a deeply discounted subscription package to more than 100 countries, combining cloud storage, television streaming, and gaming for the equivalent of about $1 per month. The offer is aimed primarily at markets across the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia, and Eastern Europe.

The package begins with the standard $1 entry-level iCloud+ plan, which traditionally includes 50 gigabytes of cloud storage. Subscribers also receive iCloud Private Relay, designed to encrypt safari browsing traffic and mask IP addresses, as well as Hide My Email, which generates unique, random email addresses to prevent tracking.

Apple’s Services division includes the App Store, Apple Pay, Apple Music, iCloud, and streaming entertainment. In recent fiscal quarters, it has consistently produced record-breaking revenue, frequently surpassing $24 billion per quarter, as hardware sales—particularly the flagship iPhone—navigate plateaus in mature Western economies.

The international upgrade adds Apple TV to the base subscription in the participating regions, expanding the streaming service’s footprint to 59 new countries. Apple TV features high-budget original programming, movies, and documentaries.

Apple Arcade is also included. The premium gaming subscription provides ad-free access to a curated catalog of mobile games without in-app purchases. A third component, Apple Music Select, offers access to a selection of ad-free internet radio stations rather than the full Apple Music catalog. The localized audio tier is tailored to regions with varying network bandwidths and cost sensitivities.

The strategy departs from Apple’s usual premium pricing model. In developing markets across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, the company competes with Netflix, Spotify, and local telecom operators that use heavily localized, budget-friendly pricing. The roughly $1 monthly bundle lowers the barrier to entry to Apple’s ecosystem while prioritizing subscriber acquisition and long-term ecosystem lock-in over immediate average revenue per user, or ARPU, in those regions.

The offering is notably absent from mature, high-revenue markets such as the United States, where Apple continues to charge premium prices for individual services and its high-tier bundles. In the U.S., the individual Apple One plan costs $19.95 per month, while the Family and Premier tiers cost $25.95 and $37.95 per month, respectively.

Apple launched Apple One in late 2020 to consolidate its digital offerings into a single monthly billing cycle. By placing TV, Arcade, and radio services directly inside the $1 iCloud+ subscription in selected countries, Apple is bypassing that premium bundle in those markets. The pricing structure acknowledges the purchasing power parity of consumers in the target nations and offers a suite of digital services at a fraction of the cost of a single standalone service in Western markets.

The upgraded iCloud+ plan is active in regional hubs including India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Türkiye (Turkey), and the United Arab Emirates. Its availability spans a vast footprint of over 100 countries, with the complete list including Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.