Nobody likes paying for a full year of app subscriptions upfront, especially when you’re not sure whether you’ll still be using them in a few months. Apple has heard that frustration, well, sort of.
The company has announced a new App Store subscription type: monthly billing at an annual equivalent price. Sounds amazing, right? But there’s a catch. Monthly billing is locked in for a 12-month commitment period.
What does the new subscription type actually offer?
Instead of choosing between a relatively more expensive monthly plan or a discounted annual payment (that’s how most apps lure customers to go for the yearly plans), App Store subscribers can now pay the lower, annual-equivalent rate (annual price divided by 12) on a monthly basis.
For instance, an app that might cost $9.99 per month or $90 upfront could now cost you $7.50 per month over 12 installments. In other words, you’ll get the same discount as the annual price, without paying the entire amount up front.
Apple also adds transparency to the new subscription type by letting users view the number of completed payments and the remaining payments toward the subscription at any given time. Further, like regular subscriptions, the company will also send reminder emails and push notifications before renewals.
Developers can already begin testing the new subscription type in App Store Connect and Xcode, and the feature will go live for users on iOS 26.4 and equivalent platform versions from next month.
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What’s the catch?
As I said before, the monthly billing is locked in for a year. Even if you cancel a subscription in the ninth or tenth month, you’d still have to pay the remaining three or two installments (basically complete a payment of 12 monthly annual-equivalent payments) before you can get out of the commitment for the next 12-month cycle.
While it might sound like a trap, the new App Store subscription model actually strikes the right balance between monthly installment flexibility at a discounted rate and the developers getting paid their set annual rate.
What’s odd, however, is that the new model isn’t launching in the United States and Singapore for now, with no official timeline given for when either market will be included. To me, the new tier looks like the result of regulatory pressure for subscription transparency, but either way, it lets you divide an app’s annual subscription fee, usually paid upfront, into 12 committed monthly installments.
Serials have become the backbone of the streaming era, especially on Netflix. Serialized television is when a show’s plot unfolds in sequential order over the course of a season. It’s long-form storytelling that typically works best with dramas—Stranger Things, The Crown, etc. Watching the episodes in release order matters. Often, these shows are binged because the complex character arcs and cliffhangers encourage streaming multiple episodes at once.
Serial shows can feel like homework, especially when you fall behind on an episode and need to catch up. That always happens to me, and it leads to anxiety I didn’t want. Thankfully, Netflix offers shows where viewers can jump at any time and not feel lost. These episodic series are perfect for jumping around and picking the episodes you want to watch. One of the most famous comedies ever fits the criteria of an episodic sitcom. Anthology shows, including a Netflix sci-fi classic, are also ideal for watching episodes out of order.
Black Mirror
Welcome to your worst nightmare
Black Mirrorwants to scare you. Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology series has been warning humanity about the dangers of technology since 2011. It seems like ages ago that Rory Kinnear had sexual intercourse with a pig in the first episode. Apologies for the spoiler, but the media’s role in the spread of misinformation has never been more relevant.
Black Mirror features self-contained episodes with a beginning, middle, and an end. There has only been one direct sequel: USS Callister: Into Infinity, a season 7 episode that continues the events of season 4’s USS Callister. Otherwise, feel free to jump around and check out the best episodes of each season. Since most episodes feature bleak endings, I’ll leave you with one that ends on an upbeat note: San Junipero.
Seinfeld
Greatest comedy ever?
Comedies are the perfect vehicle for episodic storytelling. While having an overarching plot throughout a season helps attract viewers, many comedy fans are just looking for a few laughs. Write a self-contained story with numerous jokes over 20 to 30 minutes, and you’re ready to go. Seinfeld, aka the show about nothing, is the ideal escape from serialized dramas.
Seinfeld stars Jerry Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself as he navigates the comedic scene in New York City. The show revolves around Jerry’s interactions with his friends George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards). The gang faces a problem, hilarity ensues, and the episode ends. That’s really all you need to know. Enjoy the laughs.
I hate referring to episodes of television as “mini-movies.” However, that’s how I would describe the eight episodes of Cabinet of Curiosities. Each director puts their own signature style on a story and brings audiences into their terrifying creation. Del Toro wrote two of the episodes, including one about a demon being summoned. Some are scarier than others, but horror fans will feel right at home with this series.
Beat Bobby Flay
Bobby brings the heat
As I’ve gotten older, the Food Network has become one of my favorite channels. I mean, who doesn’t love food? I love eating my (average) home-cooked meal while watching contestants duke it out in the kitchen onmy favorite show, Beat Bobby Flay. The competition breaks down into two rounds. In the first round, two chefs have 20 minutes to construct a meal using a secret ingredient. The winner advances to the main event, where they face off against Bobby Flay.
The challenger gets to pick the dish for the final round, so Bobby has a disadvantage. However, Bobby is an award-winning chef with a few tricks up his sleeves. He can handle making a version of your grandmother’s lasagna. With episodes available on Netflix, be prepared to learn why Bobby always throws chiles into his dishes.
S.W.A.T.
Broadcast TV still knows how to make entertaining programs
The procedural is a genre best produced on broadcast television. Name a cop, doctor, or law drama—chances are it’s a procedural on broadcast TV. While the way we watch television has changed, people still love these types of shows on CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC. Law & Order, NCIS, and Criminal Minds are procedurals that gained a bigger following thanks to streaming.
S.W.A.T. is cut from the same cloth as Chicago P.D. and CSI. Sergeant Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson (Shemar Moore) is tasked with leading a new S.W.A.T. unit in the LAPD. This action-packed show utilizes a “case of the week” formula in which the team must solve a dangerous situation, such as active shooters and hostage situations. You’re in and out in 44 minutes. What’s better than that?
Netflix has more content coming your way
After you’re done watching these shows, stay on Netflix for more top-notch content. Netflix has an entire section dedicated to thrillers, and this week, The Guilty and El Camino are two of the section’s best. Keep an eye out for new movies, like Alan Ritchson’s War Machine, which is currently in the streamer’s top 10.
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