Is Apple's Product Strategy Severed from Reality?

Apple is no stranger to playing the long game, but recent reports indicate that Apple TV+ is losing over $1 billion annually despite a hefty $5 billion annual content budget. With just 45 million subscribers, Apple TV+ lags far behind streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+, raising questions about whether this is a smart product bet or a costly miscalculation.

But let's take a product lens to this.

Is Apple TV+ Really a Failure?

If you judge by revenue alone, Apple TV+ is struggling. However, Apple's strategy might not be about direct profitability at all. Apple rarely competes on price or volume—it competes on experience and ecosystem lock-in.

Apple TV+ is designed to enhance Apple's ecosystem, making its services (Apple One), hardware (Apple TV, iPhones, iPads, Macs), and brand more compelling. The value isn't just in the number of subscribers—it's in customer lifetime value (CLV) across Apple's entire product line.

The Cost of Competing in a Saturated Market