• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 28, 2024

After spending years building up its subscription services to support the iPhone and tablets, Apple reportedly is laying off around 100 employees in its digital services group across books and news apps.

The layoffs are a “shift in priorities” but not a change in focus for the division, reports Bloomberg, and the majority of those affected worked in the team that runs the app for Apple Books and Apple Bookstore, as well as engineering and Apple News. It’s not clear whether other services have been impacted.

The division also includes Apple TV Plus, Apple News, and Apple Music — services that drive revenue for the company.

Services accounted for more than 22% of sales in the most recent fiscal year, up from less than 10% a decade ago, but the layoffs just provide space for other companies and apps to move in a take a piece of revenue.

Likewise, a social recommendation engine and app for television shows, movies, podcasts and books backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, reported Wednesday that it now supports more than 7 million registered users. The company does not sell content, but does make recommendations. 

The company says it has reached more than 8 million subscriptions to its entertainment newsletters, suggesting the number makes it the largest newsletter in entertainment.

Subscriptions to Likewise newsletters rose 300% -- tripling in the past year. These were driven by the launch and integration of Pix, the company's AI-powered personal entertainment companion.

The company offers Likewise mobile and connected TV apps, its website, and Pix, a personal entertainment companion available to users via email, text, and WhatsApp.