Washington (AFP)

Apple's pivot to services - to thwart the inexorable drop in sales of its iconic iPhone - takes shape, with the arrival of its credit card for the general public, Tuesday, and its streaming video service, in November.

Since Tuesday, the titanium credit card, sleek aesthetic dear to the brand - your name, a chip and Apple Apple etched - is available in the United States for the general public.

And the Bloomberg agency said that Apple TV +, the brand's streaming service to the apple, will be launched in November.

Apple has not responded to AFP's requests for the launch date or details of the offer.

Announced at the end of March, these two new products are part of the arsenal that Apple is bent on getting to wean itself off the iPhone, whose sales are down. They now account for less than half of turnover, compared to just over 20% for services.

Apple, which had a total turnover of $ 265.6 billion in the 2018 fiscal year ended in late September, plans to draw $ 50 billion from its range of services in 2020.

The credit card, launched in collaboration with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard, is intended to be superior to its competitors: safer by offering one-time codes for online purchases and cheaper (no annual fees and an interest rate that 'Apple promises lower).

It also offers - like many competitors - a return of up to 3% on every purchase made with the electronic wallet associated with the physical card. The latter is also supposed to help the client to better manage his expenses.

And in these times of repeated scandals over the misuse of private data, Apple promises absolute discretion.

The company itself will not know anything about the uses of the customers and Goldman Sachs is committed never to share the data with a third party for advertising or marketing.

The card has been used since the beginning of the month by a small number of customers and, according to Jennifer Bailey, who oversees Apple Pay, the reception was "positive".

- Television rules the nation ... -

The big leap in video takes two forms: a facelift of its already existing application Apple TV, which allows access to other platforms as well as content to the room of the iTunes Store but, above all, a streaming service subscription giving access to original content (movies, series, documentaries ...) produced by Apple.

During the presentation at the end of March, Apple did not skimp on the stars to unveil this service: Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Jason Momoa or the duet Jennifer Aniston-Reese Witherspoon, which will be on the bill of a titled series "The Morning Show".

If the launch of Apple TV + is confirmed, it will be the same month as Disney +, the streaming platform of the kingdom of Mickey, to be launched on November 12. It will come endowed with all the family catalog of the world number one of the entertainment to confront the world leader of streaming, Netflix, but also Amazon or the offer of CBSViacom.

According to information from Bloomberg, which quotes anonymous sources, Apple could offer a free trial period time to expand its catalog of original productions, when Amazon, Disney or Netflix have them, an extremely rich offer.

According to the Financial Times, Apple expects to spend $ 6 billion on original content, against about $ 14 billion committed this year by Netflix.

In addition to Apple Pay, Apple TV +, the App Store, Apple Music and iCloud, the Cupertino group also wants to expand its service offering by launching Apple Arcade this fall, a subscription to video games. Since the end of March, it has been offering Apple News +, a unique subscription system, at $ 9.99 per month, which gives access to more than 300 titles, especially magazines.

© 2019 AFP