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Opinion
Shira Ovide

Apple’s New Services Come With Built-In Conflicts

Can it fairly sell its own apps and those made by rivals?

The ability to tip the scales is too hard to ignore.

The ability to tip the scales is too hard to ignore.

Photographer: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images

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Expect to hear a lot of hyperbole at an Apple Inc. event on Monday —  I’m already dreading the hoopla — about the company transforming entertainment and news. (Is it, though?) One thing Apple isn’t likely to discuss is its growing conflicts of interest. 

The company plans to unveil a video service that will include TV series and movies backed by Apple and provide access to existing Netflix-like digital video services (but not to Netflix itself). Apple also plans a subscription service for an online collection of news publications and magazines. The announcements are part of Apple’s effort to push more add-on hardware and digital services to offset stagnating sales of iPhones, which generate 60 percent of Apple’s revenue.