Dive Brief:

• Apple is further enhancing its services sales pitch with recent advancements surrounding its Apple Wallet offering and forthcoming mixed-reality headset, according to separate announcements. 
• The tech giant this week announced the launch of a new high-yield savings account for Apple Card users in partnership with Goldman Sachs, offering users the ability to more easily grow their Apple Cash rewards. 
• The company is also said to be readying a slew of apps and services compatible with its highly anticipated mixed-reality headset, Bloomberg reported. The moves see Apple grappling with efforts to avoid layoffs amid an iPhone slowdown.

Dive Insight: 

Apple’s intentions to level up its software capabilities arrive as it grapples with slowing iPhone sales and an overall rocky macroeconomic environment that has plagued the tech industry, though the company has made ongoing efforts to avoid layoffs. In its Q1 earnings, the company posted a 5% year-over-year revenue drop, with sales of its core iPhone offering also falling short of estimates. 

First reported by Bloomberg, Apple is said to be loading its augmented reality and virtual reality blended headset, slated to debut in June, with a slew of software and services, including optimized versions of the Safari web browser and core services like calendars and maps. Other additions will span fitness, sports and gaming, a category the company originally wasn’t planning to explore.

More flashy plans include capabilities within Apple Books allowing users to read in virtual reality, similarly immersive TV and video opportunities and 3D renderings of FaceTime participants. The flashy extras see Apple strategizing a stronger selling point for the headset, which carries a hefty price tag of $3,000, a cost that could be far out of reach for many consumers. The market for VR headsets isn’t particularly robust, either — even among tech-savvy Gen Z, only about 30% own a VR device and weekly usage is low.

In a different realm, the company is also pushing ahead into the fintech sector through its tie-up with Goldman Sachs to create a high-yield savings account. The new offering, built into the Apple Card within its Wallet feature, touts an APY of 4.15%, a rate 10 times the national average, per Apple’s announcement. The addition also helps users to more quickly grow value within Daily Cash rewards, offering a stronger incentive for consumers to choose to manage their funds through an iPhone. 

The new savings program rides on the heels of another new financial service by the company, its buy now, pay later program, which it unveiled last month to allow consumers to make purchases of up to $1,000 in installments over six weeks without extra charges. The company is reportedly exploring expanding that service for more expensive purchases.