April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics and Apple are now engaging in a new round of battle, this time in the news platform segment.

Apple is working to integrate its recently purchased online news services operator Next Issue Media, which runs digital magazine subscription service Texture, into its own news team to build a premium subscription-based service, according to Bloomberg News.

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An upgraded Apple News app is forecast to be launched next year, and the tech giant will share a certain amount of profits from the new service with magazine publishers on the platform, according to the news report.

Next Issue Media was created in 2009 jointly by by magazine publishers, including Conde Nast, Meredith and Hearst. Its news magazine service Texture, which has a monthly subscription cost of US$9.99, is often referred to as “the Nexflix of magazines” for its business model, which allows subscribers to access more than 200 titles.

Apple announced its acquisition of the online news platform on March 12.

“Advanced search capability, news and music services are essential for smartphone makers to better understand user tastes and needs,” an IT industry official said. “Above all, the real-time news service which does not have copyright issues compared to music services is most important,” the source said.

Samsung has been ramping up its own efforts to take a lead in the news platform segment. In August last year, its investment arm Samsung Venture Investment poured 3 billion won (US$2.80 million) in Cyworld, which was once Korea’s largest social networking website but now offers news curating services.

Samsung has been trying to combine its voice recognition-enabled AI solution Bixby and Cyworld’s news service, named Q, which offers news content tailored for an individual user’s interests.

Cyworld is preparing to launch the Q service in Indonesia, founding a local office, hiring staff and seeking partnerships there, as the nation is one of the markets where Samsung tops the smartphone segment.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)