There’s now a brand new way to read and experience ESSENCE beyond the physical page. Apple announced Monday that it would be relaunching Apple News, now dubbed Apple News+, and of course ESSENCE was tapped to be one of the media companies highlighted during the tech company’s highly anticipated presentation.
“We are bringing magazines to Apple News,” Cook said Monday. “Magazines are iconic, and a part of our culture.”
Apple News+ relaunch comes right as ESSENCE announced its April cover star, Issa Rae, for the magazine’s celebration of diverse beauty. It also comes one month after ESSENCE launched its first-ever digital cover, inspiring conversations around young and fresh talent whose accomplishments transcend the pages we can touch.
For $9.99 per month, Apple New+ subscribers can get access to approximately 300 magazine titles for their entire family. The first month, however, is free.
ESSENCE’s Chief Content And Creative OfficerMoAna Luu is excited that Apple is investing in ESSENCE to share our message of celebrating Black Girl Magic wider with animated covers and bold photography, optimized for the iPhone, iPad and the iMac.
“ESSENCE has been working with the Apple team on this exciting launch showcasing our stunning cover star Issa Rae, in addition to our exciting beauty feature package — both shot by Black female photographers,” Luu said in a statement. “This launch presented us with the perfect opportunity to convey the important message of diversity and inclusion in media.”
“ESSENCE is changing the landscape with the addition of our new video cover element as part of this launch. This was a groundbreaking opportunity for us and we know that our audience will agree,” she added.
ESSENCE’s Chief Digital Officer Darline Jean sees a whole new audience, and increased engagement on the horizon, for the magazine after partnering with Apple’s immersive magazine service.
“Apple News is a dynamic way for ESSENCE to engage our core audience with our robust content,” Jean said in a statement. “It also helps us to attract new followers and broaden our reach on a global scale.”
“Everything here is curated by the Apple News editors, which makes it really easy to highlight the best content around,” Wyatt Mitchell said Monday while demonstrating the new app. “This is really a great example of it. This is ESSENCE designed for the phone.”
ESSENCE readers will be able to use Apple News+ to see more of our April cover story. You can watch the full presentation here.
