Bharti Airtel has added Apple’s iCloud+, Apple TV and Apple Arcade to its family postpaid plans priced at ₹999 and above, giving customers cloud storage, streaming and gaming benefits under one mobile plan.
The new offering is part of Airtel’s push to make its premium postpaid plans more attractive by combining mobile connectivity with digital services. The company announced the update on Tuesday, September 22.
Under the revised plans, eligible Airtel customers can access iCloud+ along with Apple TV and Apple Arcade without paying an additional subscription fee. iCloud+ allows users to store and sync photos, files, passwords and contacts across Apple devices, while also backing up important data.
Apple TV adds access to Apple’s original films and television shows, while Apple Arcade offers a library of games without advertisements or in-app purchases. The three services are now being brought together as part of Airtel’s eligible family postpaid plans.
The entry-level ₹999 family postpaid plan supports three connections. It includes one primary connection and two additional SIM connections, along with unlimited data, unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS per day. Airtel’s Fastlane technology and spam protection are also part of the plan.
The plan already included several digital benefits, including Amazon Prime, JioHotstar, Google One and Adobe Express Premium. The addition of Apple services expands the entertainment and cloud-storage options available to subscribers.
Airtel’s higher family postpaid plans priced at ₹1,199, ₹1,399 and ₹1,749 also qualify for the new Apple bundle. These plans offer more connections and additional entertainment benefits, with Netflix available on selected higher-priced plans.
Customers who already use Airtel’s eligible plans can claim the benefits through the Airtel app. New customers can also move to an eligible plan through the app or by visiting an Airtel store.
The timing of Airtel’s announcement is significant because Apple recently changed the way its cloud and entertainment services are offered in India. Apple has expanded iCloud+ to include Apple TV and Apple Arcade at no additional cost for subscribers in India.
Apple’s expanded iCloud+ plans are available in India starting at ₹75 a month for 50GB of storage. Apple has also said that Apple TV and Apple Arcade will no longer be available as separate new subscriptions directly through Apple in India. Existing subscribers will continue to have access through the transition.
The expanded Apple bundle can be particularly useful for people who use several Apple devices. Photos, files and other information can be stored in iCloud and accessed across devices, while Family Sharing allows an iCloud+ subscription to be shared with up to five family members.
For Airtel, the move is also part of a broader strategy to attract and retain higher-value customers. Telecom companies are increasingly adding entertainment, cloud storage and other digital services to mobile plans instead of relying only on connectivity.
Airtel has been focusing on premiumisation, or encouraging customers to move towards higher-value plans by offering additional services. The company has also recently changed some prepaid offerings and introduced differentiated postpaid services as it looks to increase average revenue per user.
The latest Apple partnership gives that strategy another layer. Instead of simply offering more mobile data, Airtel is packaging connectivity with services that customers may otherwise purchase separately.
Amit Tripathi, Director of Market Operations at Bharti Airtel, said the company wants to make its family plans simpler while offering services that can be used by different members of a household.
The partnership also builds on an existing relationship between Airtel and Apple. The two companies have previously bundled Apple TV and Apple Music with selected Airtel plans.
The addition of iCloud+ and Apple Arcade now expands that relationship into cloud storage and gaming. It also comes as Indian telecom operators compete to build larger digital ecosystems around their mobile customers.
Customers on family postpaid plans of ₹999 and above can now access Apple’s cloud, streaming and gaming services as part of their existing plan.
The move gives Airtel another way to differentiate its postpaid offerings while giving Apple wider access to Indian users through a major telecom network. As competition in India’s telecom market shifts beyond mobile data and calling, bundled digital services are becoming an increasingly important part of premium postpaid plans.
