A "Christmas Surprise From Apple" - Is This It?

This week Apple started sending a sort of holiday gift to users of Apple TV+ this week. The gift appears to align with the 3-extra-months of Apple TV+ situation going on with users that purchased Apple hardware in the relatively recent past. In October it was revealed that Apple would extend the 12-months-free Apple TV+ access they'd given to hardware customers. Now Apple's delivering $4.99 credit in November, December, and January to people that have a subscription to Apple TV+ (that pay an amount of money for said subscription each month.)

The amount of money customers usually pay for a subscription for Apple TV+ is approximately $4.99 USD. Users can also subscribe to Apple TV+ for $49.99 annually – or otherwise get their subscription as part of a package deal.

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As noted by Apple Insider and MacWorld, the amount of credit Apple sent to users in November is either $4.99 or £4.99 or each users' region equivalent.

The amount of credit delivered to each user is added much in the same way a gift card is added – it cannot be exchanged for cash. The amount can be used for Apple services, movies, games, or apps. If you pay for an Apple TV+ subscription right now, check your email. You likely have a credit waiting for you.

A rumor appeared recently that suggested we might see a "Christmas surprise from Apple." The leaker L0vetodream said it'd be a "winter exclusive, good for winter." That could mean a lot of things – though we're not holding our collective breath for anything extraordinary.

This same user followed up with a puppy Tweet that claimed "I have actually retired," so it's possible there is no real "surprise" at all... but there's a pretty decent chance it'll be something tiny like this credit, rather than another new Apple hardware product.