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Television

Apple To Revamp TV App in Step Toward Simplifying Video Services (bloomberg.com) 22

Posted by msmash from the up-next dept.
Apple will redesign its TV app in a step toward consolidating the company's various video offerings later this year, part of its efforts to become a bigger player in the streaming world. Bloomberg News: The company is preparing a new version of the app for release around December as part of an upcoming tvOS software update, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is private. The app, which first launched in 2016, aggregates content from iTunes, the Apple TV+ subscription service, live sports networks and third-party offerings like Amazon Prime.

As part of the overhaul, the company will discontinue its dedicated apps on the Apple TV set-top box that let users rent and buy movies and shows. It will also remove the movie and TV show sections from the iTunes Store app on iPhones and iPads. The idea is to steer more customers toward the main TV app, which sits at the center of Apple's expanding video strategy. There, users are able to subscribe to TV+ as well as third-party video services like Starz and Paramount+. The app already lets customers rent and buy programs, making a separate iTunes option unnecessary.
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Apple To Revamp TV App in Step Toward Simplifying Video Services More

Apple To Revamp TV App in Step Toward Simplifying Video Services

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  • limited basic $2/mo all in with sports $69.99/mo

    And to get most of our non sports content you need to buy the all in pack. We don't have an sports free choice with any of our good content.

  • ESPN has sportsball (not my cup of tea, but some folks obviously enjoy it).
    Disney+ has Star Wars and Marvel.
    Paramount+ has Star Trek.
    Hulu has Futurama and some other popular TV shows I can't be arsed to recall at the moment.
    YouTube is free with ads. Lots of ads. And sponsored content. And more ads.
    Peacock has... a Katy Perry song with the same name.
    Netflix has Stranger Things and some dystopian sci-fi show I've yet to watch.
    Amazon Prime has free 2 day shipping (and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which my Mom

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • When it works right, which is most of the time after you grant appropriate permissions, the TV app can aggregate all of the installed apps on your device.

        The app I use that aggregates everything I want to watch into one place is named "Kodi". That's even with having legitimate subscriptions to a few of the services up there in my list, I'd still rather have a local copy and avoid all the little annoyances the streaming services tend to include. Such as auto-playing promotions for other content on the service.

        As to purchasing on iTunes, I'm probably old school here but if I'm paying for a movie, I want the physical copy. Sometimes it's even actually just c

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • I'm just saying that the raison d'etre for a streaming service should be the content, not that it's really good at telling you where to go for the stuff it doesn't have. That'd be like saying "Well, this store never has anything in stock that I'm looking to buy, but the employees are incredibly knowledgeable about which of their competitors has what I'm looking for!"

            Plug piracy if it makes you feel smug and superior, there are days that I think about it doing it with the continued enshittification of streaming, but that doesn't have anything to do with the TV app on ATV.

            My perspective on Apple's TV app is based on the standalone version that they produce for other streaming hardware platforms. If you're in Ap

            • Comment removed based on user account deletion

              • You keep conflating the TV App with the Apple TV+ streaming service.

                That's actually what I assumed TFA was about, Apple's 3rd party app. I'm man enough to admit I goofed there, and if mods feel my original post is worth dinging my karma over that, "Offtopic" would be the most appropriate. If this was Reddit I'd just tuck my tail between my legs and nuke the post.

                Kodi doesn't exist, they'll have you believe that's because of the "Walled Garden", but weirdly, that doesn't stop other free and open source software (VLC) from getting on the platform. The reality is, like you, they just look down on the platform and don't want to play ball with tit.

                Kodi isn't allowed because it can execute interpreted code which is a no-no in Apple's developer agreement. It has various Python plug-ins and such. I am otherwise familiar with ways of viewing "high seas" conte

              • The TV App predates the streaming service.

                I gave you the benefit of the doubt on my previous reply, but I just checked on and Apple actually does brand their 3rd party app for other platforms as "Apple TV". [google.com] So, if Apple isn't actually planning on making any changes to that app, blame Apple for their own use of confusing branding.

        • Not everyone has the time, patience and understanding to set up Kodi or Plex or whatever. They are specifically Appleâ(TM)s target market.

          • Not everyone has the time, patience and understanding to set up Kodi or Plex or whatever. They are specifically Appleâ(TM)s target market.

            I'm pretty much indifferent to Apple's hardware streaming platform, as inexpensive alternatives exist and they work great. My gripe (which I'm guessing a few folks with mod points didn't realize) is that Apple also has a 3rd party app called "Apple TV" which was created to allow people who don't own an Apple TV to watch Apple's streaming service and iTunes store video content. Another Slashdotter pointed out to me that it is a distinct thing from the similarly named app which exists on the Apple TV hardwa

            • The app and Apple's streaming service are both not very good.

              Do any of the streaming services have good apps? None of the ones I've used have been good.

    • Amazon (Score:2)

      by crow ( 16139 )

      I'm not disagreeing with your point, but going off on a tangent on Prime Video:

      Amazon has a number of shows they produce themselves, plus a huge catalog of cheap B movies (and that's often being generous). If you're looking for some weird sci-fi stuff that you've never heard of, you'll find plenty of it, some of it surprisingly worth watching. As for what they produce themselves, I did like "Rings of Power," though it didn't live up to the hype. I just finished the "Wheel of Time," which I thought was re

      • This will all change next year when Amazon says you either pay extra for Prime Video or they insert ads.

        I've been saying since the beginning that I'd have been thrilled to have a cheaper tier without the streaming service. It's like Amazon answered that with "Okay, how about we raise the price of the streaming service? Voila, you're now on the cheaper tier!" I guess that qualifies as a case of be careful what you wish for.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by crow ( 16139 )

          Be glad that your wishes had no impact on the decision, so it's not your fault. I suppose you could look at it as they're avoiding raising the Prime price by splitting off the video costs (just like they always have with the full Prime Music subscription).

  • They discontinue and rename everything!
  • Before revamping their app, maybe Apple should take a hard look at the quality of their content. I've suffered through two seasons of "Invasion" and every installment sets a new standard for awful. It's approaching "Lost in Space" bad, and I do mean the sentient vegetables episode. The embarrassment of the actors comes through in several scenes, but at least they're getting paid. If I wasn't "enjoying" a free sample, I'd drop it in a millisecond.

    • I've suffered through two seasons of "Invasion"

      You hated a TV show and sat through two seasons of it anyways? Got a lot of time on your hands or something?

  • I'm really trying to not be all doom and gloom / negative Nancy on this but, I had a bad experience with Amazon Fire TV that this change worries me will be repeated here.

    I've had Rokus for years, and thought hey I'll try an Amazon Fire TV for this room... Got it and started adding my servcies... when I got to BritBox I could not find an app.

    After some research it turned out that they don't have an app because Amazon sells BritBox subs.. Now, had there been an option to use my existing sub to unlock the Amaz

  • That thing has sucked since day one.

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