Apple is to revamp Apple TV, at least on the surface, by getting rid of the TV and movies apps so you buy content through the company’s set-top box.
It coincides with Apple increasing the price of Apple TV+. A membership now costs £8.99 rather than the previous £6.99. The change happened on October 25.
News of an upcoming Apple TV rethink comes from serial Apple leaker Mark Gurman, of Bloomberg, who has become something of an oracle on all things Apple.
Apple isn’t going to suddenly get rid of rentals and movie purchases altogether, but will bring them together in the central Apple TV app.
We will now get categories within the app instead of separate mini apps, which we have today.
Gurman says the TV show and movie sections on the iTunes app for iPhone and iPad will also be removed, once again letting the Apple TV app become the one place to head for all your viewed content.
A more cynical take is Apple wants to be able to more effectively upsell Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad users on an Apple TV+ or Apple One subscription. Gurman says it’s part of Apple’s plan to “become a bigger player in the streaming world,” supporting this idea.
However, we’re talking about a simplification of how Apple presents the TV and film arms of its content ecosystem. And that is a sensible thing to do, particularly when the Apple TV app can already be used to rent and buy movies and shows.
To make this a success, though, Apple arguably needs to implement a significant redesign of the Apple TV app. The separate TV and movies apps remain quite popular as they are quicker and clearer to use than the main app.
Apple TV+ stats
Apple has not announced how many people have subscribed to Apple TV+. It did announce it had reached a billion subscribers across all services in August 2023, but third-party estimates suggest the TV arm has closer to 25 million subscribers, according to IndieWire.
Netflix has around 240 million subscribers, Disney Plus around 146 million subscribers. We are in an era of turmoil for the streamers, as each tries to enact measures to both increase its subscriber base and the revenue per user.
Disney Plus recently announced new tiers and higher prices for its service, bumping up current service levels from £7.99 to £10.99. However, you can stick at £7.99 if you are happy with 1080p resolution rather than 4K, and no HDR. From November 1, Disney will also begin an ad-supported tier, for £4.99 a month.
Apple has not announced any plans for a tier with ads, and there remains just the one £8.99-a-month tier, although you can save money with an Apple One subscription. They start at £18.95 a month and bundle together Apple services.
