Ever wish you could stream Ted Lasso or The Morning Show in full resolution with bright, bold, and immersive visuals on a Google Pixel 8 Pro or Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5?
Well, an Apple TV Plus app for Android could be on the horizon. A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman highlights an Apple job listing for the role “Android Software Engineer – Apple TV app.” That makes it pretty clear that there is interest in bringing one of Apple's main services to a broad range of devices. After all, you can’t get everyone to switch.
The role description notes that the engineer will “lead the development of fun new features and help build an application used by millions to watch and discover TV and sports.” This likely refers to the wide range of content offered by Apple TV Plus, which is all housed in the current Apple TV app we see on first-party and third-party devices. It contains Apple original TV shows, movies, documentaries, and live sports content courtesy of Friday Night Baseball and MLS Season Pass.
Since Apple TV Plus launched in 2019, it has been available on first-party devices like iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV streaming boxes, and Vision Pro within the TV app. The same app is also on third-party devices like smart TVs – including Samsung, Sony, TCL, Fire TV, and Hisense – streaming players and gaming consoles.
Like Apple Music, which offers an Android app, Apple is looking to broaden where you can access the streaming service and let more folks stream the latest shows and movies. As services become a bigger and more important part of Apple, especially from a revenue aspect, it makes sense that they’d want to reach as many users as possible. And that means offering the experience on a mobile device, even if it isn’t made by Apple.
Spreading Apple TV Plus' reach
Suppose a launch on Google’s Play Store for Android occurs. In that case, it will instantly open up Apple TV Plus to many more users on various devices made by Google, Samsung, Motorola, and OnePlus, among many others.
This potential app would also take a page out of other streaming services' playbooks like Peacock, Netflix, and Disney Plus, which all offer a range of apps for nearly every major platform. It makes sense to meet a potential customer or someone already signed up on popular devices.
Considering the job listing hints at sports and mentions it by name, it’ll be interesting to see if the recently launched Sports app will ever appear outside iOS. I’d imagine that is a little less likely as it isn’t subscription-based, and judging by Apple Music’s Android release, Apple likely wants it to tie back to revenue, so beyond Apple TV Plus, it could be Fitness Plus, though that requires an Apple Watch or iPhone.
Apple declined to comment in Bloomberg’s first report on the potential of an Apple TV Plus for Android app, but TechRadar has also reached out and will update if we hear back. In the meantime, you can read up on the best streaming services here.
