Apple plans big changes to Apple TV app

Apple could overhaul its Apple TV app by the end of the year, in a bid to make it easier for users to acquire content without needing to access other apps to buy or rent content.

The current landscape for Apple's video content sales and rental is one consisting of multiple apps. While the Apple TV app was meant to be a way to aggregate videos from Apple's various services, it still meant users were often funneled into the other apps to buy and rent items.

According to Bloomberg, the Apple TV app could see a big change in tvOS 17.2, which should be released sometime in December.

In the change, Mark Gurman believes Apple will discontinue apps like iTunes Movies and TV Shows, as well as relevant movie and TV show elements from the iTunes Store app on iOS and iPadOS. Instead, Apple intends users wanting video content to head into the single, solitary TV app.

As part of the refresh, the app will be redesigned to have an aesthetic reminiscent of Netflix and other video services, in having a panel on the left-hand side for navigating between the different video categories.

18 Comments

Xed 2872 comments · 4 Years

About 1 year ago

Interesting that they'd do this in a point release. Is there a precedent for this?

elzee 1 comment · 1 Year

I know a few people who paid for Apple TV+ and ended up canceling it because while trying to find stuff to watch, they were asked to pay for things. Apple already does a really bad job of differentiating the content that you get for free with your Apple TV+ subscription from the content that you have to buy from the iTunes Store or stream from other apps. The average user cannot differentiate these things. If they ship something new, it needs to resolve this core problem, but it sounds like they are going to run the risk of making it worse by rushing the change into a point release.

elzee said:

I know a few people who paid for Apple TV+ and ended up canceling it because while trying to find stuff to watch, they were asked to pay for things. Apple already does a really bad job of differentiating the content that you get for free with your Apple TV+ subscription from the content that you have to buy from the iTunes Store or stream from other apps. The average user cannot differentiate these things. If they ship something new, it needs to resolve this core problem, but it sounds like they are going to run the risk of making it worse by rushing the change into a point release.

Can you elaborate on that because I thought everything under AppleTV+ was part Apple's streaming options. I just looked now and I am not seeing any paid content under Apple TV+.

My guess is they simply stayed on the Watch Now area which does include AppletTV+, the Store for movies and TV shows, along with some trailers. These people you know don't seem to be your "average user" unless you have a valid reason how Apple can have 25 million AppleTV+ paid subscribers who find it impossible to find the AppleTV+ content on their devices. Anecdotally, I know plenty of people who are not good with technology that have had no problem watching AppleTV+ content.

entropys 4302 comments · 13 Years

I prefer the individual apps. The ATV app is too clunky and hard to navigate.

eightzero 3145 comments · 14 Years

elzee said:

I know a few people who paid for Apple TV+ and ended up canceling it because while trying to find stuff to watch, they were asked to pay for things. Apple already does a really bad job of differentiating the content that you get for free with your Apple TV+ subscription from the content that you have to buy from the iTunes Store or stream from other apps. The average user cannot differentiate these things. If they ship something new, it needs to resolve this core problem, but it sounds like they are going to run the risk of making it worse by rushing the change into a point release.

I got ATV+ specifically for only one show (Foundation) and I fumed at the end of every episode when I got some strange ad for "next up" stuff that cut off the credits and associated music that I wanted to hear and see. The autoplay when you hover over some possible content is damn annoying. And then the "select" display for content is next to impossible to discern on the screen.

That interface is the worst, and it really does keep me away from ATV when I have alternatives.