Apple TV Plus

Apple TV+ is a streaming service of original television and film produced in conjunction with Apple or directly by the company itself. The service can be found on many platforms inside of the Apple TV app. From the app, users can also access other content from iTunes, external streaming apps like Hulu, and from Channels including HBO.

Apple TV+ launched in November 2019. The service released with a $4.99/month price, and it still costs the same today.

At launch, Apple TV+ had a small library, which has grown steadily since. Apple reportedly invested $6 billion in the initial lineup of shows.

Apple TV+ content

Drama Series

Comedy Series

Anthology Series

Children's Programming

Documentary Series

Feature-Length Film

Feature-Length Documentary

Peanuts

Oprah

About Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is the company's biggest step into media since the introduction of Apple Music in 2015. Through this service, you can watch original films and television commissioned or purchased by Apple. You will not find classic series runs like "The Simpsons" or "Seinfeld" on Apple TV+. Instead, it is mostly original content licensed directly by Apple.

Apple TV+ is accessed via the Apple TV app. Though its name may suggest that it needs an Apple TV box to work, this is not the case.

Following the launch of macOS Catalina, there is an Apple TV app on Mac too. You can use the Apple TV app on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad as well.

The aim is to have this service be wherever you are and on whatever Apple device you use. However, Apple also wants this service to have as wide a reach as it can, so alongside its own hardware, you can watch it via smart TVs such as certain Samsung models. Or you can get the whole service, plus access to your previously bought videos, via an Amazon Fire Stick or even Roku box.

If you are on any other device, including those running Android, you can always visit the Apple TV+ website.

The Apple TV app

Wherever you watch, you are met with the Apple TV app, which ultimately intends to become the sole place you go to in order to watch television or films, whether they're from Apple or not.

Most other streaming services are included in the Apple TV app, with the notable exception of Netflix. External services include dozens of cable provided channels that need a cable service sign-in to work, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and several other third party providers. When dealing with content from external services, it is listed in the Apple TV app and shown in the Up Next section but opens in the parent app outside of the Apple TV app.

All content purchased via iTunes is listed within the TV app as well.

Apple TV Channels provide you with the ability to subscribe to content providers from directly within the app, and share this subscription across a family sharing plan. HBO, Starz, and multiple other services are available this way, simplifying the way you subscribe and manage these accounts. Content from Channels can be downloaded for offline viewing. 

Apple TV+ Pricing

From launch, Apple has offered a year's free Apple TV+ service to anyone buying a new iPhone or other devices. This promotion is for a limited time only, though we don't yet know how long it will last.

Similarly, there is a bundle offer where people on the Apple Music Student Plan will receive Apple TV+ for free.

Apple TV+ costs $4.99 per month, which is cheaper than either Disney+ or Netflix. As with Apple Music and Apple News+, there is a free trial period, which in this case is one week. Users can also subscribe to any tier of Apple One to get Apple TV+ included.

Apple TV+ Review

At its six-month anniversary, we did a deep-dive on the content and presentation in Apple TV+.

"On November 1, 2019 Apple finally launched its long-in-the-works Apple TV+ streaming service. In the buildup, the company had spent billions of dollars, engaged the services of a long list of A-list performers and filmmakers, and put forth massive advertising efforts, in order to play in the burgeoning field of streaming TV. The launch represented the huge part of Apple's growing emphasis on Services.

"Six months after launch, Apple can point to some undeniable creative successes on Apple TV+, including some shows that were critically acclaimed, and one that won some awards.

"But Apple TV+ has not yet managed to come up with a massive, talked-about, culture-grabbing hit, the kind of show that would occasion the addition of thousands of subscribers, let alone the proliferation of online memes. At about the same time, Disney+ had The Mandalorian, while Netflix had Tiger King.

"And of course, there's no way Apple could have known that just months into its launch of the service, circumstances would require the majority of households, in most of the countries in which it operates, to stay home at all times, leading to an explosion in the use of streaming services.

"Apple's big bet, out of the starting gate, was The Morning Show, with its A-list cast and gravitas-heavy subject matter. While the show got out off to a slow start creatively, possibly due in part to behind-the-scenes turmoil, it improved greatly throughout its season.

"The Morning Show won two Screen Actors Guild awards, for Jennifer Aniston and Billy Crudup, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Series.

"However, The Morning Show didn't win at the Globes, and of the prestige TV projects Reese Witherspoon has appeared in within the last 18 months, it appeared to make less of a cultural impact than either Big Little Lies or Little Fires Everywhere. No other Apple shows have gotten awards nominations, although most of them were released outside of last year's eligibility window.

"Another show at the Apple TV+ launch, Dickinson, gained positive reviews and appeared to land well with fans of its young star, Hailee Steinfeld. And while both were renewed, neither For All Mankind or See was any kind of phenomenon while Servant, which debuted in late November, seemed to have barely made a blip.

"Of shows that arrived later, Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet was a consistently funny and surprising sitcom, while Little America was an often-affecting anthology series about American immigrant stories. Home After Dark, Truth Be Told and Defending Jacob had their moments as well, while Trying, which debuts May 1, is funny and charming.

"As for Amazing Stories, it only ran for five episodes — fewer than expected when it was first announced — and has notably not received a renewal.

"Of the movies and other special programming on Apple TV+, Beastie Boys Story was exactly the type of energetic, music-centric show that Apple should be pursuing more of, while Visible: Out on Television was an expertly-assembled look at the history of LGBT people on television.

"The movie The Banker, while a fine film, had its original release scuttled after sexual abuse allegations against one of its producers, with coronavirus canceling its brief theatrical release. The film finally arrived, mostly to indifference, in March.

"Apple TV+ has made more good shows than bad, but certainly nothing that can be considered a cultural phenomenon.

"Tim Cook, without citing numbers, called Apple TV+ 'a rousing success' in a January interview with Reuters, also stating that the service's performance was "very strong, both the people that are getting it in the bundle and the people that are paying for it that haven't bought a new device."

"As of January, Apple TV+ had an estimated 34 million subscribers, according to Ampere Analysis, although the 'vast majority' of that estimated number was enjoying the free year that comes with the purchase of an Apple device. Disney+, which launched shortly after Apple TV+, crossed the 50 million subscriber mark in April, although that was three months later, after the start of the pandemic, and based on an officially released number.

"Analyst Toni Sacconaghi of Bernstein, per Financial Post, suggested in a February note that Apple TV+ was 'failing to resonate with customers, perhaps due to its limited content offerings.'

"Research firm Antenna, as cited by Forbes, measured that every one of the major streaming services saw an increase in signups in the early days of the pandemic in the U.S. in March. However, Antenna also found that Apple TV+ posted a gain of 10 percent, which was the smallest of the services included.

"Apple has continued to dedicate massive financial resources to the venture, and there's no indication that Tim Cook or any other top executive has lost any faith in the project.

"And, it can wait. It has the financial resources to just keep producing shows without a tangible return for years, if not decades.

"Apple has clearly had a mixed start to its original streaming efforts, without any kind of massive hit in the first six months. But Apple TV+ does maintain the advantages of money and stability, as well as what looks like the firm support of the company's leadership.

"We're very early in the streaming wars, and there's a good chance the landscape will look completely different a year from now, no matter what happens with coronavirus. And the longer Apple keeps making new content, the more likely the company is to find that breakthrough show or movie."