Apple to Overhaul TV App, Remove Standalone Apps from Apple TV

[rorschach]

You like the library tab? What I get there (for tv shows at least) is an unbroken list of hundreds of episodes with no way to navigate besides scrolling through all of them. So if I want to watch the Seinfeld finale (why?), I have to scroll through 170 episodes to get to it.

For that reason I prefer the season by season navigation used in the "Up Next" tab. Of course they've just covered that with ads, so it's kinda broken now too.

No no. I hate it as it is currently. What I want is for it to be revamped to actually be useful.

That behavior you mention infuriates me and I think it only happens when you bought a ”Complete Series” bundle from the iTunes Store.

Screenshots: The West Wing shows correctly, but I bought individual episodes from different seasons. Schitt’s Creek I bought as a Complete Series bundle.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

You like the library tab? What I get there (for tv shows at least) is an unbroken list of hundreds of episodes with no way to navigate besides scrolling through all of them. So if I want to watch the Seinfeld finale (why?), I have to scroll through 170 episodes to get to it.

For that reason I prefer the season by season navigation used in the "Up Next" tab. Of course they've just covered that with ads, so it's kinda broken now too.

Computers app:

• Movies (ripped, purchased & downloaded, etc) in the Movies tab
• TV shows (ripped, purchased & downloaded, etc) in the TV tab, nicely organized by show
• Home Movies in the Home Movies tab
• Photos in the Photos tab
• Music and your own Music playlists in the Music tab

It's all "just works" great... like it was made by programmers concerned with USER experience more than maximizing sales & rental revenue. Try it. It's free, made by Apple (too) and one of the stock apps that is pre-installed on AppleTV. Turn on Home Sharing on your Mac that manages your media and it's all there... like it should be.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

Apple plans to overhaul the TV app in an effort to consolidate its Apple TV+ streaming service and its standalone movie and TV show purchase options, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. A tvOS update in December will introduce the changes that Apple has planned.

To push users to the Apple TV app, Apple plans to remove its standalone Apple TV apps that are available for renting and purchasing TV shows and movies. The movie and TV show sections from the iTunes Store app on iPhones and iPads will also be eliminated.

Apple wants to push customers to the TV app, which already houses purchased movies and shows, Apple TV+ content, and third-party channels that customers can subscribe to.

The TV app will serve as a hub for streaming content, and Gurman says the redesigned app will have a side panel at the left that can be used to navigate between different video categories.

Updated navigation should make the TV app less confusing for consumers, making it clearer which content is from Apple and available through the Apple TV+ subscription and which content requires a separate subscription.

Article Link: Apple to Overhaul TV App, Remove Standalone Apps from Apple TV

They need to work on the Apple TV app then. For example, I look for complete series of shows and I can find them on the Stand Alone apps, but they are not there for the Apple TV app or on the Mac. I hope this is something they fix because if not, this is a mistake.

 

[budfoot]

This seems like a solution looking for a problem

 

[Eminemdrdre00]

I honestly didn’t understand any of what I just read 😩

The "iTunes Movies" and "iTunes TV Shows" apps are going away on the Apple TV box. Instead, users can buy/rent movies and TV shows in the Apple TV app. That functionality has been available for years.

The "Movies" and "TV Shows" tabs on the iTunes iOS app is going away. Users can buy/rent movies and TV shows in the Apple TV app. That functionality has been available for years.

They're just removing duplicate functionality. The Apple TV app is where they want people to buy/rent movies and TV shows.

 

[TheDauterive]

I worry a lot of what Apple is doing these days is less about giving people the tools to do what they want and more about steering them towards behavior that's profitable for Apple.

The iTunes apps were one place you could go that's not a wall-to-wall advertisement for Apple TV+. Now if you want to buy/rent/watch something you own, you'll have to navigate through Apple TV+ ads every single time.

 

[DotCom2]

This sounds similar to something Spectrum is touting as coming soon. Their own steaming box that "lists" all your individual content in your own "List" including local channels and does away with Apps so to speak. It sounded interesting to me and was thinking of getting it then I see this. I would very much like just having my own list of things I want to watch and stay up on and doing away with going to each app. Although that could be a side option.

 

[TheDauterive]

Computers app:

• Movies (ripped, purchased & downloaded, etc) in the Movies tab
• TV shows (ripped, purchased & downloaded, etc) in the TV tab, nicely organized by show
• Home Movies in the Home Movies tab
• Photos in the Photos tab
• Music and your own Music playlists in the Music tab

It's all "just works" great... like it was made by programmers concerned with USER experience more than maximizing sales & rental revenue. Try it. It's free, made by Apple (too) and one of the stock apps that is pre-installed on AppleTV. Turn on Home Sharing on your Mac that manages your media and it's all there... like it should be.

Thanks, I will try it. When I mentioned using the "library" I meant the library tab in the Apple TV App, which I think is pretty much a disaster in terms of navigation. Hopefully they don't decide to "consolidate" the computers app into the Apple TV App as well. 😐

 

[deebinem]

So does that mean VLC will not be able to run to play xx.mkv files ?

While the article states "standalone" I don't think that meant all standalone apps so you should still be able to use VLC or Infuse for mkvs. I mean, I hope so or else I've got a huge library that is about to go the way of the dodo.

 

[HiRez]

I don't know, they crucified iTunes for becoming a bloated, unfocused mess that tried to do too much in one place (and later broke out Music, Podcasts, video, etc. into separate apps), now will the same happen to the Apple TV app?

 

[deebinem]

I don't know, they crucified iTunes for becoming a bloated, unfocused mess that tried to do too much in one place (and later broke out Music, Podcasts, video, etc. into separate apps), now will the same happen to the Apple TV app?

I dunno, ask Mark Gurman. Actually, no, **** that guy.

 

[nt5672]

Another redesign…it’s like they keep trying until they get it right.

Yep, its called Scrum - Scrum prescribes for teams to break work into goals to be completed within time-boxed iterations, called sprints.

No upfront design. Just "getter done", with the plan being anything is better than nothing.

 

[nt5672]

So Apple plans on stirring the mess it currently has and creating a new … mess.

Sigh…

Yep, a "new ... mess" is always keynote worthy.

 

[Coffee50]

While I actually liked the specific "iTunes" Tabs, I'm cool with this. The option to purchase movies / tv series is already in the Apple TV app.

Ultimately, I just want to Apple TV app to better organized and easier to navigate. If the condensing the other apps into the TV app, hopefully they'll address & make other improvements as well.

I don't mind the TV app, as it is...but there is definitely room for improvement. Hopefully that happens with this new overhaul.

 

[TigerNike23]

TV is the worst thing Apple makes. It's glitchy, inconsistent, confusing, and just doesn't work most of the time I try it. Old units, new units, doesn't matter, they're all irritating to use.

My $40 Roku has been utterly flawless, still allows me to AirPlay (and Android friends can cast), and oh yeah it's $40.

The only app that I haven't been able to get to work right on said Roku is, surprise surprise, the Apple TV app. No sound when attempting to play movies. Never been able to get it to work.

Ads, ads, ADS!!! Did I mention ads?

 

[DocMultimedia]

So will I be able to watch Apple TV on my Apple TV? /s

The entire tvOS needs to be entire redone. And naming of things. Ugh. Such a mess. But I do love their very limited content.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Thanks, I will try it. When I mentioned using the "library" I meant the library tab in the Apple TV App, which I think is pretty much a disaster in terms of navigation.

Yes, I know that well. The Computers App is "library" as an app... seemingly much better thought out and focused on making it easy to access our own media without trying to sell us something at every turn.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I don't know, they crucified iTunes for becoming a bloated, unfocused mess that tried to do too much in one place (and later broke out Music, Podcasts, video, etc. into separate apps), now will the same happen to the Apple TV app?

Yes, that seems to be the trend. And- IMO- they are succeeding in bloating it into an unfocused mess... other than they focus on extracting money... which is prevalent... and seems mostly the point.

 

[addictive]

Whatever happens with the update it's not what was just reported which is near incomprehensible. They won't be removing most stand-alone apps that is for sure. They're probably just merging and removing what they duplicate. But why now? Why not with the big TVos annual update?

 

[WilliApple]

I just hope that there is a way to filter out everything not TV+. This missing toggle made me cancel my Apple TV subscription, since I only want to watch stuff on TV+, nothing that I need to buy.

 

[routine_analyst]

This doesn't take a genius to understand. The Apple TV app is redundancy with many features and extra steps to access it, when it should actually just be the TV os UI with apps running inside it. I don't need an Apple TV app with a store and library, and then also a movies app with the same.

 

[toobravetosave]

Every tv has smart features now and apple tv alternatives are dirt cheap and very good.

Why actually buy an Apple TV?

 

[mikelets456]

I have 3 {free} months of Apple TV (trial) and it's a very cumbersome app, to say the least. Maybe this will help because I was ready to cancel the free trial it was so bad. Good news....

 

[Coffee50]

Whatever happens with the update it's not what was just reported which is near incomprehensible. They won't be removing most stand-alone apps that is for sure. They're probably just merging and removing what they duplicate. But why now? Why not with the big TVos annual update?

I think it is just referring to the standalone "Movies & TV Shows" Apps (the iTunes apps). Those are being rolled into the singular Apple TV app.

 

[tim_apple]

Apple plans to overhaul the TV app in an effort to consolidate its Apple TV+ streaming service and its standalone movie and TV show purchase options, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. A tvOS update in December will introduce the changes that Apple has planned.

To push users to the Apple TV app, Apple plans to remove its standalone Apple TV apps that are available for renting and purchasing TV shows and movies. The movie and TV show sections from the iTunes Store app on iPhones and iPads will also be eliminated.

Apple wants to push customers to the TV app, which already houses purchased movies and shows, Apple TV+ content, and third-party channels that customers can subscribe to.

The TV app will serve as a hub for streaming content, and Gurman says the redesigned app will have a side panel at the left that can be used to navigate between different video categories.

Updated navigation should make the TV app less confusing for consumers, making it clearer which content is from Apple and available through the Apple TV+ subscription and which content requires a separate subscription.

Article Link: Apple to Overhaul TV App, Remove Standalone Apps from Apple TV

How about changing the name of the device or the service instead of the confusing Apple TV and Apple TV+. What a horrible naming scheme. There is the Apple TV (which is not a TV), Apple TV+, (also not a TV, but ok it's. a streaming service) and the Apple TV app. Is that the TV? How is your average older consumer supposed to keep this straight? Really strange naming conventions on Apple's part here, which ordinarily does such good job in making their devices consumer friendly.