Apple to Reduce Apple TV+ Free Trial to Three Months From July 1

[Apple_Robert]

+1. Out of all the streaming services I have (HBO Max, Prime, Hulu, Disney+), Netflix is at the bottom. They strike fire once in a while, but they focus on quantity over quality. I've enjoyed Apple TV+ and it's definitely worth $4.99.

I think Disney+ is one of the best. I am so glad I paid for the 3 years up front.

 

[Googlyhead]

Am I right in saying you can’t get more than one free trial?

so if you’ve had a free trial already and it’s expired, or if you’re currently on a free trial, purchasing a new device won’t give you 3 more months?

It looked to me like this would just be a continuous ‘loss-leader’.
I was assuming that there’s minimal cost (in ‘lost’ subscribers or actual running costs) compared to the possible extra income from hardware sales.

If most people are unlikely to subscribe; there’s minimal lost subscriptions.
If most of those free subscriptions rarely consume content; then there’s minimal cost in providing the content to them.
If it’s necessary to purchase hardware each year in order to get the ‘free’ period; then that’s probably encouraging a regular average spend of 1k per person.
If the average subscription is just 3-4 months; that spend would be about 2% of the hardware spend.

 

[steevn]

With the slow and small releases they do you could just suscribe once every 4-6 months and watch everything new in a month

Besides the three year subscription we got when Disney+ first launched, this is actually what we do with all streaming services.

An unexpected benefit to doing this was me no longer scrolling through every app for hours looking for stuff to watch, knowing that we have it for one month actually helped with seeing what’s new that month, then adding and playing since there’s no time to waste lol.

I had a severe case of “This sounds ok, but I wonder if so and so has something that sounds better right now.”

 

[KeesdeW]

It looked to me like this would just be a continuous ‘loss-leader’.
I was assuming that there’s minimal cost (in ‘lost’ subscribers or actual running costs) compared to the possible extra income from hardware sales.

If most people are unlikely to subscribe; there’s minimal lost subscriptions.
If most of those free subscriptions rarely consume content; then there’s minimal cost in providing the content to them.
If it’s necessary to purchase hardware each year in order to get the ‘free’ period; then that’s probably encouraging a regular average spend of 1k per person.
If the average subscription is just 3-4 months; that spend would be about 2% of the hardware spend.

"minimal cost in providing the content to them" Of course delivery is not where the real costs are for Apple. Those shows aren't cheap to produce, whether anyone watches them or not.

For the record, I thought See, Ted Lasso and For All Mankind were all well worth watching

 

[TriBruin]

+1. Out of all the streaming services I have (HBO Max, Prime, Hulu, Disney+), Netflix is at the bottom. They strike fire once in a while, but they focus on quantity over quality. I've enjoyed Apple TV+ and it's definitely worth $4.99.

Funny, my wife and i have I watched way more on Netflix in the last year than I have watched on AppleTV+. Yes, not every show is a AAA show on Netflix, but that is Ok. Sometimes a halfway decent show is a perfect diversion.

For AppleTV+, I am more likely to only watch something if I hear good things about the show. Both Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest are examples of shows that I only watched based on praise from others.

 

[infinitejest]

TBH, these are $5 I'm happy to pay. Been watching for free since Nov 19 and have watched so much and 90% of it I really liked, 25% was incredible. They also have so many shows in the pipeline I'm super interested in (Mr. Corman, Foundation, Invasion). Not even to mention all the second seasons I can't wait to see (Ted Lasso, Morning Show, Central Park).

 

[GDF]

I won't be subscribing once my trial ends. I have only watched a handful of things over the last few years.

I have enjoyed everything I have watched - but not enough to stay subscribed throughout the year. I will switch on for 1 month and switch it off. I will probably do it once a year - there's just not enough to watch.

Totally agree with you. I won’t be subscribing either. Just not enough on it and like you only was a handful of shows that interest us. As someone else pointed out, can always subscribe for a month and watch the couple shows I might have liked.

Apple should really just keep giving it away free/extending it to anyone that continues to buy new iPhones, computers, iPads, etc. That just helps you continue to upgrade and continue to keep people in your ecosystem.

However, it would be only a small benefit given the small amount of shows on Apple TV+ now.

 

[Alwis]

but it is hard to find what is really free to watch - at least Amazon shows me stuff that is included with Prime first inserted of having to search only to find I would have to pay to watch

The UI ist quite confusing, on my iPad I have an iTunes and TC App and I still have not figured out, why there are two. Finding TV+ in the App could be easier too.

Nonetheless I think, that the Amazon UI is on of the worst ever created. Sometimes Lists are shown only as a small stripe and there is no way to show them fullscreen, at other places in the Amazon App that is no problem.

With all streaming services (I am using Netflix, Disney, Amzon & Apple) I would wish for much better filtering. Sometimes I spend more time searching for what I might like than watching anything.

I think Disney+ is one of the best. I am so glad I paid for the 3 years up front.

It is probably great, if you have kids, but for me Disney ist the most disappointing of all services. I liked the Mandalorian and the first episode of Loki. Beside that, there is not much I am interested in and what I might like I have already seen in the past. I will most probably cancel this subscription and renew it from time to time when there is something interesting.

Quality on Netflix is quite mixed, some shows very good and some very bad. But what annoys me most is the tendency to cancel shows after one or a few seasons and not giving them a proper ending. It is OK for me when they cancel shows nobody is watching, but at least the ending should be fine.

 

[Boris Bronson]

The second hack at the initial promised benefits. Those trillions in the bank must be looking shaky. 🙄

 

[supercoolmanchu]

Apple TV+ delivers the same level entertainment as reading a Land’s End clothing catalog in an IKEA cafeteria.

The only impressive thing about it, is how, without fail, Apple manages to boil the flavor out of everything.

But if you’ve been following Apple, this is not surprising. They are one of the most creative electronics companies on the planet, but have the absolute worst taste in any media.

They consistently pick the most boring, safe and played out music choices for ads, keynote artists, partnerships, etc. It’s almost like they are corporately impotent in using any creativity beyond designing creative computer products.

 

[JosephAW]

Open my Apple TV app and tap on subscriptions and I can’t see anywhere about any active subscriptions just some toggle switches. Here you have to scroll down to see no active subscriptions text, you’d think all that information would be visible one screen, especially on a 11 Pro Max.

 

[Natzoo]

If I already used the 1 year free trial, can it be used again? I bought an Apple TV but last year it was an iPad.

 

[Theydonboi]

Thanks for the reminder to cancel my existing free subscription.

 

[Gherkin]

I think Apple TV is the only service I've ever had where you can't cancel your free trial and then use it until the trial is over. The app is telling me if I cancel the trial I immediately lose access.

There are some good shows on here (I've enjoyed Lasso and Mythic Quest) but I doubt I'll ever actually pay Apple for this. Maybe in a year or so and watch a bunch of stuff over a month.

Though with Mythic Quest releasing episdoes weekly... I'm guessing the last episode will be AFTER my trial is up.

 

[BJMRamage]

My wife and I talked about subscribing to TV+. We enjoy almost everything we've watched so far.
We have Amazon Prime (Amazon Video is 'free' with their not-quite 2-day delivery), Netflix ('free' with our cable subscription), and Disney+ (this was the first streaming service we actually subscribed).

TV+ has decent shows and just about each one is high quality. The 'one' benefit of such a slim catalog is you aren't scrolling endlessly trying to find something to watch only to just give up and throw something on the screen, only to then be caught reading articles on your phone and not paying attention to the crap on screen, instead you have just a handful of options.

We have to figure out if we want to let the subscription ride monthly. Renew occasionally. Or pay for a year and save $10. She pays for iCloud storage so maybe we should look into what Combo deal could work out or if $5+$1/mo is the better option (I do not pay for iCloud)

 

[HiVolt]

In my opinion the quality of the shows on TV+ is way higher than the crab Netflix puts out these days. I really like fewer shows with more quality than get 60 new shows every month were 95 % is complete garbage. I also like the fact of releasing one episode per week like on Disney+ instead of binging through a season. From my point of view the viewing experience doesn't feel "rushed".

Sure the quality of the shows is pretty good, but that's all there is. There is no catalog of older movies or tv shows to watch if you just wanna browse something random to watch.

Amazon just bought MGM. You think Apple couldn't have?

 

[Ar40]

Oh, I've still got my one year of Apple TV+ to activate - I was trying to wait as long as possible in case Apple extended my prior term, gonna hop to that right now.

Now is the moment of truth for Apple TV+. There's an incredible pipeline of content and plenty of A+ content already on the service. It's time for Apple to see if this will be enough to bring to and keep people on the service.

For me personally, Apple TV+ is my absolute favorite service, and if I hadn't just bought a new Apple TV+, I would be paying the yearly $50, no questions asked.

 

[Ar40]

In my opinion the quality of the shows on TV+ is way higher than the crab Netflix puts out these days. I really like fewer shows with more quality than get 60 new shows every month were 95 % is complete garbage. I also like the fact of releasing one episode per week like on Disney+ instead of binging through a season. From my point of view the viewing experience doesn't feel "rushed".

I agree with this 1,000%.

 

[ipedro]

not only is there basically zero of interest for me on TV+, but it is hard to find what is really free to watch - at least Amazon shows me stuff that is included with Prime first inserted of having to search only to find I would have to pay to watch

There's a problem here for sure, but Prime is not the good example! I've added tons of stuff to my watch list over the years, and it's all been free at the time I added it. But loads of it isn't any more, and there's no way to filter the watch list by what's free. It's infuriating.

Have had it for a year now, greyhound was good and so was for all mankind, ted lasso was ok and so was that wolf girl animated movie. What else is there worth watching? No way of finding the free stuff.

While Apple is to blame for confusing names and a consolidated UI, I can’t believe people still don’t know the difference between the TV app and tv+.

Go to the tv+ section in the TV app and if you have a subscription *every tv+ show is free*.

The TV app consolidates content from other apps, both from Apple (tv+ and itunes) and third parties. For example, Disney+ shows appear in the TV app but you wouldn’t expect to get those shows free with an tv+ subscription.

 

[Ar40]

That's what I did with Netflix 😀

Yep. Netflix is the absolute stinker of the various services I have. I subscribe for a month when Witcher or Stranger Things seasons come out.

 

[snowatom]

Going on my second year of free Apple TV+ - and haven't used it once. Start making something good, and I might look at something. Maybe the serie Foundation will do it...

 

[Boris Bronson]

See the Cupertino trolls are here downvoting everyone but the facts are:

Tim announced Apple TV+ would always be available for one year upon purchase of a qualifying device, rolling and forever.

Apple reneged on that but…

New devices will always have a year’s free trial of aTV+

Apple has now reneged on that.

Not sure how facts can be disagreed with?

 

[EdT]

I will subscribe. Too little content but I also have too little time to watch TV, and TV+ got way much higher quality than Netflix.

At this point, I won’t watch Netflix if they paid me to do so, it’s obvious what they are trying to do with content that is biased and immoral. The only series I liked was The Crown.

There hasn’t been a lot of shows that I am interested in on ATV but even the shows that I’m not interested in I thought they were well done, just not something I would watch on any service.

I am curious about Netflix and the biased and immoral statement. My wife watches Netflix for the British shows, like melodramas, baking shows and the Repair Shop and I will admit to liking the Repair Shop myself but there is currently only one season of that show. But the movies and comedies and documentaries are pretty much run of the mill——the type of programming that you get on any streaming service. Movies are standard Hollywood. A few good, a lot middle of the road and the rest bad, but that isn’t new.

 

[sviato]

I will subscribe. Too little content but I also have too little time to watch TV, and TV+ got way much higher quality than Netflix.

At this point, I won’t watch Netflix if they paid me to do so, it’s obvious what they are trying to do with content that is biased and immoral. The only series I liked was The Crown.

Could you elaborate?

 

[Octavius8]

RIP Applet Tv+ then. My trial ends in June 30, and I will not pay to keep it. I pay for Arcade and iCloud but in the case of Tv+ there is just to few passable content every quarter to be paying on a monthly basis. Sorry Apple, you don’t get my money on this one. HBO max, here I come!