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Apple TV+ a waste of money?

N

nmsriram

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 29, 2012
4
1
I got a year free with my iPhone 12 Pro. It seems to me that there are maybe a handful of items that can be watched for free. For anything else you have to pay more. Why in heaven's name would I pay for something like this? I already can buy these things on Amazon and Hulu and Vudu. This appears to be a service created either for rich people with a lot of money to spend, or for the ultimate Apple fan boy.

I'd appreciate it if others could post what they watch on this service that makes it worth the price.
 
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You are confusing the Apple TV app with the Apple TV+ steaming service. The two are not synonymous.

The Apple TV is a physical device that you connect to your TV with an HDMI cable and install apps on it, such as Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Fox Sports, etc. It also has the Apple TV app installed on it.

The TV app is an aggregator app that pulls in content from various providers, like those mentioned above, and is a one-stop-shop for keeping up with what you are watching and discovering new content to enjoy. Through the TV app you can also subscribe to various Channels such CBS All Access, Showtime, AMC+ and Apple TV+. There is no subscription to use the TV app.

Apple TV+ requires a subscription to view the majority of the content and it is billed through your iTunes account. A subscription to TV+ does NOT give you access to everything you can find in the TV app; only to the TV+ content.
 
@mallbritton in theory you can link other streaming services to Apple TV+, and so you could have them in the single App. But I don't see myself paying money every month for that. I mean, how lazy do you have to be to not want to switch apps. So far I've been unimpressed with content.
 
You are still confusing the app with the streaming Channel. The app is named Apple TV and it does not require a subscription to use it. The streaming service is Apple TV+ and is a Channel within the app that costs $5 a month to subscribe to.
 
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$5/month is a service for rich people? What a laughable statement. There are people on welfare that pay $15/month for Netflix, but as others have said you're misunderstanding what Apple TV+ actually is. You're not paying to link your services into a single app. For $5/month you have access to the exclusive Apple TV Plus programming which is a little light on content but everything I have watched is excellent.
 
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I have the free subscription right now. Ted Lasso is one of the best series that I’ve watched in a long. Super funny, excellent characters and storyline. It’s coming out for a 2nd season and I will likely pay for Apple TV to watch it again.
 
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There isn't enough on AppleTV+ for me to constantly renew it each month - but there are a few things on there that I will binge watch and happily pay for a month or two (e.g For All Mankind, Greyhound)
 
nmsriram said:
I got a year free with my iPhone 12 Pro. It seems to me that there are maybe a handful of items that can be watched for free. For anything else you have to pay more. Why in heaven's name would I pay for something like this? I already can buy these things on Amazon and Hulu and Vudu. This appears to be a service created either for rich people with a lot of money to spend, or for the ultimate Apple fan boy.

I'd appreciate it if others could post what they watch on this service that makes it worth the price.
Click to expand...

First of all, there are TWO separate, but similarly named parts to this. That alone makes this confusing. ATV is the service and the ATV+ is the Apple content - the PLUS is the distinction.

Very few (if any) people are paying for ATV+ at this point. Apple offered a 1-year free trial when it launched, and has extended the free access several times - most recently they've extended the free trial until July 1.

However, the interface is quite cluttered and can be confusing. The ATV app is an aggretation service that pulls together content from various sources - much of that is paid content... and it can be confusing that all of that is lumped together with the free services and the ATV+ is the Apple content) content which is currently free to access for the vast majority of people.

There are some good shows on ATV+, and a couple that I would consider very good. I have watched and enjoyed For All Mankind, Ted Lasso, Home Before Dark, Defending Jacob and Tehran. Others that are pretty watchable include The Morning Show and Dickenson...
 
The whole thing (TV app) is a bit of a confusing mess.

I have a subscription (because free!), I open the app, directly on the first page I see and click on a person in the "Met the Stars of Apple TV+"-row, and then click on a thing that person has made; and I'm faced with paying (at the current rate) US $15,53 if I want to watch it.

What. The. Fudge.

That's like the most terrible UIX-thing ever.

There's nothing that's alerting me to the fact that I'm going outside of what I'm paying for, so there's just this random mess of things that maybe maybe not is included; and the app in no way is teaching the user how to tell what's what.

So by the time I've found something that I want to watch I might be able to binge a whole season for "free", or it might cost me 15+ USD for something that's an hour and a half long.

Could I perhaps get to know the app better to learn this? Maybe, I don't know; because I haven't been bored enough that that's all that I have left to do.
 
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nmsriram said:
I got a year free with my iPhone 12 Pro. It seems to me that there are maybe a handful of items that can be watched for free. For anything else you have to pay more. Why in heaven's name would I pay for something like this? I already can buy these things on Amazon and Hulu and Vudu. This appears to be a service created either for rich people with a lot of money to spend, or for the ultimate Apple fan boy.

I'd appreciate it if others could post what they watch on this service that makes it worth the price.
Click to expand...
I too got the free account for buying the iPhone 12. I have an older Mac mini and have the Apple TV app running on it. Like others have mentioned, Apple TV is light on content at the moment. The have a few Apple exclusive item that I can see watching until the free subscription runs out. But Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix have a big head start on Apple.

Cheers, Davi Brodosi
 
I got a free year of Apple tv+ content from February 2020 because I bought a new iPhone 11pro, I've enjoyed most of the shows and movies.
I signed up for the coming year and now it looks like they're giving me the first five months free!
I have no complaints.
 
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I think everyone concurs that Apples' implementation of AppleTV+ was less than desirable. Clearly they are hoping that if you are tossed into the candy store directly, you can't help yourself but buy some candy while you are there.

So while HBO Max, CBS All Access, Netflix and the like all reside outside of this candy store, AppleTV+ resides within it. Hence the confusion... and in some cases... outrage.

Be forewarned that while "they" have been happily giving everyone free extensions of AppleTV+ without a care in the world, it is another candy store tactic in play... the assumption that if they keep moving the trial end date on you, you won't remember when it actually ends and thereby "accidentally" let it renew.

Clever.

Don't get me wrong, there is some good content on the service, but there are so many gaps between them to make a subscription to the service questionable... unless you like paying for stuff that you aren't actually watching.

The Morning Show was their flagship launch series... and yet, you haven't seen a season two air date yet. Other shows that aired later have already started airing additional seasons. So what gives? A show they basically stated was locked in for x number of seasons before the very first episode aired is like the last show you may ever see another new episode of in your lifetime.

That is what is wrong with AppleTV+ right now. A severe lack of content and a severe lack of consistency in said release of subsequent seasons of said content. It's so haphazard. Here, watch the premiere season of Peanuts.... next season will air in about 3 years... have fun!
 
Watching something again reminded me of a couple of things I don't like. I watch at the gym and often don't watch whole episode. Other streaming sources "remember" where I was in a episode. Apple + not so. I have to remember and fast forward to place to restart. Second other streamers on my iPhone rotate the picture to the proper orientation even though I have rotation locked on the iPhone. With Apple + I have to unlock rotation to get to proper orientation.
 
nmsriram said:
I got a year free with my iPhone 12 Pro. It seems to me that there are maybe a handful of items that can be watched for free. For anything else you have to pay more. Why in heaven's name would I pay for something like this? I already can buy these things on Amazon and Hulu and Vudu. This appears to be a service created either for rich people with a lot of money to spend, or for the ultimate Apple fan boy.

I'd appreciate it if others could post what they watch on this service that makes it worth the price.
Click to expand...
for people who don't know where else to spend their money :rolleyes:
 
I am also going through their catalogue and it isn't inspiring me. For all mankind doesn't pull me in. See I liked.

I am missing shows as the Americans, Star Trek Picard, or even a married with children. When it comes down to movies they made some.

When you go through their store and notice you still have to pay 3.99 for movies from the eighties I think they still have a long way to go.
 
I think its worth it, I enjoy the shows that they have. Morning Show, Amazing Stories, Mythic Quest, Home Before Dark, etc., are all fun to watch. $4.99 isn't a huge investment for what it is presently, and will be in the future.

I think we all suffer from streaming overload, and I have found for me, the more focused/limited set of shows to watch the better. It makes my viewing more deliberate, as my time is usually short with all my other interests.

Its not everyones cup of tea, though.
 
Okta said:
I think its worth it, it's pretty cheap and you get some great content. I think the One subscription combining all the services is the best value
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After 1 or 2 months, you are done watching it. Same with Disney+, I cancelled it after 2 months also.

The only one that I have kept active is Netflix.
 
mallbritton said:
Netflix chooses not to support the TV app.
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Netflix is on AppleTV, you just have to install the app. Better to access your subscribed channels through their respective apps than through the AppleTV storefront interface lest you be tempted to buy or rent something out of the blue.
 
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