Universal Can someone help me with Apple TV+ app?

[ssledoux]

I just need to know the purpose. I’m clearly super confused and new to the interface, but so far most of what I click has to be bought or rented. I guess I just want to know why pay for Apple TV+ if most of the programming still costs money?

If I’m way off base with this question, no need to attack me - just an explanation will be sufficient. ;-p

 

[sparksd]

Where are you looking on the app? On the Watch Now menu, there are a ton of shows & movies available under the standard subscription. Same with "Originals". We've watched a lot on the service and I don't recall ever purchasing anything additional.

 

[Apple_Robert]

What you are probably seeing are suggestions for shows or movies to watch on other streaming services that can be accessed while using Apple TV. Apple TV+ will be a monthly fee once your trial runs out.

 

[Davidalan]

I just need to know the purpose. I’m clearly super confused and new to the interface, but so far most of what I click has to be bought or rented. I guess I just want to know why pay for Apple TV+ if most of the programming still costs money?

If I’m way off base with this question, no need to attack me - just an explanation will be sufficient. ;-p

The purpose is to have one place to go to to start your watching request. For instance if you use Max (have to subscribe to it) you select it and it will open the Max app.

 

[ssledoux]

What you are probably seeing are suggestions for shows or movies to watch on other streaming services that can be accessed while using Apple TV. Apple TV+ will be a monthly fee once your trial runs out.

Right. But does Apple TV+ have any programming or am I just paying for that service to access other services? Because I don't need to pay six dollars a month for Apple TV+ just to be able to see Paramount+ or Netflix show up in my Apple TV - those apps show up on the main screen of ATV anyway.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Right. But does Apple TV+ have any programming or am I just paying for that service to access other services? Because I don't need to pay six dollars a month for Apple TV+ just to be able to see Paramount+ or Netflix show up in my Apple TV - those apps show up on the main screen of ATV anyway.

Apple TV+ has its own shows and movies you can watch.

 

[sparksd]

Right. But does Apple TV+ have any programming or am I just paying for that service to access other services? Because I don't need to pay six dollars a month for Apple TV+ just to be able to see Paramount+ or Netflix show up in my Apple TV - those apps show up on the main screen of ATV anyway.

They have a significant amount of their own programming, both series and movies. My wife and I find it well worth it. I've been surprised by the quality of some of the material created/sponsored by Apple.

https://tv.apple.com/

 

[ssledoux]

They have a significant amount of their own programming, both series and movies. My wife and I find it well worth it. I've been surprised by the quality of some of the material created/sponsored by Apple.

https://tv.apple.com/

Okay so it’s just their own content though? Just trying to decide if it’s worth having at this point. I haven’t had a way to stream anything ever - just now got Starlink so I can get a streaming service and actually watch things, but I may want something with more variety than just Apple’s own offerings.

It’s just everything I was trying to watch was a rental or something, but I might not have been searching it correctly. I’m currently new to all of it, so it’s a bit confusing as to what’s what.

 

[sparksd]

Okay so it’s just their own content though? Just trying to decide if it’s worth having at this point. I haven’t had a way to stream anything ever - just now got Starlink so I can get a streaming service and actually watch things, but I may want something with more variety than just Apple’s own offerings.

It’s just everything I was trying to watch was a rental or something, but I might not have been searching it correctly. I’m currently new to all of it, so it’s a bit confusing as to what’s what.

It is their own content. For other content, it links off to other services but you need subscriptions there. Here's a similar discussion -

https://www.reddit.com/r/appletv/comments/v0hfzf

From a general perspective, this is really frustrating - the segmentation of streaming into multiple subscription services and how many you may need to get the broad coverage you want. Best you can do is review content on all of them and pick what you're willing to pay for - sometimes for just a single month of service to see a few things of interest.

 

[AZhappyjack]

The landscape of streaming services is a hot mess at this point...Netflix, Roku and Hulu introduced is to the phenomenon. Prices were fairly reasonable for the time... but soon, the major players learned that there was money to be made, and the race was on. The problem is that the cost of these services, while generally low ($10-ish per month, sometimes less) add up quickly, often exceeding the cost of cable tv or satellite tv services ... and each service either owns or licenses content, so the catalogs of available shows and movies can be somewhat transitional. Almost all of the major studios have their own service with their own content... so to view different shows at any given time could require multiple services.

Apple's TV+ app has their own content and also serves as an aggregator of many services, which is massively confusing... as the OP stated, much of the aggregated content is from other services and must be rented or accessed via subscriptions to those services. The interface for the TV+ app is, in my opinion, unnecessarily confusing, and just kind of vomits all over your tv screen... you have to search for the AppleTV content to see the stuff that's included without additional charge as a part of the ATV+ service.

Apple has, again, IMO, continued to perpetuate the confusion with the overlapping names for the various components.

• AppleTV, the device, is a hardware box through which you can access streaming services
• Apple TV app, the iOS and macOS app, is an app that allows you to access the streaming content on your iOS device or Mac
• AppleTC+, the service, is the catalog of streaming content provided by Apple through the AppleTV app/ AppleTV device

 

[ssledoux]

Okay well I’m talking the Apple TV+ service, not the ATV or the ATV app (phrased it wrong in my question).

I think, based on what I’m seeing, that I will NOT want the service, although I got Apple One, so currently I have it - I’ll be rethinking how to handle that. I do like Apple Music, and even Apple Arcade, but not sure I really care enough to pay the newly increased prices for any of it.

 

[sparksd]

Okay well I’m talking the Apple TV+ service, not the ATV or the ATV app (phrased it wrong in my question).

I think, based on what I’m seeing, that I will NOT want the service, although I got Apple One, so currently I have it - I’ll be rethinking how to handle that. I do like Apple Music, and even Apple Arcade, but not sure I really care enough to pay the newly increased prices for any of it.

If you don't care for the Apple-unique series and/or movies, then I don't see it as worth it. I like several of their series so I'm willing to buy it.