Hands-On With the New Apple TV+ Streaming Service

[Bornee35]

I got the free year. You just have to purchase one of the qualifying devices as mentioned in the first post to be eligible for the free year. As soon as I launched the app, I was notified I had a 1 year free trial.

It said I had a free year "because of your new iPhone", which is an iPhone X, bought in 2017. Jumped on it real quick before they realize.

edit: I have my sister and her husband in my family plan for Apple Music. Turns out they just bought new iPhones yesterday, guess I get the new device benefit via family sharing.

 

[sinsin07]

And it seems that yes, students paying for the 4.99 Apple Music subscription are indeed getting tv+ included, for no additional cost.
There’s nothing on Apple’s website about it, and nothing on macrumors, but it is mentoned on some other tech websites, including some comments that Apple has confirmed it. Though no detail on how long for, and if there any conditions, other than remaining a student and continuing a student Apple Music subscription.

Macrumors 10-30-19: Subscribers to Apple Music's $4.99 Monthly Student Plan to Get Apple TV+ 'for Free'
”First spotted by 9to5Mac, the bundle deal was revealed in an Instagram Story by "Dickinson" star Hailee Steinfeld and later shared on the official Apple TV Instagram account.”

 

[anticipate]

I am sure the shows are good at least. HBO/Netflix quality. And you get it for a year. But the pricing is out of whack. Apple has zero legacy content - no one is going to pay for just a few (even 30) new shows. Like... why?

The economics are different. I make content so I understand this.

Someone will pay $5 to rent a major film because they know what they're getting. A movie night. Others, like me, will gladly pay a dollar or two a month to get Hulu for one show - Handmaid's Tale. But without significantly more and higher quality content to entice people in... no one will come.

Hulu has all kinds of stuff to watch, so there is perceived value. HBO, etc. Netflix. Prime. They all offer other content to get you in the door so you have sense of entertainment value, but you stay the originals.

I guarantee you the average person on the street will look at this and say "uh, 10 shows? That's it? For $50 a year? What are they nuts?"

Now... as something to entice people to stay in the ecosystem it may be a different play. Arcade is closer to that, as Apple helps fund some compelling games and their hardware is great for mobile gaming. Most games sell on iOS. There's a market.

But this? I don't get it. It feels like Tim Cook burning cash for zero purpose. Even if the shows are solid (and I am sure they are) - what need is this addressing for Apple and Apple customers, exactly?

 

[Apple_Robert]

It's just the beginning. Why be so negative? Step outside, get some sunlight.

I realize it is just the beginning. Apple has been heavily marketing this new service. They let it be known, that they have spent millions and millions of dollars on original programming. And on launch day, they have a handful of shows for people to watch. And to that end, they want people to spend $5.00 a month on those handful of shows while at the same time, putting monthly trust in Apple, that there will be a lot more to see during the first year.

To make things worse, Apple has decided to launch this new service within the same AppleTV app, instead of creating a separate app where new people can easily see what is offered by the service and potential subscribers can be better informed about the service and its cost to content ratio and quality. As it stands, I see this launch day as a mess with not a lot of bang for the proverbial buck.

I watched the first Snoopy episode. It was ok.I am a big Peanuts fan and will finish out the episodes. I also watched the first episode of the Morning Show and found a lot of the storyline to be trite and overdone, especially with the constant cursing. I get that a lot of people curse. That in and of itself does not offend me. What offends me, is the lack of imagination and depth that the writers show, when they think meaningful dialogue equates to cursing for the sake of cursing.

I will give some of the other new shows a look.

Apple is trying to carve out their place in the streaming service. And if they want to compete with Hulu, Netflix and others, they should have been farther along than they are on launch day, not to mention having advertising that seeks to educate and encourage tv viewers about the service.

Apple does a very job promoting the iPhone and many of its features for tv viewers to see. They dropped the ball on AppleTV+ launch day, in my opinion.

 

[sinsin07]

I wonder why they gave 1 year free? There are no obvious answers

Macrumors 10-30-2019: Tim Cook Explains Why Apple is Offering Free Apple TV+ With Hardware Purchase, Says He Won't Rule Out Future Bundles
”According to Cook, Apple made the decision to offer a free ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription to customers who purchase a new ‌Apple TV‌, Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch because it would be a "good gift" for customers and because it would get the content into the hands of more people.”

 

[Bolanders]

Sure. Rectify...but that's not on anymore. Deadwood...but that's not on anymore. The movie was good. Westworld...but only if anyone will be able to make sense of season 3. GoT...as long as you don't watch the last season. The Sopranos...but that's not on anymore, and same as GoT. The Wire...but that's not on anymore. Night Court...but that's not on anymore. Seinfeld...but that will cost ya $500M to watch. Lost...oh wait, not Lost. ...

There is a ton more.

Jack Ryan
Goliath - First Season
Bosch
Line of Duty
Justified
Sons of Anarchy
Chicago PD
Broadchurch
The Good fight
Luther
Mindhunter
Succession
City on a Hill



Ones tha tI haven't watched but am interested in and will watch
Intelligence
Jack Taylor
Jett
The Killing
London Kills
The Red Line
When they See Us
Wild Bill
Deep State
Fauda
Dr Foster
Dark Heart
Dublin Murders
The Deuce
Elite
Generation Kill
I am the Night

 

[Brenster]

Watching my first episode... Ghostwriter. Yes, I know, kids show, right? Well, fantasy and imagination are my preference, particularly good sci-fi. I'm not down with the boring cop shows, political shows, or excessive violence.

So far, the production quality is too "pushed". They are trying too hard to be the next Netflix. But one thing is apparent... this is just the beginning and only going to be better. The set quality is really good. Room to grow.

Bring it, Apple! Let's see a TV+ hit that tops Stranger Things!

Just finished episode 4 with my son and we’ve both really warmed to the show and the four main characters. Stick with it; and yes, not everything needs to be adult & grimdark.

I've been wanting new Peanuts for a long time now....

Got it.... Free year...

I A M A F A N B O I......

I’m going to eek the Snoopy episodes out, having done the first two. Given that there will be no sequel to the charming and excellent The Peanuts Movie from a couple of years back, SiS is the next best thing.

 

[PickUrPoison]

The small selection is not the problem. Creating TV that is compulsive viewing is.

I've watched the first episode of each of See, The Morning Show & For All Mankind and I can honestly say I don't care if I ever see any of it again.

TV Shows really need to hook an audience on the first episode and ideally in the first 30 mins - none of these do that. They don't even suggest that there is better to come.
<snip rant and insults>

Here’s a list of how many episodes it took to hook viewers, according to Netflix.

 

[Ifti]

I have created a reminder to remember to cancel the subscription a few days before I get changed next year. Its OK for free, but not something I would pay a monthly subscription for. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are enough for me!

 

[DEXTERITY]

So far I only watched the first episode of „See“ and I was really surprised by the good acting and production value, cinematography etc. Also the rumors about family optimization obviously were wrong since there was a lot of violence and even an actually unnecessary masturbation scene Not bad, it really caught my attention. I will now pause until the whole season got released and binge watch the rest then.

Really? Turned it off after the first three minutes and I was really looking forward to this service. Hopefully the sam jackson movie coming out at some point is better.
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I wonder why they gave 1 year free? There are no obvious answers

Because the shows suck..lets see if the little one likes snoopy, but I cancelled my 7 day trial right away. Very disappointed.

 

[alexhardaker]

They need to add a channels tab, so people can access the channels they wish.

 

[DEXTERITY]

I am sure the shows are good at least. HBO/Netflix quality. And you get it for a year. But the pricing is out of whack. Apple has zero legacy content - no one is going to pay for just a few (even 30) new shows. Like... why?

The economics are different. I make content so I understand this.

Someone will pay $5 to rent a major film because they know what they're getting. A movie night. Others, like me, will gladly pay a dollar or two a month to get Hulu for one show - Handmaid's Tale. But without significantly more and higher quality content to entice people in... no one will come.

Hulu has all kinds of stuff to watch, so there is perceived value. HBO, etc. Netflix. Prime. They all offer other content to get you in the door so you have sense of entertainment value, but you stay the originals.

I guarantee you the average person on the street will look at this and say "uh, 10 shows? That's it? For $50 a year? What are they nuts?"

Now... as something to entice people to stay in the ecosystem it may be a different play. Arcade is closer to that, as Apple helps fund some compelling games and their hardware is great for mobile gaming. Most games sell on iOS. There's a market.

But this? I don't get it. It feels like Tim Cook burning cash for zero purpose. Even if the shows are solid (and I am sure they are) - what need is this addressing for Apple and Apple customers, exactly?

Should have bought disney when they could’ve..not sure why they didn’t.

 

[LaraCroft835]

Couldn‘t have said it better myself. I really wonder what the people at Apple think who their target audience actually is. All of their shows feel like they were created by a business committee, rather than single innovative creators willing to take risks or try something new. And it was a business committee that really really wanted to create a new Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad, but nobody on the committee had any idea why people actually watched those shows. So they had some manatees randomly pick settings and plots points out of one bucket and famous actors from another bucket (sorry, South Park reference there), and then they turned that into a bunch of shows - let‘s see, there might be a hit show there. Or not. Probably not.

I know, for every Apple product, there are some people who say it will fail. But so far, I have only said that about Ping. I think this will be Ping Pt.2. Just a MUCH more expensive failure than Ping. I‘m calling it now: Five years from now, the service will be gone, and the content will be sold to Disney.

Im calling for the nurse. The Committee agrees.
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They need to add a channels tab, so people can access the channels they wish.

 

[jazz1]

I don't think Apple is giving a free year to anyone, just checked, logged in and it's only one free week and then I need to pay: for the content available I don't think I will...

i got a free year for a recent iPhone purchase. Good until Nov. 2020 the emails says.

 

[class77]

Thanks but I found I should have bought my iPad Pro not in August...Only from September 10 qualifies

I know, I bought a 4K TV in mid-July. Arrggghhh

 

[coolfactor]

Watching See now. Pretty good, and filmed here in our province (BC, Canada), in fact in the community I lived in for 13 years.... Campbell River. The forest scenery reflects that.

So far, two series tested. The camera work is where they are lacking. I can't stand cameras that are not steady, where they constantly move. Just watch the background to see this. Makes it feel like a low-budget film. I hope they recognize and fix this.

 

[BWhaler]

The Apple TV so is so shoddy. So low quality with bugs. So tacky with ads. Apple needs to learn to be big at services the software must be excellent.

 

[rocknblogger]

I don't think Apple is giving a free year to anyone, just checked, logged in and it's only one free week and then I need to pay: for the content available I don't think I will...

You get a free year if you bought an iPhone, iPad, or Mac after September 10th 2019.

 

[dmunz]

You get a free year if you bought an iPhone, iPad, or Mac after September 10th 2019.

This is interesting. I picked up an Apple TV over a year ago when I was going to change my cable service. I never did and the Apple TV sat in the unopened box until a few weeks ago. I moved some things around and freed up a LAN port close to my TV so I thought I would give it a try.

I was able to get the free year deal today so I assume that it goes to the activation date for the device, not the actual purchase date.

A nice surprise.

FWIW
DLM

 

[sgansari]

I feel like Apple TV+ is a let-down. It‘s not like Apple Music that gives you sudden and unlimited access to all Apple‘s iTunes content to movies and series. It is very limited to what Apple is producing.

Not sure if this can compete with giants like Netflix or even Amazon Premiere. Apple is going to have to do a heck of a lot more to lure new subscribers. And the battle will not be as easy as Apple Music vs. Spotify.

 

[zappa2001]

I need help setting this up on my Amazon Fire TV. I don’t see it anywhere at all.

It says it is up-to-date as far as firmware...
Does anybody else with Amazon have success?

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

I have created a reminder to remember to cancel the subscription a few days before I get changed next year. Its OK for free, but not something I would pay a monthly subscription for. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are enough for me!

I have done the same. At this point it is ok if it is free. Not anything worth $5.00 a month for. I will be keeping my Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. And adding Disney plus this month.

 

[jpn]

Couldn‘t have said it better myself. I really wonder what the people at Apple think who their target audience actually is. All of their shows feel like they were created by a business committee, rather than single innovative creators willing to take risks or try something new. And it was a business committee that really really wanted to create a new Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad, but nobody on the committee had any idea why people actually watched those shows. So they had some manatees randomly pick settings and plots points out of one bucket and famous actors from another bucket (sorry, South Park reference there), and then they turned that into a bunch of shows - let‘s see, there might be a hit show there. Or not. Probably not.

I know, for every Apple product, there are some people who say it will fail. But so far, I have only said that about Ping. I think this will be Ping Pt.2.on Just a MUCH more expensive failure than Ping. I‘m calling it now: Five years from now, the service will be gone, and the content will be sold to Disney.

this.

same outlook.
with the exception of Music, apple has never succeeded in any service where content is crucial.
Maps, Books, News, Ping.

google bought Youtube several years ago at what i thought was an exorbitant price.
turns out that Youtube was worth the price paid.
apple should have bought Netflix, almost at any price, as well.

there is just a lot of (video) content out there.
apple will never have sufficient attention to sustain itself as a Studio, like Disney has.

apple's strength is getting content onto its interconnected devices that use its own proprietary software as hooks into its system. its Messages along keeps millions of people on apple devices.

Disney might offer its programming on an apple TV+ channel, at a discounted monthly subscription price paid by apple.

one thing that apple TV+ does really well is with its Watch On function.
i have discovered a lot of amazon Prime programming through the apple TV+ app !
i'm an amazon Prime subscriber mainly for its delivery services. having Prime Video as a part of that is beautiful!
rentals cost on these two services: apple TV+ rental cost for movies (JPY 400 in my market) is exactly double the amazon Prime rental price (JPY 199) for the same movie.

 

[theluggage]

I wonder why they gave 1 year free? There are no obvious answers

To build an audience and get some word-of-mouth going - in a world where user reviews on social media are becoming as/more important as critical reviews - to get over the sticky first year when there are only a few shows on the service. I'm sure Apple hope/think that they've got the next big thing somewhere in there, but with a critical mass of people watching it, who will know?

Remember, Netflix started out as a movie rental service, Amazon Prime as a "free" delivery service and Dismal+ own the rights to half of popular culture. Apple are starting from cold, and need some sort of bootstrap.

Plus:

(a) It might even help sell a few Apple TVs and iDevices.
(b) These schemes make their money from all the people who forget/don't bother to unsubscribe at the end of the trial.

 

[tatsumi]

Watched the first 3 episodes of SEE.
Sure there were scenes I was shaking my head a bit whilst laughing how that can be even possible.
But it got better and I accepted the idea it could be simply a bit more fantasy and less realism.
I am not as hooked as I was on breaking bad or game of thrones, but I am interested in what’s next.
Today’s viewers can’t simply enjoy TV shows anymore without criticizing the hell out of it.

my wife and I are looking forward to next week.
We also watched the first episode of For All Mankind and as a person who likes dreaming up various possibilities that could have happened, I really liked it so far.