That Apple TV is really shaping up to be one of the best digital media streamers on the market. It’s not the most popular by a long shot-that crown goes to Roku–but it has evolved enough since its introduction (of the “new” generation) two years ago to confidently say it’s got one of the best user experiences of any similar device. When Apple launched the new Apple TV two years ago, it brought with it a new tvOS, an Apple TV App Store, and the brand new Siri voice remote. Then this year the announced an upgraded version–the Apple TV 4K, which, you guessed it, allows it to display 4K content. This past month Amazon also made it’s Prime Video app available on the device. And also in this last month, Apple has released its new TV app for UK users. But what is the new TV app and what does it do? Read on.
Apple's New TV App: What Is It?
It’s best to think about the TV app as being the central “hub” for all of the movies and television shows you have access to across a range of services on all your devices. The app replaces the old Videos app that used to be a staple on all iOS and tvOS devices. Apple originally introduced the TV app earlier this year for users in the US, but now the company has rolled it out to UK users and users in a few other countries as well.
Apple's New TV App: What Are Its Main Features?
As stated above, the biggest feature of Apple's New TV App is to serve as a central hub for all the tv shows you have access to. And no, this doesn’t just include those you’ve downloaded or rented from the iTunes store or that you’ve imported manually into your iPhone from your computer (though the app includes all those too). The TV app also “rounds up” the content from your other media streaming services and puts their content all in the app as well. This makes it super easy to use one app to find anything you are searching for.
The app also supports universal search. This means it will search for content across services for, say, a movie you are looking for. For example, if you want to watch Blade Runner, enter the title into the TV app’s search field and it will show you all the places where you can watch it–whether that be through the iTunes store, on BBC iPlayer, on Amazon Prime Video, or more.
Apple's New TV App: What Services Does It Support?
As already mentioned, the new TV app supports content on the iTunes store, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime video. It also supports My5, Hopster, MUBI, Curiositystream, Classix, Shudder, Sundance, and ITV Hub in the UK. In the US it supports Hulu, Starz, HBO Now, and CBS. The big obvious no-show is Netflix. Hopefully they’ll cave soon.
Apple's New TV App: What Devices Does It Support?
I know, you hear “TV” and you think this app is probably only for the Apple TV. But as we’ve stated, that’s not the case. The TV app lives on most Apple devices including iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and the 4th generation Apple TV or higher. In order to get access to the app you’ll need to be running iOS 11.2 or tvOS 11.2 on your devices.
Apple's New TV App: How Do I Get It?
Good news: if you’ve met the system requirements above then you’ve already got the app. Apple flipped the switch on December 8, so the new app should be on one of the home screens on your devices now.
by michaelg via Featured Articles
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