There’s been lots of news for Apple TV fans to keep up with this week, with reports claiming that the company will soon roll out a completely redesigned Apple TV app and phase out the separate iTunes and TV Shows applications by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the company revealed that it’s increasing the price of subscriptions to its Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade apps. It also rolled out an incremental upgrade to its TV operating systems, tvOS.
First up is the redesigned Apple TV app, which has not yet been confirmed but comes from a very reliable source in Bloomberg. The upgrade will introduce a redesigned user interface that’s more akin to the Netflix app, sources told Bloomberg, with a side panel on the left of the screen for navigation purposes.
Apple’s goal is to transform the Apple TV app into a complete entertainment hub, the sources revealed. The app is available on all Apple devices, including the Apple TV 4K, iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, as well as third-party devices such as consoles, media streamers and smart TVs.
It’s expected that the Apple TV app update will arrive with tvOS 17.2, which is likely to roll out in December, the report added. The revamped app’s arrival is set to coincide with the retirement of movie and TV show purchases in the iTunes store. Apple has somewhat confusingly allowed people to keep buying movies and TV shows in iTunes even though the exact same selection is offered in the Apple TV app, but that will soon change.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, Apple will discontinue its dedicated apps that allow users to rent and buy movies and shows, while removing those sections within iTunes as well. "The idea is to steer more customers toward the main TV app, which sits at the center of Apple’s expanding video strategy,” Bloomberg reported.
Higher Subscription Prices
While the new app is yet to be confirmed, the increased prices for Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade are official. Although the company has not yet informed customers, it has adjusted the prices for those apps on its website, FlatPanels HD reported. So, for now, the increased prices only apply to new subscribers, but it seems likely existing customers will also have to pay more, very soon.
Apple TV+, which is the company’s video streaming service that rivals Netflix, will increase from £6.99 per month to £8.99, the website shows. It marks the second time Apple has increased the cost of that service, following a price bump in October 2022. It’s notable that Apple TV+ is still cheaper than rival services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
As for Apple Arcade, the company’s video game subscription service, the price of this will rise from £4.99 per month to £6.99 per month. By subscribing to this service, users can access a library of top arcade games across Apple’s platforms, including the Apple TV 4K media box.
Apple is also increasing the price of Apple One subscriptions, which bundle the two above services into one package. Its website shows that an individual Apple One subscription will now cost £18.95 per month, up from £16.95. The family subscription now costs £24.95, up from £22.95, while the premier tier now costs £36.95 a month, up from £32.95.
tvOS 17.1 Arrives
Also this week, Apple rolled out an update to tvOS, the operating system that powers the Apple TV 4K box. With this, users get new features including the “On-Screen Volume Display”, which enables users to volume on external devices such as soundbars to be displayed on the screen.
There’s also a new “Enhance Dialogue” feature that allows users to improve the clarity of the dialogue on movies and shows. That may be useful in scenes where the dialogue isn’t clear, or for people who are hard of hearing. It’s compatible with apps including Disney+, Hulu and Max, but Netflix wasn’t mentioned.
Finally, Apple said tvOS now supports the Nintendo 64 Switch controller, which can now be used to play Apple Arcade games and others from the app store. This adds to its support for Xbox and PlayStation controllers, and a number of third-party Bluetooth controllers.
Apple tvOS 17.1 is rolling out this week, so if it hasn’t arrived yet, expect it to do so very soon.
