A flurry of TV app updates have arrived this week, with the F1 TV app landing on the Android, Google TV and Fire TV platforms and the Amazon Prime Video now available on Apple Mac computers. In addition, LG Electronics says it’s giving it’s 2016 to 2021 TV owners in more than 80 countries three months of free access to the Apple TV app.
Motor sports fans will appreciate the most recent update to the F1 TV app because it means they no longer need to rely on the AirPlay and Chromecast functions on their mobile devices to enjoy live Formula 1 streams on their living room TV. For the first time, the F1 app can now be installed directly on thousands of Android, Google TV and Amazon Fire TVs.
It’s a big update because premium TV brands such as Sony, Philips and TCL sells dozens of high-end Android and Google TV-powered televisions. The Nvidia Shield set-top box is also powered by Android TV so that’s another platform that gets the F1 TV app.
With the F1 TV app, users can subscribe and access live streams of every single F1, F2 and F3 race, as well as Porsche Supercup events and an extensive library of replays, documentaries and other content. The service supports 1080p resolution at 50fp, it’s entirely ad-free and if you happen to be in a large family of avid motor racing fans, you’ll be delighted to learn it supports up to six simultaneous streams at once. F1 recently said it has begun testing 4K and HDR support, but it has not said when that functionality might go live.
The F1 TV app is available in 118 countries and is priced at $10 per month or $80 for a full year’s subscription.
As for Amazon Prime Video, there are probably very few platforms left that don’t support it following this week’s announcement that it’s now available on Mac computers. The app has been a permaent fixture on big screens from the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Philips et al for several years now, so it has been a bit slow in coming to Apple’s desktop machines.
Amazon Prime Video on Apple Mac is a native macOS application available now in the Mac App Store, with support for Intel-based and Apple silicon-based M1 Macs that run MacOS Big Sur or later editions. Just like the TV app, Amazon Prime on Mac provides access to the full selection of Prime Video content, and users can also purchase access to more titles from their Mac books.
For many users, the more exciting Apple news is LG’s promotional offer that’s giving LG TV owners a full three months of access to the Apple TV app. The app provides access to the Apple TV+ streaming service and also the iTunes content store where hundreds more movies and TV shows can be rented. The offer was first announced at the beginning of the month and it is now redeemable on all compatible 2016 to 2021 LG smart TVs via the webOS content store, LG said.
The promotion was revealed just two weeks after Apple launched a new, standalone Apple TV+ app on LG’s 2016 and 2017 TVs that only provides access to the streaming service. The Apple TV app has more features.
