What's the difference between Apple TV, Apple TV app, and Apple TV+?
If you instantly know the difference between Apple TV, Apple TV app, and Apple TV+, then remember there's also Apple TV Channels, Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, and the Apple TV apps for Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and TV sets. What words are being overused here?
Watching Apple TV+ on the Apple TV app on iPhone
The reason that your Mac keyboard has a Command key with that clover-like icon is that designer Susan Kare put it there, but the reason she did is that Steve Jobs rejected the Mac team's original plan to put an Apple logo on it. Just as there's a Windows key for PCs, there would've been an Apple key for Macs, but Steve Jobs said no.
It appears that nobody else in Apple has ever said no since. Once the company took "Computer" out of its name, and once it stopped using "i" in front of everything, it settled on prefixing every product with the word Apple. Curiously, you can even date the move from "i" to "Apple" with the Apple TV as that had originally been announced under the name iTV.
At the time, changing it to Apple TV was just a legal decision after grumbles from the UK's television network ITV, but since then it's given rise to a generation. Not just of products named Apple, but specifically products named Apple TV.
Counting the different services, the different hardware, and the different apps, we make it that you can use the words "Apple TV" to mean about eight different things. We'd say that there may be a prize for anyone who can contort all eight into a single sentence, but we tried that above.
More seriously, we do regularly find ourselves having to explain how to get Apple TV+ through the Apple TV app on Apple TV. If only so that we can always refer you back to here, let us attempt to clear up the mess before Apple brings out yet another version of the Apple TV hardware.
Flash forward to today and not a giant amount has really changed in the hardware. It's still what used to be referred to as a set-top box, and you plug it into your TV set.
Unless you have a Samsung smart TV or one from some other manufacturers that has Apple TV built in. Apart from those TV, Apple itself currently sells two versions of the Apple TV hardware.
There's the Apple TV 4K, and the previous model, now referred to as Apple TV HD to differentiate it. And that is the differentiation, really -- one is a HD 1080p box, the other is a 4K one.
You can get them with different storage capacities, and there's a better processor in the 4K version. There's also better audio. But really, you're buying the $149 HD one to save a little bit of cash, or the $179 4K version because you have a 4K TV set.
Originally, all Apple TV models started up with the home screen. Later, Apple introduced an app called Apple TV and loved it so much that they made it appear whenever you tried to go to the home screen.
Alas, there were problems. Apple presents that app as your one-stop place to watch everything available on your Apple TV -- and it isn't. Netflix doesn't work with it. So you just have to leave that app to go watch the most popular streaming service in the world. And there are others.
Apple TV is more expensive than its rivals, naturally, but for many people, this is how all their TV watching starts
The way you get other services, such as Netflix, added to your Apple TV is to download their app from the Apple TV App Store. So when a channel tells you they're on Apple TV, that's what they mean -- probably.
Today, Apple TV Channels is one name for all the services you can watch through your Apple TV hardware, and specifically through the Apple TV app on it. Except for Apple's own.
In this sense, it's like Apple News. You get the regular Apple TV Channels service, and you can pay extra for Apple TV+. Except that what you get for your extra fee is solely Apple TV+, everything else remains either free or a separate subscription.
Then, too, Apple has still not rescinded its apparently temporary plan to give people one year's free Apple TV+ access when they buy a new device. So right now, for many people, Apple TV+ is an extra that's free.
Further muddying the waters enough to make this tricky to explain to your parents, is the business of what is a channel and what is an app. Whether you're Netflix with a library of on-demand programs, or you're ABC News with live broadcasts, it's up to you whether you choose to be a channel, an app, or conceivably both.
However, its slate of programs is wide, and so far every show is well made. Some are more successful than others, but as productions they are first-class and there is bound to be at least some you like.
There is just the question of where you watch them. It can be on a TV set, but it can also be in one last use of the Apple TV phrase.
Do a Spotlight search for the words "Apple TV" and your Mac or iOS device will know you really mean the TV app, and that's somehow a little indicative of the whole service. You want to do something and Apple TV translates that into what it thinks you want.
Except when it doesn't. You have to give Apple some credit for not swamping the TV app with its own Apple TV programs, but it doesn't have to make it quite so hard to find them.
This failing is not confined to Apple TV. Netflix is also difficult to dig through, but you'd hope that Apple would be better. Instead, Apple TV - sorry, the TV app -- makes it very easy for you to continue watching something you've already started like a series.
It just takes a lot more steps to find, say, all the Apple TV+ comedies or films. That might be intentional now as the Apple TV library remains small, but the company is adding new shows all the time so the way you find them is becoming a bigger issue.
Nonetheless, those shows are there to be found. And if we rankle at saying the words "Apple TV" a dozen times per sentence, at least it is getting the title out there. There's no way to know if that ever translates into more people trying Apple TV+, but if it gets anyone taking a second look at the Apple TV apps, or the Apple TV set-top boxes, that's a good thing.
Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.
Watching Apple TV+ on the Apple TV app on iPhone
The reason that your Mac keyboard has a Command key with that clover-like icon is that designer Susan Kare put it there, but the reason she did is that Steve Jobs rejected the Mac team's original plan to put an Apple logo on it. Just as there's a Windows key for PCs, there would've been an Apple key for Macs, but Steve Jobs said no.
It appears that nobody else in Apple has ever said no since. Once the company took "Computer" out of its name, and once it stopped using "i" in front of everything, it settled on prefixing every product with the word Apple. Curiously, you can even date the move from "i" to "Apple" with the Apple TV as that had originally been announced under the name iTV.
At the time, changing it to Apple TV was just a legal decision after grumbles from the UK's television network ITV, but since then it's given rise to a generation. Not just of products named Apple, but specifically products named Apple TV.
Counting the different services, the different hardware, and the different apps, we make it that you can use the words "Apple TV" to mean about eight different things. We'd say that there may be a prize for anyone who can contort all eight into a single sentence, but we tried that above.
More seriously, we do regularly find ourselves having to explain how to get Apple TV+ through the Apple TV app on Apple TV. If only so that we can always refer you back to here, let us attempt to clear up the mess before Apple brings out yet another version of the Apple TV hardware.
Apple TV hardware
It all started in 2006 when Steve Jobs gave us a sneak peek of the iTV. We really wanted an actual TV set made by Apple. We did not know this was as close as we were going to get.
Flash forward to today and not a giant amount has really changed in the hardware. It's still what used to be referred to as a set-top box, and you plug it into your TV set.
Unless you have a Samsung smart TV or one from some other manufacturers that has Apple TV built in. Apart from those TV, Apple itself currently sells two versions of the Apple TV hardware.
There's the Apple TV 4K, and the previous model, now referred to as Apple TV HD to differentiate it. And that is the differentiation, really -- one is a HD 1080p box, the other is a 4K one.
You can get them with different storage capacities, and there's a better processor in the 4K version. There's also better audio. But really, you're buying the $149 HD one to save a little bit of cash, or the $179 4K version because you have a 4K TV set.
Apple TV app
Whichever model you get, or if you watch through the right TV set, what you see first is the Apple TV home screen. And that is not the same thing as the Apple TV App -- probably.Originally, all Apple TV models started up with the home screen. Later, Apple introduced an app called Apple TV and loved it so much that they made it appear whenever you tried to go to the home screen.
Alas, there were problems. Apple presents that app as your one-stop place to watch everything available on your Apple TV -- and it isn't. Netflix doesn't work with it. So you just have to leave that app to go watch the most popular streaming service in the world. And there are others.
Apple TV is more expensive than its rivals, naturally, but for many people, this is how all their TV watching starts
The way you get other services, such as Netflix, added to your Apple TV is to download their app from the Apple TV App Store. So when a channel tells you they're on Apple TV, that's what they mean -- probably.
Apple TV Channels
Apple TV Channels were announced in March 2019 right alongside Apple TV+, but it's chiefly a new name for an existing idea. Apple TV has long boasted that you could watch 100 channels through it, and that includes live sports, plus subscription services like HBO Now.Today, Apple TV Channels is one name for all the services you can watch through your Apple TV hardware, and specifically through the Apple TV app on it. Except for Apple's own.
In this sense, it's like Apple News. You get the regular Apple TV Channels service, and you can pay extra for Apple TV+. Except that what you get for your extra fee is solely Apple TV+, everything else remains either free or a separate subscription.
Then, too, Apple has still not rescinded its apparently temporary plan to give people one year's free Apple TV+ access when they buy a new device. So right now, for many people, Apple TV+ is an extra that's free.
Further muddying the waters enough to make this tricky to explain to your parents, is the business of what is a channel and what is an app. Whether you're Netflix with a library of on-demand programs, or you're ABC News with live broadcasts, it's up to you whether you choose to be a channel, an app, or conceivably both.
Apple TV+
This is now the highest-profile use of the words "Apple TV," and it is the ever-growing catalog of dramas, comedies, children's shows, documentaries, and films. It may not yet have become as ubiquitous as Netflix, and it doesn't appear to have grabbed the same instant high-profile that Disney+ has.However, its slate of programs is wide, and so far every show is well made. Some are more successful than others, but as productions they are first-class and there is bound to be at least some you like.
There is just the question of where you watch them. It can be on a TV set, but it can also be in one last use of the Apple TV phrase.
Apple TV apps
On Apple TV itself, plus the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac, there is an Apple TV app. You can't miss it because Apple doesn't call it Apple TV. Instead, it's just called TV.Do a Spotlight search for the words "Apple TV" and your Mac or iOS device will know you really mean the TV app, and that's somehow a little indicative of the whole service. You want to do something and Apple TV translates that into what it thinks you want.
Except when it doesn't. You have to give Apple some credit for not swamping the TV app with its own Apple TV programs, but it doesn't have to make it quite so hard to find them.
This failing is not confined to Apple TV. Netflix is also difficult to dig through, but you'd hope that Apple would be better. Instead, Apple TV - sorry, the TV app -- makes it very easy for you to continue watching something you've already started like a series.
It just takes a lot more steps to find, say, all the Apple TV+ comedies or films. That might be intentional now as the Apple TV library remains small, but the company is adding new shows all the time so the way you find them is becoming a bigger issue.
Nonetheless, those shows are there to be found. And if we rankle at saying the words "Apple TV" a dozen times per sentence, at least it is getting the title out there. There's no way to know if that ever translates into more people trying Apple TV+, but if it gets anyone taking a second look at the Apple TV apps, or the Apple TV set-top boxes, that's a good thing.
Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.
Comments
However, we haven’t rushed to try AppleTV+ partly due to lack of content (so it makes sense to delay the start of the free 12 months as long as possible).
In a broader sense, we mostly use the Netflix app on the TV, sometimes the BBC app.
Before I bought the current TV I used the AppleTV HD hardware daily, but it’s left redundant now and I can’t think of a reason to buy the new 4k model seeing as the TV has the AppleTV app on it.
The other UK channel apps are a joke. I would even be prepared to put up with adverts but the app implementation is so bad that it usually crashes or fails to load about 75% of the time. So we have given up on these other apps.
I had to explain the differences to my other half last month, so I know it is confusing. The AppleTV offerings are about the worst thing about Apple at the moment, if it’s confusing to people in our house then it must be way beyond the comprehension of many others.
Could Jobs have done the same thing? IDK and neither do you. We both do know Cook could do it cuz he did it.
Not really sure it was Cook, it was the engineers and the designers behind the closed doors at Apple that did it. You can tell he has little to do with it just by his manner, and how he never actually demos anything because he doesn't really have an interest in it. He's an operations guy, and an excellent one at that. But it was well known there was a lot in the pipeline after SJ's death. The Watch was, and probably the Airpods too, and probably an ARM Mac. AppleTV+ is likely something that SJ didn't have a say on, and of course dropping into "SJ would have" territory here and yes I know 2020 Apple is a lot different to 1997 Apple, but he was one for focus; to do a few things but do them well. Apple's obviously much much bigger than in 1997, and not in financial troubles, but SJ liked minimalism, from the UI to the products themselves to the stores to the product lines. Nothing about Apple's product lines is minimal now, AppleTV+ included.
-- Create THIS and I will sell it
The fact that the base model is using 5 year old A8 processor should tell you a lot.
I’ve used the Apple TV since its inception (had a white MacBook sitting in another room with EyeTV hooked up DVR’ing shows from a cable box and then OTA, which then served those shows up to the Apple TV by way of Home Sharing) and have hung on with every change... and this has been the most confused it’s ever been. Is it hardware? Is it an app? Is it a service? The best parallel the original Apple TV had was the iPod—an Apple-styled media player that should have been the best option on the market. And, for a while, I think the Apple TV was the best option.
Once Roku stopped being just a basic Netflix device and had a store, once Google started pushing on Android TV (regardless of their failures there), once Amazon played its hand with the Fire TV, and once it was clear Apple wasn’t going to convince the content creators to accept it as an OTT provider, Apple should have taken decisive action instead of limping along (the fact that Apple still has no first-party or officially blessed third-party OTA tuner astounds me—it’s a no-brainer and the fact Amazon beat them to it with the Recast is just stunning). That being said, I think the entire landscape is an absolute mess and that it’s still anyone’s game.
If Apple can get off its rear and create an Apple TV equivalent to the Fire TV Cube (one with far-field mics, Siri built-in, and an IR blaster), that would make the case for a refresh on the hardware. If not... then there’s close to no reason for a new box (yes, a more powerful processor for Apple Arcade is “nice,” but useless until there is a packed-in game controller and there are full-fledged user profiles in tvOS—having the Apple TV box tied to a single Game Center ID is asinine). If they can’t make a box that is a useful piece of hardware (not just a player) and integrates into a smart home and its entertainment center, then they should stop making the thing.
Just as the Music app was the equivalent to the iPod, I think the TV app is the same to the Apple TV (which makes me ask if the future Of the tvOS interface is tied to the current TV app interface on the Apple TV box). I think there needs to be a visionary working hard on making sure the app works seamlessly across every platform and is presenting Apple’s best work, but many of their non-macOS, non-iOS app work feels half-hearted. Personally, I think the need for the app on other platforms mostly disappeared once MoviesAnywhere arose, but I still think Apple can use the app as a marketing tool to pull users over to the Apple TV hardware (hopefully better and more functional than it currently is).
The Channels are the first really good thing I’ve seen in a long time and I really want to see them push that aggressively. We subscribe to BritBox and it’s seamless—let’s see more of that! I’d really love to see more of the free providers (Tubi, Crackle, Filmrise, etc.) take advantage of it, too—it’s more likely to get their ads in front of faces that way. An OTA (Tablo, HomeRun, ChannelMaster... whatever) “channel” would be great, too. And a guide—something that integrates channels and apps with live feeds (Pluto, ESPN, the news apps, the OTA apps, etc.) so we can see what’s on right now—would be great (even though it’s playing catch-up).
And then there’s Apple TV+. I’m subscribed to it (I bought a Mac mini and got the free year), but I have yet to really be impressed by anything. I wanted to like For All Mankind and Raven’s Quest, but the former just fell flat with me (there’s a lot of retro-futurism they could be exploring there and they just aren’t) and the latter feels like it’s trying way too hard to be a semi-serious successor to The IT Crowd vis-a-vis The Office (and it misses the mark on both). I watched Beastie Boys Story and... nothing was new (nor did I think it was all that compelling once the discussion made it past Paul’s Boutique... which was 30 years ago). The Snoopy stuff has been fun to watch with my kids, but is that worth the potential monthly cost? What value does Apple TV+ bring at that price when Hulu is the same price? What does it actually do to serve Apple TV users?
Like a lot at Apple right now, the Apple TV offerings are a mess, but I think it’s the biggest mess. Apple needs to determine what its core businesses are, and I don’t think content creation is one. If they take inspiration from Jobs’s pro/consumer hardware quadrants (Power Mac, PowerBook for pros and iMac, iBook for consumers), I think Apple can begin to refocus (only, as opposed to just hardware, it should be pro hardware, consumer hardware, services, and first-party apps).
For the Apple TV ecosystem, I think refocusing means taking a serious look at the home hardware (the Apple TV and the HomePod) and Apple TV+.
In terms of the hardware, They need to ask if Siri is going to be a true competitor to Alexa, or is it going to be an also-ran like Cortana? If Siri is going to be more, then it’s well past time Siri be its own service and it be placed in everything (and licensed) just like Alexa (and, despite loving my HomePods, I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed due to Apple dragging its feet for five years). Personally, I would love a Fire TV Cube-like Apple TV with full voice controls and IR blasting, or an Apple-designed sound bar with HomePod-like capabilities and the same IR blasting, but I don’t see it coming (who knows what WWDC might bring?).
In terms of Apple TV+, they need to ask if content creation is actually a “service” or if it’s just a vanity project. Right now, it’s a vanity project. If they beef it up (buy Philo or Sling and maybe Filmrise or Crackle and get some big exclusives to beef-up the content offerings and integrate them *tightly* with the Apple TV app), then it might make it a proper OTT service. If they can’t do that, then it’s still just a vanity project, and spinning-out the content creation makes the most sense to me—it just isn’t needed, it’s muddling the message, and it’s distracting the company from from the core businesses.
Sorry for the wall of text. This is one of those things I’ve chewed on for a while and I keep being disappointed by Apple (but the others, too).