The biggest highlight during Apple’s event is Apple TV+. This is their new video streaming service which Apple will invest heavily on original content. Apple is calling Apple TV+, the new home for the world’s most creative storytellers and they are offering exclusive original TV shows, movies and documentaries produced by the top storytellers in the world.
As a sneak peek, Apple had showcased its impressive lineup of creative artists which include Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, J.J. Abrams, Jason Momoa, M. Night Shyamalan, Hon M. Chu and more on storage. During the event, it was revealed that Steven Spielberg is working on an Amazing Stories reboot which will be shown exclusively on Apple TV+.
All of these original content can be accessed via the Apple TV app. Apple says that subscribers can look forward to inspiring and authentic stories with emotional depth and compelling characters from all walks of life.
On the Apple TV itself, Apple has announced an all-new interface and they are also introducing Apple TV channels as well. This brings not just video on demand content for TV shows and movies, but also sports, news and network TV from cable and satellite providers.
The new Apple TV app will be released in May and customers can subscribe to Apple TV channels ala carte and watch them with no additional apps required. The TV channels include HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, Smithsonian Channel, EPIX, Tastemade, Noggin, MTV Hits and with more to come. On top of that, Apple TV will also suggest shows and movies from more than 150 streaming apps which include Amazon Prime and Hulu, plus pay-TV services such as Canal+, Charter Spectrum, DIRECTV Now and PlayStation Vue. Netflix is not included.
Apple has not announced its subscription pricing at the moment but they did mentioned that you only pay for what you want. The current Apple TV app is accessible via your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, but now they are also introducing it on the Mac as well as Smart TVs. This will be supported on compatible Samsung, LG, Sony and VIZIO smart TVs later this year, and you can push your content from your iPhone or iPad via AirPlay 2.
Is Apple TV a new Netflix killer? We can’t really answer that at the moment and it all depends on its global approach. We still don’t know how much the subscription is going to cost and we also don’t know how extensive is their content catalogue if it is made available in other countries like Malaysia. We hope to find out more when they reveal more details later
