At its keynote held this morning Apple announced Apple TV+, a new streaming service from the maker of the iPhone and iPad that according to its CEO Tim Cook, "is unlike anything that's come before".
The streaming service will offer exclusive content from famous filmmakers like JJ Abrams, Steven Spielberg and M. Night Shyamalan, and was announced alongside Apple Card, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade.
That service will include shows like Amazing Stories and The Morning Show, and stars like Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and Jason Momoa. There's even a Sesame Street spin-off show for the pre-school crowd.
Unlike the basic package of Hulu, Apple TV+ will be ad-free from the start and be available in 100+ countries through a section of the Apple TV app. It will be available starting in Autumn 2019 (September through November) on smart TVs, MacOS and iOS.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? A rival streaming service that Apple will place its own content on among other titles.
- When will it be released? Autumn 2019 (September through November)
- How much will it cost? That's still TBD.
In addition to Apple TV+, Apple introduced Apple TV Channels that combines cable subscription services and streaming services like Amazon Prime Video into the Apple TV app. (Unfortunately, however, Apple TV Channels doesn't incorporate Netflix.)
Apple TV Channels will be incorporated into the Apple TV app on iOS starting in May, and on MacOS later in the year, but will sit outside Apple TV+'s purview.
So Apple TV+ is like Netflix?
So here's where things get a bit nebulous. On stage, Cook made it very clear that Apple TV+ isn't Netflix, at least not yet. While the service will offer original content by the boatload, Apple TV+ won't offer licensed content - syndicated shows like The Big Bang Theory, Mr. Robot or Seinfeld.
For now, you'll still have to buy those shows a la carte through iTunes or via your terrestrial cable app in Apple TV Channels.
There's also the question of availability. Cook named a number of major TV manufacturers that will offer the new Apple TV app in today's keynote, but never came close to mentioning all that platforms where Netflix is available like Android TV, PC desktops and laptops and non-Apple tablets.
Developing...
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news https://ift.tt/2TZlrGa
