Apple has unveiled its long–awaited rival to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Dubbed Apple TV+, the service will offer original content and will be available across iPhones, iPads, Macs and smart TVs from this autumn.
The service will be ad–free and subscription based, with Apple promising to launch in over 100 countries.
However, CEO Tim Cook did not say how much the service would cost. A standard Netflix plan costs £7.99 per month, rising to £9.99 for a Premium package. Expect Apple TV+ to come in around the same price as the latter.
Apple revealed its new offering at a star–studded keynote on its Apple Park campus in California. Future collaborators including Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard took to the stage, along with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, who revealed plans for a new project called The Morning Show, which will also star Steve Carell.
The service will form part of the newly rejigged Apple TV app, which will be available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Samsung smart TVs in May, before rolling out to Roku and Amazon Fire TV ‘in the future’.
Apple says the app will allow for easy, off–the–shelf access to specific channels, using one password and credit card to cover the cost of subscriptions. Channels on offer include HBO, Showtime, CBS and MTV Hits.
The app will also offer quick access to all iTunes films and TV shows, with the ability to rent and buy as you can using an existing Apple TV.
Elsewhere, Apple used its event to reveal Apple News+, a new subscription service allowing access to over 300 magazines for a one off monthly payment of $9.99. The platform is launching in the United States and Canada, with no word on a UK launch. Based on the Texture tool Apple bought in 2018, the service will hopefully be more successful than Newsstand, Apple’s last failed attempt at bringing magazines to iPhones and iPads.
