Apple TV+ was launched at the beginning of November 2019. The video streaming service attracted some big stars to its projects, including Jennifer Aniston, Jason Momoa, and Oprah Winfrey. The focus of the Apple TV+ video library is on original content. This strategy avoids the pitfalls encountered by other international video streaming services when buying licenses from other producers. The main problem re-broadcasters face is that they can’t get the rights for all of the territories where they operate. By producing its own content, Apple TV+ will be able to reserve its entertainment for its own service in every country where it is available.
At present, Apple TV+ can be subscribed to in 100 countries and dependencies around the world. Apple currently gives a one-year free subscription to anyone who buys an Apple device. For others in the world, the service can be sampled on a 7-day free trial before committing to a paid subscription. Apart from the 7-day trial, there is no free version of Apple TV+.
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Who is Apple TV+ best for?
Apple TV+ will obviously appeal to the buyers of Apple gadgets because these electronics come with a 1-year free subscription to the video streaming service. Students who subscribe to the monthly Apple Music Student plan also get Apple TV+ for free.
Apple TV+ is an appealing streaming service for families. Some of the content on the system is aimed at children and the Family Sharing system allows six family members to share an account. The Family sharing plan enables adults to set parental controls on access to the video system by their children.
Apple TV+ isn’t big on sports. So, those who want to watch sports all day should perhaps look around for a different video streaming service. The Apple TV+ service is a video on demand platform; it doesn’t include a live TV service. Videos on the platform can be downloaded so that they can be enjoyed without a live internet connection.
How to access Apple TV+
There are many ways to access Apple TV+. However, the first point of note is that the system requires an Apple ID to access. Members of the service can get in for free, as explained above, by buying an Apple device. The service is also free to members of the Apple Music Student plan. Everyone else can get a 7-day free trial.
The Apple TV+ system can be streamed from the internet onto TVs through an Apple TV set-top box. This includes the Apple TV 4K, the Apple TV HD, and the Apple TV 3rd Generation units. An Apple TV app on Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Sony smart TVs. The service will play over Amazon Fire TV Cube and Amazon Firestick and also Roku boxes.
Mobile devices running the iOS operating systems have an app available for Apple TV+. That includes the iPhone, the iPad, and the iPod touch. Apple doesn’t produce an Apple TV+ app for Android mobile devices – the company recommends using a browser to access the service from those devices. The same is true for Android-based set-top boxes, which usually have access to a browser through the boxes menu system.
Macs that have the macOS Catalina operating system already have the Apple TV app installed on them. This gives access to Apple TV+. There is no app for computers running Windows.
If you have Windows or a Chromebook, you can access Apple TV+ at the service’s website through a browser. Any standard web browser can access the Apple TV+ site. That includes Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari.
