Everything You Need to Know About Apple TV+

Considering a subscription to Apple TV+, the streaming service from the tech giant? Here’s how much it costs, what you can watch, which devices are supported, and more.

What Is Apple TV+?

Apple TV+ was announced in March 2019 during an Apple Special Event. The streaming service launched on November 1, 2019, with a variety of original film and television content, backed by high-profile names like Steven Spielberg and Jennifer Aniston.

Apple TV+ wasn’t a success right off the bat, unlike Disney+ which debuted a few weeks later, but it has slowly grown. The service continually adds great new original content, some of which have won awards (like Ted Lasso and CODA), and occasionally offers a small selection of third-party movies.

How Much Does Apple TV+ Cost?

Apple TV+ costs $9.99 a month after a seven-day free trial. Alternatively, you can save a bit of money and pay $99 for a year. Everything is available in a single tier, which is one way Apple TV+ is better than Netflix—you don’t pay extra for features like 4K or no ads.

If you purchase particular Apple hardware, like an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you get three months of Apple TV+ for free. Or, you can also get it free if you qualify for a student plan of Apple Music.

Alternatively, Apple TV+ comes as part of Apple One. Apple One is the company’s subscription bundle that also includes services like iCloud, Music, and Arcade. Plans begin at $19.95 a month.

What Content Is Available on Apple TV+?

Unlike almost every other streaming service, Apple TV+ primarily has original content that you can’t see anywhere else. Sometimes, non-exclusive licensed movies from other studios are available for a limited time, but consider these a bonus rather than a reason to subscribe.

If you compare Apple TV+ to other streaming services, it focuses more on quality than quantity. The catalog expands, but slowly. If you’re looking for something that can keep you entertained every night of the year, Apple TV+ might not be right for you—it’s perhaps more suitable as something you subscribe to every couple of months.

Though subjective, much of what Apple TV+ streams is excellent. It’s home to award-winning TV series and movies, interesting documentaries, cute and entertaining content for kids, and more.

Plus, it’s all ad-free, widely supports 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, and you can download for offline viewing (on Apple devices only).

TV Shows

Some of the great shows to watch are:

• Dickinson: A charming and unique comedy-drama about the poet Emily Dickinson.
• Severance: A thrilling, twisty sci-fi about people who split their memories between their work and personal lives.
• Ted Lasso: This Emmy-winning comedy follows an American football coach who is hired to lead an English soccer team.
• The Morning Show: A drama that follows the aftermath of sexual misconduct allegations levied against the co-host of a morning news program.

There are plenty of others too, like The Essex Serpent, Masters of the Air, Mythic Quest, Shrinking, Silo, and Slow Horses.

Movies

Movie fans are also well looked after, with the likes of:

• CODA: An Oscar-winning tale about the struggles and dreams of a girl who is a child of deaf parents.
• Killers of the Flower Moon: A crime drama, directed by Martin Scorsese and featuring powerhouse performances from the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio.
• The Tragedy of Macbeth: Joel Coen’s black-and-white adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand.
• Wolfwalkers: A beautiful and charming animated movie set in Ireland, about a girl who goes to Ireland to rid it of a wolf pack, but ends up making an unusual friend.

Other worthwhile watches include Cherry, Girls State, Greyhound, Palmer, Still, and Tetris.

What Devices Can You Watch Apple TV+ On?

You can stream Apple TV+ on almost any device you own. This includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Apple products: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Mac
• Games consoles: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
• Streaming devices: Roku, Fire TV, Google TV
• Smart TVs: Samsung, Sony, LG
• Web: Firefox, Chrome
• Cable or satellite services

The main system missing from this list is Android. While you can watch Apple TV+ on your Android phone or tablet’s web browser, there is no standalone app, meaning you can’t benefit from features like offline viewing.

It’s also not available on the Nintendo Switch, but you can’t stream much on the Switch anyway, so that’s no surprise.

For a full list of device compatibility, refer to Apple’s How to Watch Apple TV+ page.

Where Is Apple TV+ Available?

Apple TV+ is available in over 100 countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, and Australia. If your country supports other Apple services, it likely supports Apple TV+ as well.

To check your region, visit Apple’s Availability of Apple Media Services page.

Can You Share Your Apple TV+ Subscription?

With Apple’s Family Sharing feature, you can share your subscription (with simultaneous streaming) at no extra cost with up to five others who are in the same country as you. They just need an Apple account.

Unfortunately, you can only set up and manage Family Sharing from an Apple device. So, it’s inaccessible if you only stream Apple TV+ through your TV and don’t have a Mac or iPhone, for example.

Is Apple TV+ Worth Subscribing To?

Subscribing to Apple TV+ is a great idea if you’re curious what all the buzz is about surrounding Slow Horses, Shrinking, and other popular originals from the streaming service, especially considering the reasonable monthly cost. If you’re not interested in the original programming, though, it doesn’t have anything to offer you.