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New Apple TV+ subscription details just leaked out

Published Aug 21st, 2019 11:44AM EDT
Apple Plus TV Cost
Image: Tony Avelar/AP/Shutterstock

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Apple this past March unveiled Apple TV Plus, a subscription TV service that marks the company’s full-on foray into the world of video streaming. Set to feature a curated selection of content from some of the top directors and content creators on the planet, the service is slated to launch later this fall in more than 100 countries.

When Apple executives introduced Apple TV Plus a few months back, they failed to disclose a number of key details, with price being one such example. This, however, wasn’t terribly surprising given that Apple at the time was more focused on showing the world that they were partnering with some of the biggest names in Hollywood to deliver top-tier content.

With Apple’s iPhone 11 media event right around the corner, it stands to reason that we’ll hear a lot more about the company’s nascent TV streaming service in just a few weeks. In the interim, a number of notable Apple TV Plus tidbits managed to leak out over the past few days. On Monday, for instance, word emerged that Apple is planning to charge subscribers $9.99 a month. If we’re being honest, that’s an ambitious price point given that the service isn’t slated to launch with a boatload of titles. There have been rumblings that Apple TV Plus may be bundled with some other Apple services, but that remains to be seen.

Shedding more light on the ins and outs of Apple’s upcoming streaming service, MacRumors recently gleaned a bit more information from a recent beta of macOS Catalina. Specifically, Apple TV Plus will allow subscribers to download videos for offline viewing. While this seems like a no-brainer, you might recall that Netflix took its sweet, sweet time before implementing such a feature. Naturally, and as the case with Netflix, the same video will not be able to exist on two independent iOS devices concurrently.

Another new detail reveals that concurrent streams will be limited, though it remains unclear how many devices at a time will be able to access Apple TV Plus content.

It appears that simultaneous streams will also be limited on Apple TV+ as with most streaming services, including Apple Music. If a user tries streaming on more than the allowed number of devices, they will be informed something along the lines of “To stream this movie, stop watching ‘The Elephant Queen’ on another device.”

What we do know is that Apple is jumping into a streaming landscape that’s already filled with experienced players with decades worth of content creation experience. Aside from Netflix and Amazon, Apple’s content will have to go toe to toe with the likes of HBO, Disney, Hulu, and others. Indeed, Apple’s complete inexperience in the area is precisely why the company’s streaming efforts will be so fascinating to observe.

No matter how it all plays out, one thing is for sure: Apple, per usual, is playing for keeps and is willing to put its money where it’s mouth is. To this point, we recently learned that Apple is planning to spend as much as $6 billion on content creation, easily putting it side by side with heavyweights like Netflix.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.