Apple has given its Apple TV app a little spruce, with the company unveiling a redesigned platform that looks much more like the streaming services you already use.
Following reports of Apple’s upcoming refresh in October, the Apple TV app revamp is part of the company’s tvOS 17.2 software update rolled out Monday with the iOS 17.2 chapter. It’s mainly an intuitive and aesthetic tszuj largely consisting of a new app interface for Apple’s entertainment hub, which has rebooted the grid-like menu into a rather Netflix-like Home page with a sidebar.
Apple’s shiny new Home lobby includes a Channels and Apps section where you can browse your streaming services and connected apps, and navigate through curated collections and recommendations including Trending, Top Charts, and New. From the original setup, the sidebar is where you can access Apple’s own Apple TV+ streaming service (with all its originals like Severance, Silo, The Morning Show, The Changeling, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Bad Sisters, The Afterparty, and more).
There’s also been an update to the Store for renting and buying movies and TV (with a new Add Channels & Apps feature for browsing), live sports broadcasts including Major League Soccer, and shortcuts to the other streaming services you subscribe to — all sitting in the sidebar.
The updated Store.
Credit: Apple
In a move to bring the Apple TV platform closer to a Netflix/Max/Hulu/Disney+-style mode, if you’re using the Apple TV app through an Apple TV set top box device, the updated sidebar also includes profiles that you can switch between so you don’t get the same recommendations or ruined personal Up Next lists on your Home page (who watched Spirited on my account again? Ruining my algorithm!).
Plus, Apple has demoted its own dedicated apps, meaning the iTunes Movies and TV Shows apps will now redirect users to the Apple TV app, as will the iTunes Store app on the hardware devices. Essentially, all roads on Apple TV lead to the Apple TV app.
Meanwhile, if you’ve got an Apple TV hardware device and don’t know how to set up, we’ve written a guide for you.
