Apple TV Plus, on the other hand, has some excellent original material that may be worth the membership fee for avid TV fans. The Morning Show, a drama starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell; See, an epic sci-fi drama starring Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard; M. Night Shyamalan’s horror series Servant, and many others are among them.
Compared to other streaming heavyweights, Apple TV Plus will not access current blockbuster films or fan-favorite oldies. Still, it is the only service that focuses so heavily on big-budget original programming. According to reports, Apple invests billions of dollars to acquire top-tier talent and has enough pockets to keep the platform functioning indefinitely.
Apple TV Plus also includes a great family sharing option, which allows up to six family members to share the same account. Even better, they can use their logins, which eliminates the need for you to reveal your password to anyone.
Another thing to consider is that if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, you may be able to get the service for free.
The consensus from streaming and media experts is that although Apple TV Plus has a solid lineup of original content and fantastic streaming quality, there isn’t enough original content (yet).
In our Apple TV review, we found that Apple’s streaming service is a strong rival while not a runaway success. And it’s constantly introducing new and impressive stuff. For example, it has the best streaming bitrate in the industry and a unique three-episode initial-drop content approach to get viewers hooked quickly. Plus, with a monthly fee of only $5 and a substantial free subscription offer, Apple isn’t asking for much for the access to its content.
However, when we compare it to other prominent streaming services like Netflix and Disney Plus (more on this later), the disparity in content is startling. Even though both services are more expensive than Apple TV Plus, their catalogs are much broader and constantly developing.
Apple spent a lot of money on Apple Originals, and many of them are well worth watching. The Mandalorian is available on Disney Plus, Handmaid’s Tale is available on Hulu, and House of Cards is open on Netflix, among many more services. Apple TV Plus isn’t out of the game, with series like The Morning Show and Ted Lasso gaining traction, but it’s not smashing records.
Apple has licensed some third-party content. So far, that’s been confined to original seasons of Fraggle Rock and Charlie Brown holiday specials, i.e., properties in which Apple already had a stake as a producer of new seasons and specials. It will almost certainly never have the same extensive repertoire of shows and films as its competitors. No one claims that the service is poor; instead, it does not provide the same value as alternative solutions. This might easily change in the future if one or two massively successful series of films are released.
What users think
If you could only pick one, which streaming service would you choose?
Apple has always kept user figures close to its chest, so it’s impossible to say how popular Apple TV Plus has been with regular people. To make matters worse, many current Apple TV Plus subscribers are still on their free year. This means that when the first waves of free trials end, subscription numbers may plummet.