Apple TV Plus

What you need to know

  • Apple TV+ is a slate of original content from the hardware manufacturer.
  • Oh, right. Apple also is about services now.
  • We have no idea if its original shows will be any good, though.

Apple has yet to announce pricing or availability for its upcoming Apple TV+ service (which will run on more than Apple TV). But a triple bylined piece from Bloomberg points to some possible (if not likely) answers.

The price for Apple TV+? $9.99 a month. (After a free trial.) The availability? Sometime before November.

From Bloomberg:

Apple hasn't announced pricing for Apple TV+, but is weighing $9.99 a month, the people said, which would match Apple Music and Apple News+. Netflix and Amazon Prime charge as little as $8.99, while Disney+ plans to seek $6.99 when its service debuts in November.

Neither the price nor the launch window would be too much of a surprise. That's effectively the going rate for something that's not a MVPD — a multichannel video programming distributor — like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV. And that baseline prices for Netflix ($8.99) is a bit of a misnomer — you'll be paying more if you want things in high definition. And Disney+ likely will sell the everliving hell out of its $12.99 bundle that also includes Hulu and ESPN+.

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One thing going for Apple, however, is that despite the name Apple TV+ won't be shackled to just Apple TV or iOS devices. It's also going to be available on anything that can run the new and expanded Apple TV app, which includes Samsung, LG, Vizio and Roku smart TVs, as well as Amazon Fire TV.