Apple plots UI changes to ‘steer more customers toward the main TV app’

A new Bloomberg report describes some changes Apple is planning to the TV app in an update currently planned for the December timeframe. It is aimed at making the TV app (on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and Mac) the central hub for all video content purchases and rentals. Currently, that content can also be found in the iTunes store on iPhone or iPad, or in separate TV and Movies apps on Apple TV hardware.

The planned December time frame means this will probably be a part of tvOS 17.2, which will likely arrive in early December. In that release, the TV app will get a left-hand side panel for categories, much like Netflix and other video streaming apps. The separate Movies and TV apps for purchasing or renting content will be discontinued—you can already buy and rent all that content from within the TV app, making them somewhat obsolete.

On iPhones and iPads, the iTunes Store will lose the Movies and TV tabs. The TV app already contains a Store tab with all the content from there, making those tabs obsolete. This will make the iTunes Store app a place only to buy music, begging the question of how long that will last. It seems simpler to allow music purchases within the Music app, after all, and the Apple Music app (like the TV app) is available on many more platforms.

Gurman says the overhaul is designed to “steer more customers toward the main TV app,” where Apple’s original shows and movies are found.

Apple TV