The iTunes Movies and TV Shows apps will be nixed from tvOS in favor of the ability to purchase movies and shows directly in the TV app.
Appel is said to push people to its TV app, which will gain a sidebar on the Apple TV for switching between different video categories. As a result, the company will discontinue the standalone iTunes Movies and TV Shows apps on the Apple TV in an update to tvOS coming in December.
You could soon purchase iTunes movies in the Apple TV app
The company wants to enable people to rent and buy movies and TV shows from iTunes right within the TV app. The current version lets you access purchased films and TV shows under the Store tab, but buying and renting is unsupported.
Apple Inc. will redesign its TV app in a step toward consolidating the company’s various video offerings later this year, part of its efforts to become a bigger player in the streaming world. The company is preparing a new version of the app for release around December as part of an upcoming tvOS software update.
The change will also affect the iTunes Store app on the iPhone and iPad, which will lose their dedicated Movies and TV Shows sections.
The TV app makes a poor distinction between paid Apple TV+ content, third-party channels available for subscribing to and any previously purchased movies and TV shows. To an average user, this stuff all looks the same within the app.
The upcoming overhaul should help consolidate Apple’s video offerings, with the TV app becoming the default destination for all things video.
Earlier, Apple discontinued the dedicated iTunes Movie Trailers app and website, redirecting users to the TV app instead. Even the company’s keynote videos were moved from the dedicated Apple Events app to the TV app.