Apple's services chief: This is why TV+ was de-plussed
Apple TV+ becomes Apple TV – nothing else changes: Eddy Cue explains in a podcast what prompted the company to rename its video service.
Apple TV+, old logo: The + had to go.
(Image: Apple)
There is no deeper strategy behind Apple's rather confusing renaming of the video streaming service to Apple TV. This is admitted by the powerful services chief of the group, Eddy Cue, in a podcast interview. In the latest “The Town”-edition, a show paid for by Apple Music competitor Spotify and focusing on the economic aspects of Hollywood, the manager said they simply decided to rename Apple TV+ to Apple TV.
At Apple, everyone dropped the Plus
Internally, “everyone” already called Apple TV+ just Apple TV. “And then we said, given the position we are in today: It's a great time to do this now.” Cue also does not believe there will be any confusion with the hardware product Apple TV. “Our hardware is called Apple TV 4K for your TV. I think that's fine, and the app is called Apple TV.” They will also call it Apple TV on third-party devices, such as TVs and streaming boxes, “so I don't think that's a problem at all.”
However, Cue did not mention that the Apple TV app not only provides access to Apple's own streaming service but also includes other third-party offerings. But in his view, Apple is now acting consistently. They used the “+” before because other paid services like iCloud+ and News+ are also on offer. “But with those, we have a free service and then a paid version.”
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Apple TV generally established
Cue also assumes that the identity of Apple TV as a streaming service is now generally established. Customers also drop the Plus, in his opinion. However, Apple itself still needs to take action. The website has not yet been updated in all places.
The fact that the Apple TV hardware is now being renamed—new models of the streaming box are currently awaited—is unlikely, according to Cue's statements, but the group is likely to emphasize the “4K” more strongly now. Interestingly, customers usually omit this and simply refer to the multimedia box as “Apple TV.” And that's exactly what the streaming service is now. So the confusion is likely to continue for a while. However, this is not entirely unusual for Apple: a prime example would be a naming like that of the MacBook Pro M4 Pro.
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