Skip to Content

Watch the Season Premiere of Apple's New 'Planet of the Apps' Series

by

"Planet of the Apps" premiered on Apple Music last night, and Apple has now made the first episode available to watch online for a limited time.

planet of the apps premiere
The season premiere featured the developers of Pair, Twist, and Companion, who each pitched their apps to influencers Gary Vaynerchuk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, and will.i.am. The apps which make it to the final round of the show will receive up to $10 million in funding and featured placement in the App Store.

The overall theme of the show is comparable to Shark Tank, but with more of a reality TV spin like The Voice. The developers appear at the top of an escalator, make a brief pitch about their apps, and as long as they receive at least one "green light" from the judges, they can continue their pitch.

Variety called Planet of the Apps a "bland, tepid, barely competent knock-off of Shark Tank" in its review, but noted the show is "not terrible."

Planet of the Apps, hosted by Beats 1 radio DJ Zane Lowe, will be released on a weekly basis through Apple Music.

Top Rated Comments

69Mustang Avatar
114 months ago
pitched their apps to influencers... Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, and will.i.am.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
okay, okay, I'm better now that I got that outta my syste-

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Serious now. Apple should take a page from Netflix and Amazon. Use some of that huge cash pile and buy some quality original content. Not... this.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
114 months ago
Wow from literally cringing when I saw the trailer and first heard of this I just saw the first ten minutes and it's actually not that bad at all. Really really surprised. Interesting ....
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
somerandommacperson Avatar
114 months ago
No offense to the lovely Jessica Alba, but what the BLEEP does she know about apps beyond twitter and facebook?
She's a business women and an investor
https://******************/person/jessica-alba
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
114 months ago
Interesting responses. What these critics are failing to realize is that despite what they think they know about these advisors, they have all successfully turned into very wealthy entrepreneurs because they understand the importance of things like general accessibility, use cases, and promotion.

Therefore, if you aren't independently wealthy based on an app (or really anything else) you've developed and successfully promoted, what exactly are you laughing at? It's easy to say that you have a great concept and are a hidden gem but frankly if you don't know how to sell it, then who cares?

Remember back when Jessica Simpson decided to quit acting and singing and start a clothing line? It's a billion dollar brand, based on boots from department stores. Think about that.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
114 months ago
Naw, I'm good.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
114 months ago
Not sure this is the same 69Mustang as the above seems out of character.
Would be interesting to hear your take on the actual show as you usually have some insightful comments.
TIA
One in the same. Disclosure: I have an inherent bias against reality type TV. I view it as the lowest common denominator in entertainment. That being said, I actually watched the episode. Still feel the same. It was not entertaining, interesting, nor informative... to me. Could that be my aforementioned bias? Partially, yeah. But more so, and specifically related to my original quote, Alba, Paltrow, and William don't resonate with me as it relates to apps. As @Kaibelf very accurately pointed out, they are all successful in their own right, but their individual successes don't translate to the environment of the show. At lease in my mind they don't. I totally understand that celebrity brings eyeballs. This is after all, entertainment. A show with successful app developers as "influencers" might resonate more with me, but would probably bore the face off the general public.

All that being said, I'd estimate my derision of the show is 60/40 reality tv bias/show content. As stated in the serious portion of my comment, I'd really like Apple to use some of that cash to buy some quality original content like Netflix and Amazon.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

First MacBook Neo Benchmarks Are In: Here's How It Compares to the M1 MacBook Air

Thursday March 5, 2026 4:07 pm PST by
Benchmarks for the new MacBook Neo surfaced today, and unsurprisingly, CPU performance is almost identical to the iPhone 16 Pro. The MacBook Neo uses the same 6-core A18 Pro chip that was first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro, but it has one fewer GPU core. The MacBook Neo earned a single-core score of 3461 and a multi-core score of 8668, along with a Metal score of 31286. Here's how the...
MacBook Neo Feature Pastel 1

Apple Announces $599 'MacBook Neo' With A18 Pro Chip

Wednesday March 4, 2026 6:15 am PST by
Apple today announced the "MacBook Neo," an all-new kind of low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip for $599. The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest shipping Intel Core Ultra 5, up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads,...
Multicolored Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature

Apple Accidentally Leaks 'MacBook Neo'

Tuesday March 3, 2026 7:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have prematurely revealed the name of its rumored lower-cost MacBook model, which is expected to be announced this Wednesday. A regulatory document for a "MacBook Neo" (Model A3404) has appeared on Apple's website. Unfortunately, there are no further details or images available yet. While the PDF file does not contain the "MacBook Neo" name, it briefly appeared in a link...