Apple to Overhaul TV App, Remove Standalone Apps from Apple TV

Apple plans to overhaul the TV app in an effort to consolidate its Apple TV+ streaming service and its standalone movie and TV show purchase options, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. A tvOS update in December will introduce the changes that Apple has planned.

Apple TV 4K hero 221018
To push users to the ‌Apple TV‌ app, Apple plans to remove its standalone ‌Apple TV‌ apps that are available for renting and purchasing TV shows and movies. The movie and TV show sections from the iTunes Store app on iPhones and iPads will also be eliminated.

Apple wants to push customers to the TV app, which already houses purchased movies and shows, ‌Apple TV‌+ content, and third-party channels that customers can subscribe to.

The TV app will serve as a hub for streaming content, and Gurman says the redesigned app will have a side panel at the left that can be used to navigate between different video categories.

Updated navigation should make the TV app less confusing for consumers, making it clearer which content is from Apple and available through the ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription and which content requires a separate subscription.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3

Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, ...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
iPhone 16e Bottom Crop

Apple Reportedly Unveiling a New iPhone Next Week

Tuesday February 10, 2026 1:51 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report said the iPhone 17e will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website, so do not expect an event for this device specifically. The iPhone 17e will be a spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e. Rumors claim the device will have four key...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Acquires New Database App

Wednesday February 11, 2026 6:44 am PST by
Apple acquired Canadian graph database company Kuzu last year, it has emerged. The acquisition, spotted by AppleInsider, was completed in October 2025 for an undisclosed sum. The company's website was subsequently taken down and its Github repository was archived, as is commonplace for Apple acquisitions. Kuzu was "an embedded graph database built for query speed, scalability, and easy of ...

Top Rated Comments

RickDEGH Avatar
30 months ago
I honestly didn’t understand any of what I just read ?
Score: 75 Votes (Like | Disagree)
30 months ago
Ugh, that's disappointing. The dedicated apps are faster and much easier to navigate.
Score: 73 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iwan073 Avatar
30 months ago
The :apple:TV app is such a mess. I have no idea where to look
Score: 64 Votes (Like | Disagree)
30 months ago
The TV app is much worse than the individual movies and tv shows apps. This would be horrible from a user experience POV to do this.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rorschach Avatar
30 months ago
Still waiting for them to give us an option to remove the massive ads that show up above my Up Next queue in the Watch Now tab. On my iPhone, they take up more than three quarters of the screen. IMO “Watch Now” should only show content I’ve already purchased or is available on services I’ve already subscribed to. And if they are going to show me ads above my Up Next, at least personalize it so it doesn’t show me stuff I’ve already watched.

I’m fine with this change because there’s already a Store tab. But the TV app itself needs a lot of work.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
page3 Avatar
30 months ago
Great idea.

Better to have one app I never use, rather than several I never use.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)