With the rollout of tvOS 17.2, Apple will remove its iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows apps. A notification message is already displayed on the screen of certain users.
To simplify the interface of its Apple TVs and simplify its video offering, Apple will very soon delete its iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows applications. As a reminder, this removal was first mentioned last October by Mark Gurman and should materialize very soon with the deployment of tvOS 17.2, including the preview “ release candidate » was unveiled this December 5 by Apple.
There is therefore no longer any doubt about the fact that the two iTunes applications, which still existed on the Apple TV, are living their last hours. Apple has also started to display a redirection message to certain users, specifying that their films and series purchased on iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows had automatically been moved to the Apple TV application.
The iTunes “brand” is still losing ground
The Apple TV platform will now be the only one to allow the purchase and rental of films and series on Apple TV boxes… pushing the iTunes brand, which is used less and less by Apple, a little further.
The good news is that this transfer of skills and content will allow the Apple TV application to take over certain features exclusive to the two iTunes platforms. Among them, the possibility of filtering content by genre in the purchases tab. With iOS tvOS 17.2, the TV application will also inherit a new sidebar including a tab dedicated to the store and purchases to allow quick navigation.
Note, however, that the tiles for the iTunes Movies and iTunes TV Shows applications should remain visible with tvOS 17.2, at least initially. Users who click on it will simply see the screen above, and will therefore be redirected to the Apple TV application. It is very possible that Apple will subsequently carry out a silent update of itsbackendto remove the two tiles, which have become useless… without user intervention being necessary.
Note that, paradoxically, the iTunes Store application for iPhone and iPad does not seem to be affected immediately. The latter is still active and functional for the purchase of films and series. It is unknown if Apple plans to deactivate it too in favor of the increasingly central Apple TV application.
As for tvOS 17.2, its deployment should take place shortly, probably over the next few days, before the Christmas period.