Apple has released the beta of the next tvOS update. This version, numbered 17.2, includes a considerable change: it is no longer possible to buy or rent films and series from iTunes. A screen now invites users to go through the Apple TV application. The final version of tvOS 17.2 will be pushed to all users before the end of the year.
With the iPod, iTunes certainly revolutionized the dematerialized music market in its time. Launched in January 2001, iTunes was essential in the Apple world. Audio player. Song Shop. Tool for dematerializing CDs. Then video on demand store from 2005. Software for controlling iPods, then iPhone and iPad. And even social network with Ping (a service which only lasted two years, between 2010 and 2012).
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Today, iTunes still exists, but it is gradually disappearing from Apple’s ecosystem. In macOS, iTunes has no longer been present since 2019, the firm having redistributed its functionalities between Apple TV, Apple Music, Podcast and file explorer. On iOS, iPadOS and tvOS, iTunes is still presentbut its role is limited to the purchase of songs, albums and ringtones, as well as the purchase or rental of video content.
iTunes no longer supports the purchase and rental of movies and TV series
But Apple is preparing to take another step towards eliminating iTunes. Our colleagues from 9to5Mac report that Apple will remove the sale and rental of films and TV series from the iTunes application. The information was discovered thanks to the publication this week of the beta version of tvOS 17.2the next version of the Apple TV operating system which could arrive on all users’ set-top boxes in the coming weeks.
In tvOS 17.2, iTunes is still visually present. The icon is positioned in the second line of the interface, the first being inhabited by default by TV, Arcade, FaceTime, Photos or even Music. However, if you click on iTunes, instead of being directed to the purchase and rental store, you see a screen with a message. The latter tells you that the purchase and rental of films and TV series is now supported by Apple TV. There is even a small direct link. Of course, all previous purchases remain yours. And the information screen even tells you where they are in Apple TV.
Source : 9to5Mac