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Apple’s revamped TV app is coming to Roku and Fire TV, plus Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Sony TVs

Apple’s revamped TV app is coming to Roku and Fire TV, plus Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Sony TVs

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Available on a wide selection of devices

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Apple announced its new TV streaming service today, but it won’t just be available on the company’s own devices. The service will be coming to a range of smart TVs and streaming boxes via an updated Apple TV app. These include TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio, and streaming services from Roku and Amazon. The app will be available on Macs, too.

This broad launch is notable and follows Apple’s wider pivot to focus on services instead of hardware. The company knows that if its TV subscription service is going to succeed, it needs to be available wherever people are currently watching films and TV. That means partnering with firms that might usually be dismissed as rivals.

We don’t yet know which TV models the new Apple TV app will be available on, but watch this space for more detail. It’ll be coming first to select Samsung TVs, hitting other devices later in the spring, and then it will be available on Macs later in the year.

Apple’s expanded content offering is a bit confusing, but here’s what we know. The updated TV app will have the usual options to buy and rent films and TV shows. Users will also be able to subscribe to individual pay channels including HBO, Showtime, and Starz via a new service called “Apple TV Channels.” And there’ll be Apple’s own Apple TV Plus service, which will feature original content from the likes of Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.

We don’t know how much an Apple TV Plus subscription will cost, but Apple wants to make its revamped app the best place for people to access a range of streaming content.

“We designed a new TV experience where you can pay for only the channels you want, all in one app, with the password you already have,” said Apple’s Peter Stern at the launch event in Cupertino. “Watch everything on demand and ad-free. Download your shows to take with you anywhere. Enjoy the highest quality picture and sound available.”