For the previous few months, the writing has been on the wall of Apple’s intention to kill off its standalone iTunes Motion pictures and TV Exhibits apps in iOS 17.2 and tvOS 17.2. Nevertheless, it appears this got here with some collateral harm that no person anticipated: eliminating customers’ Film Want Lists and TV Present Favorites within the course of.
Shortly earlier than the iOS/tvOS 17.2 beta cycle started in October, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on Apple’s plans to revamp the TV app and part out the devoted iTunes video apps, so it wasn’t an enormous shock when the TV app acquired a pleasant sidebar design in tvOS 17.2. Whereas the standalone apps remained in place, Apple’s intentions have been clear: the person iTunes Motion pictures and iTunes TV Exhibits apps have been about to be proven the door.
These apps continued to exist all through the tvOS 17.2 beta cycle, as did the devoted “Motion pictures” and “TV Exhibits” sections that had been within the iPhone and iPad iTunes Retailer app since “iOS” 3.0 added them in 2009 (they have been referred to as “iPhone Software program Updates” again then, and the unique “iTunes Wi-Fi Retailer got here in “iOS” 1.1.1 shortly after the primary iPhone was launched, however it solely supported buying and downloading music on the time).
Nevertheless, Gurman’s sources confirmed that Apple additionally deliberate to part out these sections within the iTunes Retailer in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later, and it didn’t waste any time in doing so; following the general public launch of iOS 17.2 final week, making an attempt to entry the legacy iTunes Motion pictures and TV Exhibits sections on the iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV resulted in a message that these had been moved to the TV app.
On the floor, that didn’t appear to be an enormous downside; the TV app has supplied a “Retailer” web page for just a few years now, so additionally having separate Apple TV apps to deal with film and TV present purchases was redundant, and arguably so have been the devoted sections within the iOS/iPadOS iTunes Retailer — and much more so when you think about they’ve been solely within the TV app on the Mac because the standalone iTunes app was killed off in macOS Catalina.
Sadly, though Apple’s TV app presents many of the identical capabilities for buying and renting motion pictures and shopping for TV Exhibits, Apple hasn’t replicated the Want Record within the TV app, which implies that anyone working tvOS 17.2 not has entry to this.
That is clearly one thing no person noticed coming — together with Apple’s engineers once they phased out the devoted iTunes Motion pictures and TV Exhibits sections, and as MacRumors notes, there are fairly just a few of us who’ve been saving up gadgets of their Want Record for a very long time — practically a decade in some instances — who all of the sudden had the rug pulled out from beneath them.
Gone However Not Forgotten
The excellent news is that every one hope is just not misplaced for what was in your Want Record, and there’s even a risk that Apple might carry all of them again to the TV app.
Since your Apple TV Want Record is synced to your iTunes Retailer account, it hasn’t been misplaced. There’s merely no option to entry it within the newest tvOS replace.
Nevertheless, when you nonetheless have a tool working tvOS 17.1 or older, you’ll be able to nonetheless discover your Film Want Record and TV Present Favorites in the identical locations they’ve all the time been — contained in the iTunes Motion pictures and iTunes TV Exhibits apps on the Apple TV.
Because the older tvOS variations don’t embody the up to date TV app, Apple hasn’t eliminated direct entry from the iTunes Motion pictures and TV Exhibits apps and sure gained’t be doing so, despite the fact that the TV app has included related performance for some time.
A Want Record additionally nonetheless exists within the iTunes Retailer app on the iPhone and iPad, simply not within the Motion pictures or TV Exhibits tabs. In case you click on on the menu within the top-right nook of the Music tab, it would seem because it all the time has, exhibiting Motion pictures and TV Seasons you’ve added to your Want Record alongside your music.
Sadly, what you’ll see in iTunes is a completely different Want Record. The Apple TV iTunes Motion pictures Want Record and TV Favorites have by no means synced to something apart from the Apple TV. Which means that you’ll solely be capable of view and get better this Want Record from one other Apple TV working one thing older than tvOS 17.2.
A separate Want Record is saved for the iTunes apps — the iTunes Retailer on the iPhone and iPad, and in iTunes for Home windows. This could sync between all of these units, however it doesn’t sync to the Apple TV.
No person exterior of Apple has ever been certain why the Apple TV makes use of a separate Want Record, however it’s seemingly that Apple merely by no means bothered to combine it into the principle iTunes one. In any case, the truth that Apple forgot to account for the Want Record within the newest updates ought to make it clear that it isn’t a precedence for the corporate however relatively a legacy function that’s been kicking round for years with out a lot consideration.
Sadly, had Apple unified these want lists years in the past, this wouldn’t be as huge of an issue, because the Apple TV Want Record might nonetheless be accessed from different units.
Nevertheless, because the Apple TV Want Record and Favorites lists are saved within the cloud, something that’s been saved there ought to nonetheless be obtainable as a part of your Apple/iTunes account; you simply gained’t be capable of entry it except Apple places the suitable button again into the TV app. Let’s hope Apple hears and responds to the issues of the numerous of us who’ve been build up their lists for years.