Alongside the larger modifications coming in iOS 17.2, Apple additionally pushed out a brand new tvOS 17.2 beta with an fascinating design tweak within the TV app.
Whereas software program updates for Apple’s set-top field aren’t normally all that fascinating — many level releases function no user-facing modifications in any respect — tvOS 17.2 takes one other step away from the extra conventional top-menu design that’s been a staple of the Apple TV because the first mannequin arrived over 15 years in the past.
To this point, the change solely impacts Apple’s TV app, but it surely may very well be an indication of issues to come back. As an alternative of the highest menu bar for navigating between classes like Watch Now, Apple TV+, Library, and Search, tvOS 17.2 locations these in a sidebar, which has the benefit of permitting for much more “channels” of content material to be displayed.
For instance, the brand new sidebar highlights MLS Season Move as its personal part, which is smart because it’s a wholly separate subscription. There are additionally the Sports activities and Retailer tabs for specializing in these extra particular areas, mirroring the design of the TV app on iPadOS. Nevertheless, the tvOS replace combines these right into a single part slightly than breaking them out into “Films” and “TV Exhibits.”
Beneath that could be a “Channels & Apps” part that features any Apple TV Channels you’ll have added to the combo, comparable to Paramount+ (in case you’ve subscribed to it via the TV app slightly than the standalone Paramount+ app).
Talking of films and TV exhibits, the legacy duo of “iTunes” apps additionally lives on in tvOS 17.2, a minimum of within the first beta, regardless of a current report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that exposed these will likely be going away as a part of a extra intensive TV app overhaul.
To be honest, that is solely the primary beta of tvOS 17.2, so there’s nonetheless time for these to vanish. Earlier this week, Gurman reported that Apple is planning to launch a redesigned TV app “round December as a part of an upcoming tvOS software program replace,” which sounds just like the timeline for when tvOS 17.2 will likely be publicly launched. The brand new app is meant to assist consolidate all of Apple’s “numerous video choices” below one roof — one thing it already basically does, though not exceptionally nicely.
As Gurman predicted, the brand new sidebar is step one towards this redesign, and there may very well be extra coming by the point tvOS 17.2 launches later this yr. The iTunes Films and iTunes TV Exhibits apps are already one thing of an anachronism — leftover apps from a bygone period earlier than streaming providers took the main target away from film and TV present purchases and leases.
The pair of apps was as soon as the one solution to entry content material instantly from Apple on its set-top field, together with bought gadgets in your “iTunes within the Cloud” library and new purchases and leases from iTunes. Nevertheless, that performance has lengthy since been rolled into the primary TV app, making these different two apps redundant.
The Computer systems app additionally nonetheless lives on in tvOS 17.2 for many who nonetheless favor to entry their media content material from a Mac or PC working iTunes (or its post-Catalina equivalents). There’s been no phrase about Apple pulling this, but it surely’s unlikely to take action, contemplating that even macOS Sonoma nonetheless helps Apple’s Residence Sharing function.
Eradicating the discrete iTunes Films and iTunes TV Exhibits apps has extra to do with consolidation than the rest; the Computer systems app nonetheless serves a vital goal for many who have a neighborhood media library or favor to not stream all their media content material from the cloud.
Gurman provides that Apple can even be eradicating the film and TV present sections from the iTunes Retailer app on the iPhone and iPad, returning it to its roots as a spot solely for buying music. These stay in place within the first iOS 17.2 beta, though that would change by the ultimate launch; it’s additionally possible that Apple may flip these off with a back-end change since most of what seems within the iTunes Retailer app is fed instantly from Apple’s back-end servers.