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AppleTV+ is such a failure on so many levels. Firstly, everyone thinks AppleTV is an Apple-branded TV. I have had to explain to people how it’s an Apple Roku.

AppleTV+ is such a failure on so many levels. Firstly, everyone thinks AppleTV is an Apple-branded TV. I have had to explain to people how it’s an Apple Roku. Then adding the + to designate their content offering instead of an enhanced AppleTV was equally terrible. I have no idea how they came to such a terrible decision. Thirdly, the content is beyond terrible. I don’t know what they were thinking, but they spent so much time marketing AppleTV+ but they refused to spend money to acquire things that people want to watch. It’s deeply akin to their strategy on spending money on marketing hype but being deeply superficial on quality of content. They are the worlds richest company but their software is extremely poor. They can afford to pay for the best software engineers, and they don’t. Their software is terrible. The same goes with their TV shows. I watched The Morning Show which was okay but I haven’t turned it on since. There is nothing compelling to watch on AppleTV+. And Apple has all the money to buy content and they do a really bad job. They need to overspend on a hallmark show to get the traction they need.

cjdell 6y ago
For All Mankind is actually pretty good but it is the only thing I'm interested in on the platform.
- rbanffy 6y ago
  My daughter loves Ghost Writer. Our cat really likes to watch Tiny World. And yes, FAM is up there with HBO's From the Earth to the Moon.
johncozen 6y ago
You haven’t really given AppleTV+ a fair shake. There are some great shows and movies on the service. Ted Lasso, Dickenson, Wolfwalkers, etc. It’s on the low price side of streaming services and a free year is included with many product purchases. I wouldn’t call that a failure by a long-shot.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
bb123 6y ago
I disagree strongly that their software is terrible. My iPhone is bombproof, and I strongly believe that part of their success has been in making these phones easy to use, every time. My parents and people like them don't have time for bugs or quirks - they will take reliability and ease of use over hackability and the latest features every single time.
oflannabhra 6y ago
Apple TV+ is not the best streaming service, but it does have a decent value proposition, especially as part of a bundle of Apple services. It has enough quality shows and movies to warrant a couple of months of subscription. I think it will slowly become successful despite the nay-saying, just like a lot of things Apple makes.
realityrunner 6y ago
What constitutes a “failure”? Netflix is as wide as an ocean and as deep as a puddle, Hulu can’t make a UI to save their lives and may as well be a reality TV/game show app with how little the big three networks put out anymore, and Disney+ lacks adult programming outside of Marvel (and that’s being generous). Apple TV+ is what you go to see at your local art house theatre. It’s different, it’s original, and it has amazing production values—-all at a decent price. Just because it’s not your cup of tea doesn’t make it a “failure on so many levels”.
plank_time 6y ago
To answer some of the comments: The show with Jason Mamoa was unwatchable, pun intended. I also watched all the kids content which was either boring or bad. I had high hopes for the Charlie Brown content but my kid who loves space was pretty bored by their show on Snoopy going into Space. Netflix has can’t-miss comedians like Dave Chappelle and all their specials. They have excellent kids shows like Dragon Prince and a ton of Captain Underpants offerings. HBO Max had new movies coming direct to streaming. Amazon Prime has a bunch of movies for free and it has The Boys. I think their kids shows are decent. Disney+ had all the MCU content including the new shows. AppleTV+ had none of the above. They may have one-off shows that aren’t horrible but it’s not enough to sustain a subscription. I haven’t heard any buzz about them from my social network because absolutely no one uses AppleTV+. I’m the only one I know that even gave some of the content a shot. I would say that’s a complete failure for a trillion dollar company.
- xsmasher 6y ago
  You may be right, but Apple's lineup sounds better than Amazon's first season of TV content. They turned it around eventually.
amelius 6y ago
> Firstly, everyone thinks AppleTV is an Apple-branded TV. I consider that a good thing. Now I don't have to buy an Apple product to watch the channel.
null_object 6y ago
I think discoverability is also a problem: the ‘channel’ is a confusing space to navigate. Unless I’m doing something fundamentally wrong, each time I’ve followed any sort of notification about new content, I’ve ended up in a space that includes promotions for Netflix and some Swedish channels we watch, and also some premium paid content that doesn’t seem to be part of the free subscription I received when I bought an iPad Pro last year. I honestly don’t know what there is for me to watch. Now I’m curious about the couple of shows people are mentioning in this thread, as I genuinely haven’t watched a single show in the last 9 or 10 months. Not only has the content (when I think I’ve found it) seemed to be mostly aimed at a 35-45 year old American market, the shows all feel so ‘earnest’ and frankly boring. Bit worried that this content may fall into the same trap: TV you feel you ought to watch, rather than have fun watching. Look forward to being proved wrong, but now only have a couple months before I intend to cancel.
gadders 6y ago
Ted Lasso is very entertaining. Your other points may well be valid.
DanBC 6y ago
> Thirdly, the content is beyond terrible. Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet, Stillwater, For All Mankind, Little America, Ted Lasso, Boy's State -- these are all pretty good or excellent. They're definitely getting more hits than misses.
mensetmanusman 6y ago
You might love this color coded description: https://m.imgur.com/a/GVdsG7r https://m.imgur.com/a/GVdsG7r

cjdell 6y ago

For All Mankind is actually pretty good but it is the only thing I'm interested in on the platform.

rbanffy 6y ago
My daughter loves Ghost Writer. Our cat really likes to watch Tiny World. And yes, FAM is up there with HBO's From the Earth to the Moon.

johncozen 6y ago

You haven’t really given AppleTV+ a fair shake. There are some great shows and movies on the service. Ted Lasso, Dickenson, Wolfwalkers, etc. It’s on the low price side of streaming services and a free year is included with many product purchases. I wouldn’t call that a failure by a long-shot.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

bb123 6y ago

I disagree strongly that their software is terrible. My iPhone is bombproof, and I strongly believe that part of their success has been in making these phones easy to use, every time. My parents and people like them don't have time for bugs or quirks - they will take reliability and ease of use over hackability and the latest features every single time.

oflannabhra 6y ago

Apple TV+ is not the best streaming service, but it does have a decent value proposition, especially as part of a bundle of Apple services. It has enough quality shows and movies to warrant a couple of months of subscription. I think it will slowly become successful despite the nay-saying, just like a lot of things Apple makes.

realityrunner 6y ago

What constitutes a “failure”? Netflix is as wide as an ocean and as deep as a puddle, Hulu can’t make a UI to save their lives and may as well be a reality TV/game show app with how little the big three networks put out anymore, and Disney+ lacks adult programming outside of Marvel (and that’s being generous). Apple TV+ is what you go to see at your local art house theatre. It’s different, it’s original, and it has amazing production values—-all at a decent price. Just because it’s not your cup of tea doesn’t make it a “failure on so many levels”.

plank_time 6y ago

To answer some of the comments: The show with Jason Mamoa was unwatchable, pun intended. I also watched all the kids content which was either boring or bad. I had high hopes for the Charlie Brown content but my kid who loves space was pretty bored by their show on Snoopy going into Space. Netflix has can’t-miss comedians like Dave Chappelle and all their specials. They have excellent kids shows like Dragon Prince and a ton of Captain Underpants offerings. HBO Max had new movies coming direct to streaming. Amazon Prime has a bunch of movies for free and it has The Boys. I think their kids shows are decent. Disney+ had all the MCU content including the new shows. AppleTV+ had none of the above. They may have one-off shows that aren’t horrible but it’s not enough to sustain a subscription. I haven’t heard any buzz about them from my social network because absolutely no one uses AppleTV+. I’m the only one I know that even gave some of the content a shot. I would say that’s a complete failure for a trillion dollar company.

xsmasher 6y ago
You may be right, but Apple's lineup sounds better than Amazon's first season of TV content. They turned it around eventually.

amelius 6y ago

> Firstly, everyone thinks AppleTV is an Apple-branded TV. I consider that a good thing. Now I don't have to buy an Apple product to watch the channel.

null_object 6y ago

I think discoverability is also a problem: the ‘channel’ is a confusing space to navigate. Unless I’m doing something fundamentally wrong, each time I’ve followed any sort of notification about new content, I’ve ended up in a space that includes promotions for Netflix and some Swedish channels we watch, and also some premium paid content that doesn’t seem to be part of the free subscription I received when I bought an iPad Pro last year. I honestly don’t know what there is for me to watch. Now I’m curious about the couple of shows people are mentioning in this thread, as I genuinely haven’t watched a single show in the last 9 or 10 months. Not only has the content (when I think I’ve found it) seemed to be mostly aimed at a 35-45 year old American market, the shows all feel so ‘earnest’ and frankly boring. Bit worried that this content may fall into the same trap: TV you feel you ought to watch, rather than have fun watching. Look forward to being proved wrong, but now only have a couple months before I intend to cancel.

gadders 6y ago

Ted Lasso is very entertaining. Your other points may well be valid.

DanBC 6y ago

> Thirdly, the content is beyond terrible. Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet, Stillwater, For All Mankind, Little America, Ted Lasso, Boy's State -- these are all pretty good or excellent. They're definitely getting more hits than misses.

mensetmanusman 6y ago

You might love this color coded description: https://m.imgur.com/a/GVdsG7r https://m.imgur.com/a/GVdsG7r