Apple TV+ may be only a bit-player in the streaming wars, but on a pound-for-pound quality basis, it could actually be outperforming its competitors.

That’s according to a new study by Self Financial, which compared TV and movie data from Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu and Apple TV+ to find out which offered the best quality viewing experience.

Apple TV+ did well on a couple of scores. The Apple streaming service achieves the highest average IMDb score for its titles (7.24). And — in a surprising statistic — it also enjoys a higher average quality of animated production than Disney+, the masters of American animation. Apple TV+ also boasts higher-rated family-friendly content than Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video, again based on IMDb ratings.

Apple TV+: Quality over quantity

The obvious catch, of course, is that Apple TV+ has significantly fewer shows than its rivals. Netflix, for instance, offers some terrific shows like The Queen’s Gambit and The Crown (for my money, both are superior to anything Apple TV+ has done). However, the effect of standout hits like those on Netflix’s overall rating is blunted due to the enormous quantity of lesser content on the streaming service.

Apple, meanwhile, has always taken a quality over quantity approach to programming. It means that, if you turn on an Apple TV+ show at random, you’re likely to enjoy it. However, with only a few episodes typically uploaded per week, you’ll run out of things to watch far sooner — as can be seen from the below chart.

At just $4.99 per month, Apple TV+ is one of the less-expensive streaming services out there. But on a dollars-per-minute basis, it’s a whole lot pricier.

What do you think of Apple TV+? What steps would you like Apple to take to improve it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Self Financial