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Apple TV+ - page 62

Sony confirms Apple TV app is coming to PlayStation 4 and 5 in Nov

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PS5 media remote
A look at the PS5 media remote.
Photo: Sony

The Apple TV app is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Sony revealed Thursday.

According to Sony, the Apple TV app will join Disney+, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch and YouTube as streaming services that will be available when the PS5 ships on November 12. (Amazon Prime Video, MyCanal, Hulu, Peacock, and others are also coming soon.)

These were the biggest hits on Apple TV+ in the third quarter

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Jason Sudeikis is the titular Ted Lasso
No wonder he's smiling.
Photo: Apple TV

Apple doesn’t reveal too many numbers about Apple TV+, which can make it difficult to gauge which shows are the streaming service’s biggest hits.

Most of the time, the best you can do is use anecdotal evidence, such as what people are talking about on Twitter, or extrapolate the number of Rotten Tomatoes reviews to get a sense of which shows are the getting the most attention.

However, Reelgood, which describes itself as the “most extensive movie and TV streaming search engine with more than 2 million monthly active users in the United States,” thinks it’s going a more accurate idea. It’s produced a chart showing date about Apple TV+’s top-performing TV shows for the past three months. Check it out.

Quibi launches Apple TV app just in time to shut down [Updated]

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Power players Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman apparently couldn't save Quibi.
Power players Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman ran Quibi.
Photo: Fortune Brainstorm Tech/Flickr CC

Quibi, the mobile-first streaming video service that launched at the worst possible time, is shutting down, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report came Wednesday, just days after Quibi launched an Apple TV app so subscribers could enjoy its bite-size videos on the big screen.

The Velvet Underground music doc explores avant-garde ‘60s band for Apple TV+

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Discover how an unsuccessful rock band went on to become hugely influential in the Velvet Underground documentary on Apple TV+.
Discover how an unsuccessful rock band went on to become hugely influential in the Velvet Underground documentary on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ is carving out a niche of musical documentaries. It’s latest project is The Velvet Underground. This will be, of course, about the 1960s band that found little success in its day, but went on to be hugely influential.

Apple yanks Apple TV Remote app from App Store

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The Remote app is no more.
The Remote app is no more.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple quietly (or as quietly as Apple can do anything, which means it’s widely reported) removed the Apple TV Remote app from the App Store.

The app allowed owners to control their Apple TV without having to use the controversial Siri Remote that comes with the set-top box. It let users navigate Apple TV with touch gestures, quickly enter text using the keyboard, ask Siri to find things to watch, and more.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and other Peanuts specials come to Apple TV+

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Promotional image for Charlie Brown Halloween special,
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is always streaming on the Apple TV service.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ is the new home for all things Peanuts. That includes rights to stream the classic Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving specials starring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the whole gang. In addition, new specials are in development just for this streaming service.

Many of the beloved classics will be available to all, not locked behind a paywall.

You’ll want to open Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You again and again [Apple TV+ review]

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Bruce Springsteen's Letter To You review: Upcoming Apple TV+ documentary offers a moving look at the songwriter's life and music.
The upcoming Apple TV+ documentary offers a moving look at Bruce Springsteen's life and music.
Photo: Apple TV+

Just in time for election day, America’s real president makes a stump speech that’s part biography and part self-mythologizing letter to an equally mythic version of the state he calls home. Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You, like a lot of the Boss’ later albums, isn’t exactly groundbreaking or inventive. However, there’s a good reason his homespun coastal Americana never goes out of fashion. Nobody gets America like Springsteen.

Upcoming Apple TV+ documentary Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You showcases the songs on his 20th album. While it won’t tell you anything you didn’t already suspect, you will find an incalculable kind of value in the songwriter’s company.

Helpsters returns for more of the adorable same [Apple TV+ review]

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John Lutz and the Helpsters
Shut up, Lutz! The Helpsters are back for a second season.
Photo: Apple TV+

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” has long been the Sesame Workshop’s modus operandi, and the second season of Apple TV+ kids show Helpsters is living proof that the strategy works.

The educational show, created by Odd Squad and Adventure Time writer Timothy McKeon, with music by longtime collaborator Paul Buckley, is long on charm and star power and short on filler.

Season two of Helpsters, which arrived on Apple TV+ Friday, is likely exactly what your kids need while you finally get around to doing the laundry. And you’ll laugh, too, at the litany of guest stars and the occasional elegant joke.

Faster Apple TV hardware might not arrive before 2021

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Expect a significant Apple TV hardware update in 2021.
A significantly better Apple TV is in development. But it won‘t be out in November.
Photo: Apple

A rumored Apple TV with more of a focus on gaming allegedly won’t be out before the end of 2020. It’ll be a significant upgrade, with new features beyond a performance bump.

But it’s probably not on the list of devices to expect at an anticipated Apple November product launch event.

PSA: New episodes of Tehran and Long Way Up debut on Apple TV+

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Apple TV+ Tehran
Tehran continues to be one of the best things on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Friday means, among other things, new shows on Apple TV+. This week, Apple debuted a new episode of both its hit spy drama Tehran and Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman-fronted travelogue Long Way Up. There’s also a new series of kids show Helpsters.

Here’s what to expect from this week’s new shows.

New Apple device customers get 3 months free Apple Arcade subscription, 12 months of Apple TV+

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“No Way Home” is space-themed RPG debuted today on Apple Arcade.
Apple is working hard to grow Apple Arcade subscriptions.
Photo: Apple/SMG Studios

Customers who buy a new iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac receive three months of access to Apple Arcade, Apple’s subscription gaming service.

They can also receive 12 months of free Apple TV+ access — but there’s a catch.

Ghostwriter stays totally chill in sleepy second season [Apple TV+ review]

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The gang gets back together for Ghostwriter's sleepy second season.
The Ghostwriter gang gets back together.
Photo: Apple TV+

One of the first Apple TV+ shows for a younger audience, Ghostwriter was both a reboot of a ’90s cult hit and a shoo-in to get renewed. With precious little to choose from, the streaming service’s execs had little choice but to put their muscle behind a show with cheap production costs and limitless potential for story ideas.

Like Apple TV+’s initial batch of Ghostwriter episodes, the second season is in no hurry to go anywhere or say much. However, it’s agreeable company — and its heart is in the right place.

Keira Knightley drops out of Apple TV+ series The Essex Serpent

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Keira Knightley
Pirates of the Caribbean and Imitation Game star Keira Knightley was due to star in the show.
Photo: Tony Shek/Wikipedia CC

Keira Knightley has pulled out of Apple TV+ adaptation The Essex Serpent. The Pirates of the Caribbean star was set to play the lead role in an adaptation of Sarah Perry’s 2016 novel of the same name. Shooting would have started in around six weeks.

However, as a result of “family reasons,” involving coronavirus lockdown and childcare, Knightley will no longer star in the series.

HomePod mini and next-gen Apple TV could double as ultra-wideband hubs

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HomePod market share
The new HomePod could offer a neat new feature.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s upcoming HomePod mini smart speaker and sixth-gen Apple TV will both function as ultra wideband base stations, according to Apple tipster Jon Prosser.

This means they will be able to track your location as you move inside your house, if you are carrying another device boasting an Apple U1 chip (like an iPhone 11 or Apple Watch Series 6).

More free Apple TV+ with subscriptions extended through January

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Apple gives away up to 3 more months of Apple TV+.
All who received a free Apple TV+ subscription last autumn just got an extension.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple added up to three months to the free Apple TV+ subscriptions it gave many of its customers in 2019. And it’s giving monthly rebates to some of those who paid for an annual subscription.

Apple did not give a reason for the extension. But it might give the service time to start the second seasons of its original slate of programs. These likely would be beginning already, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut down production for months.

Wolfwalkers animated adventure strides onto Apple TV+ on December 11

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Wolfwalkers launch date on Apple TV+ is December 11, 2020.
Put Wolfwalkers on the list of potential Academy Award nominees.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple TV+ finally named a release date for its first animated feature film. Wolfwalkers will debut exclusively on Apple’s streaming video service December 11, 2020.

The film is from the studio that created Oscar-nominated The Secret of Kells. It’s set in medieval Ireland, and tells the story of two girls who transform into wolves.

A full-length trailer was released by Apple on Thursday.

Apple TV+ already commits to third season of award-winning comedy Dickinson

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‘Dickinson’ season two release date is Jan. 8, 2021.
The next season of Dickinson will be on Apple TV+ in three months.
Screenshot: Apple

The debut of season two of the Apple TV+ comedy series Dickinson has been scheduled for early January. But Apple is so pleased with this award-winning program based on the life of rebellious young poet Emily Dickinson it went ahead and committed to a third season on Thursday.

It’s not better to be a pirate: Apple TV+ joins anti-piracy Hollywood group

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Pirate Flag
Steve Jobs' old mantra about "It's better to be a pirate than join the navy" probably wasn't on Apple's application form.
Photo: George Hodan/Public Domain Pictures

Showing its continuing closeness with the entertainment industry, Apple TV+ is joining a Hollywood industry group trying to crack down on piracy. Variety describes the move to sign up for the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) as a “strengthening” of the bond between Apple and other studios

Apple will be part of the group’s governing board. This also includes Amazon, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. ACE was set up in 2017, marking a combining of forces between traditional studios and streaming giants.

Bruce Springsteen reveals his creative process in Apple TV+ documentary

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Bruce Springsteen ‘Letter To You’ debuts October 23
Bruce Springsteen Letter To You is both an album and an Apple TV+ documentary.
Photo: Apple

The next Bruce Springsteen album Letter To You will debut on the same day as an Apple TV+ documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at the live studio album’s creation.

In addition, the Letter To You documentary will include full performances from the E Street Band playing songs from the new release.

You won’t believe the crazy camera rigs used to shoot Tiny World

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Tiny World making of: Turns out these tiny frogs are grapplers.
Turns out these tiny frogs are grapplers.
Photo: Apple TV+

New Apple TV+ nature docuseries Tiny World was definitely not shot on iPhone.

Documentarians who captured those pint-size critters’ everyday adventures show off some of their crazy camera rigs in a new behind-the-scenes video. And the photo gear looks absolutely crazy. The clip also shows off some of the incredible footage in the series, which debuted Friday on Apple TV+.