Apple used a giant glass Apple TV logo, colorfully lit and filmed in a studio, to create the new visual branding that will run before the streaming service’s shows.
The translucent logo seems to flip like the pages of a book, with colors changing all the while, in the mesmerizing video snippets.
“Many might assume the visual effects were made digitally, but in fact, it was all done practically using glass and captured in-camera,” Ad Age reported Wednesday.
A short behind-the-scenes video shows the extraordinary lengths the streamer and its storied ad agency went to create the striking visuals.
A new Apple TV logo and branding do away with the ‘+’
At a time when filmmakers often favor CGI to old-school practical effects, and AI can generate elaborate images and videos based on a few words, Apple’s decision to produce the new Apple TV branding using practical effects is earning the company plaudits from creative types.
“Apple recorded the new Apple TV logo with real glass materials,” wrote designer-turned-developer Michal Malewicz on X Thursday. “No CGI. No AI. This is how it should be done.”
A behind-the-scenes video offers a glimpse of how the advertising artists created the mesmerizing effect:
Apple TV’s colorful new branding was built with glass and captured in-camera. pic.twitter.com/Y8T4jXHKH1
— Andreas Storm (@avstorm) November 6, 2025
Apple worked with longtime partner TBWA\Media Arts Lab on the Apple TV rebranding. The advertising agency’s previous work with Apple includes some of the most iconic tech marketing of all time, from the 1984 Mac ad to the “Think different” campaign.
For this project, the team created three versions of the new Apple TV logo — a five-second one for Apple TV shows, a one-second “sting” for trailers, and a 12-second clip that will play before Apple Original movies, according to Ad Age.
Apple TV has a new audio logo, too
The new visual branding is the latest in a string of revelations as Apple TV overhauls its marketing materials after simplifying its name.
The rebranding of subscription service Apple TV+ to just plain “Apple TV” began quietly last month. A press release announcing the streaming debut of F1: The Movie mentioned the name change and a switch to a “vibrant new identity.”
Then a cryptic post from Apple TV on X arrived Monday, revealing new audio branding and saying, “This is just the beginning.”
That post identified Finneas as the musician behind the new audio logos. Finneas called the audio snippets “mnemonics” — he produced three, of varying lengths, to coincide with the video versions — in an interview with Variety.
He said the idea was to create a memorable and timeless audio logo that would become instantly recognizable over time.
“The things that I think of as real classic mnemonics are NBC — you can hear that in your head — or HBO has its static,” he said.
This is just the beginning.
Music composed by FINNEAS. pic.twitter.com/DV8d2eK0B3
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) November 3, 2025
The company also updated the Apple TV app icon in iOS 26.1, released Monday, replacing the old monochrome look with a much more colorful one.
What are your thoughts on the new Apple TV logo.
Do you like? pic.twitter.com/Ll7o2cxosB
— Jay’s Tech (@jaydenstech) October 22, 2025
Soon, Apple TV subscribers will see and hear the new visual and audio branding every time they watch something.
“The new identity will ripple across Apple TV’s ecosystem in the coming months, from app interfaces to marketing campaigns,” wrote Ad Age. “It’s the first phase of a broader Apple TV brand refresh that promises to lean into cinematic design while maintaining the minimalist DNA that’s long defined Apple’s visual world.”
Lewis Wallace is the managing editor of Cult of Mac and author of our weekly newsletter, The Weekender.
He’s a San Francisco-based writer and editor specializing in technology and culture. He loves his iPhone, hates Siri, and appreciates any hardware that combines form and function.
Prior to Cult of Mac, he juggled words and ideas as culture editor at Wired.com, homepage editor at TechTV, news product manager at NBCi, copy editor at PC World, reporter at The (Hayward) Daily Review and editor in chief of EveryBody’s News in Cincinnati.
He earned a bachelor of general studies degree with a journalism certificate from the University of Cincinnati. While in school, he worked as the entertainment editor of The News Record and as editor in chief of Clifton Magazine.
He’s also a bass player, who’s recorded and performed around the United States with Those Darn Accordions, The Electric Boogie Dawgz and The Mad Maggies. When not writing, editing or laying down bass lines, he plays darts and serves on the board of the San Francisco Darts League.
