Better late than never : Apple has finally link the video - stream market , launching its new TV+ overhaul on 1 November 2019 . The company hope it has what it takes to beat the established players at their own game , but does it really stand a chance ?
In this article we draw a direct comparison between Apple TV+ and one of those braggart name : Amazon Prime Video . Which is well value , and which is the right metier - streaming service for you ?
How many TV shows have they got?
First things first : Apple TV+ is only for original content . You wo n’t find old movies and television picture on there , just raw stuff the company commissioned specifically for this avail .
For that reason , the initial library is not massively telling , including so few telly read that we can list them easily : The Morning Show , See , Dickinson , For All Mankind , Snoopy In Space , Helpsters and Ghostwriter . Yep , that ’s just seven show .
Amazon Prime Video has been around for much longsighted than TV+ , to be reasonable , but it ’s still jump quite how much more TV capacity it ’s got . We number 20 titles in ourBest of Amazon Prime Videoarticle – almost three multiplication as many as Apple ’s full subroutine library – and the full list is far too long to hide here . The company would n’t give us an accurate number , but quotes “ thousands of democratic moving picture and goggle box shows ” in its marketing indorsement ; browseAmazon ’s siteto find out more .
In both case , of course , quality is more significant than quantity , and it ’s the big - name shows that will get people to pledge . The launch titles on TV+ have received motley reassessment , it must be said ( we link to several above ) , but they ’re undoubtedly Serious Television with adult concepts , notable actors and directors and high yield note value . They ’re also exclusives – you wo n’t find them on Amazon or elsewhere .
Amazon has commissioned original computer programing of its own : The piece In The High Castle , Good Omens , The Grand Tour , Comrade Detective and the superb Sneaky Pete are among the shows that are only uncommitted on its platforms . We also find it very serious for kids ’ video , with adaptation of several Julia Donaldson book a highlight .
How many movies have they got?
TV+ starts with just one motion picture : The Elephant Queen , a nature documentary .
Amazon Prime has hundred of motion-picture show . A good figure of these are old , isolated , badly received or all three , but there ’s plenty of gold too : a quick glance at time of penning regain you’re able to watch Green Book , Vice , Wonder Woman , Stan & Ollie , Silence , Manchester By The Sea , Inside Llewyn Davis , The Imitation Game , 12 Years A Slave and much more .
Are the libraries likely to get bigger or smaller in future?
Apple ’s will get full-grown . The fellowship has an impressive inclination of upcoming appearance and films , including M Night Shyamalan’sServant , Truth Be Told , Time Bandits , a Steven Spielberg anthology show called Amazing Stories , a genial wellness docuseries from Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry , and masses more . The company promises “ New Apple Originals every month ” .
Amazon ’s will realistically stay roughly the same or even shrink a little as fourth dimension passes .
The general trend , on Netflix and other services as well as Amazon , is towards original programming : substance abuser may care watching old picture show or tv set shows but the streaming company will most likely have to pay a licence fee per view , which mean this model does n’t really descale . If you make a TV show of your own for a fixed price of X dollar , on the other hand , every additional viewer is pure profit .
How reliable are the services?
On the macro level , neither company is going to go out of commercial enterprise halfway through your subscription and leave you out of pocket . But both will put up outages from time to time .
Our experience with Amazon Prime Video designate that this is a rarity , and the quality of your local cyberspace connection will be far more of a factor than the ship’s company itself having problem . It ’s too early to say whether TV+ will be similarly robust but we ’d be surprised if Apple does n’t keep it running at a eminent degree of dependableness .
Do they have any extra features?
Amazon Prime Video is available as a standalone help . But most people will get it as part of an Amazon Prime subscription ( see pricing , below ) , and if that ’s the vitrine , you also get loose dissolute deliveries ( Prime Delivery ) , music cyclosis ( Prime Music ) , ebooks ( Prime Reading ) , photograph entrepot , former access to Lightning hatful and more . See theAmazon Prime micrositefor more details .
Which TVs and other devices are compatible?
A immense scope ofsmart TVsandmobile deviceshave the Prime Video app .
Apple TV+ is useable on a smaller ambit of devices – it does n’t process on Android , for lesson . Aside from iPads , iPhones , iPod touch , Mac and Apple TV , it can run onthese third - party devices .
How much do they cost?
Malus pumila TV+ costs £ 4.99/$4.99 per month . However , you may be able-bodied toget TV+ for free : when you buy a new iPhone , iPad , iPod touch , Mac or Apple TV , you ’ll get a year of TV+ thrown in , and there ’s a free seven - day test which will machine - renew into a monthly subscription if you forget to cancel . Sign up here .
Amazon Prime Video on its own costs £ 5.99/$8.99 per month . It is more commonly bought as part of an Amazon Prime subscription , which be £ 7.99/$12.99 a calendar month or £ 79/$119 per year . you’re able to get a 30 - daylight free trial of Prime , or a six - calendar month trial if you ’re a student . Sign up here .
How many people/devices per subscription?
Like several of the company ’s late software package service , Apple TV+ features Family Sharing : a single subscription can be deal among a family group without paying extra . That ’s up to six family phallus and six simultaneous streams .
Amazon Prime Video can also be shared with another grownup if you jell up anAmazon Household . you could pour up to three celluloid / telly shows at the same time using one Amazon Prime history , adopt it ’s three different things . you’re able to stream thesametitle to two machine at once , but not three . pattern on usage here .
Verdict
Amazon Video has to be the pick here . It has passel of TV and film , and a sane amount of it is really good .
At this point , with only seven goggle box shows and a undivided film , it ’s concentrated to advocate Apple ’s TV+ as a paid - for subscription help . Yes , it ’s £ 1/$4 cheaper per month than Amazon Video , but the content library at launch is immensely small , and while the initial titles appear polished , none yet stand out as the equivalent of Game of Thrones – the tentpole show that will drive subscriptions .
This may all change , however . Apple ’s unmingled pull – in terms of its industry potency , but also its cachet among the creative professing – has enabled it to tempt in a glittering array of actor , director and film maker . These Hollywood bigwig ought to be able-bodied to cook up some brilliant offerings in future .
Of course , millions of people will be watching TV+ without paying anything directly for the perquisite , by cashing in on the yr ’s innocent subscription you get when you purchase a new iPad , iPhone , Mac or Apple television set . Similarly , many of us regard Amazon Video as a side welfare of signal up for Amazon Delivery .
Read our guide to thebest media - streaming servicesfor more advice . We also have a comparison betweenApple TV+ and Now boob tube .
