Google’s Chromecast with Google TV is FINALLY plugging one of the biggest gaps in its offering, as it announces that the Apple TV app, including Apple TV+, is now available on the new Chromecast with Google TV.
Chromecast is a prominent figure in the streaming game, despite the glaring Apple-shaped hole in its entertainment roster. The news means that from today – yes, this very second – Google TV users who’re signed up to Apple TV+, will get the long-awaited ability to watch Apple TV+ original movies, shows, and a wealth of documentaries to boot.
The Apple TV app on Chromecast will work in much the same way as iterations of Apple’s service on other devices, giving its subscribers personalized recommendations, and a list of curated Apple TV channels that will fit the flavor of your viewing preferences. A recent report of the Apple TV+ subscription being extended for over 21 months is just fine, but we need more places to actually use it!
What’s more, the Apple TV app will be arriving on a bunch of other TVs, including Sony and TCL models, with more Android-based TVs to come – it could even mean we get to see the Sony XR 'cognitive intelligence' range getting its mitts on the new Apple feature, even though we need the range to be publicly accessible before that happens.
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Chromecast with Google TV: Price
Chromecast with Google TV offers serious bang for your buck at a cost of $50/£59.99 /AU$99. This gets you a bunch of features: reap the benefits of 4K HDR viewing at 60FPS, which is controllable with the voice remote. You can issue voice-activated commands, tinker with your smart lighting, maybe even hook-up to the new Wyze Color Bulb, which has recently launched to try and usurp the throne of the more expensive, Philips Hue.
The remote comes loaded with the usual assortment of shortcuts to YouTube and Netflix – Google can front-load many apps onto the Google TV home page, including Amazon Prime Video and its truckload of killer features that will keep you busy through these longer lockdown evenings.
Apple TV+: Price
An Apple TV+ monthly subscription will set you back $5/£4.99/AU$7.99; it’s far cheaper than forking out for Apple’s proprietary hardware with Apple TV 4K setting you back $179/£179/AU$249; otherwise, Apple TV HD is $149/£149/AU$209 for 32GB – neither exactly chump change, especially with the ongoing Covid-19 situation.
Before it joined the ranks of Chromecast with Google TV, you could already find the Apple TV app baked into the Roku TV platform, its Roku Streaming Stick, and Roku Streaming Stick+ devices; the Amazon Fire TV Stick, Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, and the wider iOS ecosystem.
Therefore, it’s late to the party; expectedly, it’s available on the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro; then macOS, across devices like the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1, MacBook Air M1 (2020); and, of course, tvOS with the aforementioned Apple TV 4K and the lower-res Apple TV HD, which all come with it on board. You can find the full list of devices the Apple TV app is on here.
It's a great user-experience, too: inner navigation UI is simple with the top-of-screen bar, enabling users to quickly toggle between Watch Now, Original content, TV Shows, Movies, Kids, Search, and option settings.
It brings with it a wealth of Apple Originals, including series like Ted Lasso, which was recently selected for several Golden Globes. On top of this, For All Mankind, which is heading into its second season this month. And the more sultry tones of The Morning Show and Servant, plus movies like Greyhound and Palmer. Pair your Chromecast experience with the audio finesse of devices like the Sonos Beam, or the Sonos Arc, enhancing your viewing pleasure levels.
Plans to roll out the functionality to a host of other Android-powered TVs in the upcoming months should mean that some of our pick of models from T3's best TV list will get a serious uptick in entertainment options. It's an excellent time to be an Apple or Chromecast fan and it's only the first quarter of the year.
Of course, we all know there's no news quite like good news, so we'll keep you posted with any more updates to come, be that announcements of new shows or even further functionality boosts from the new Apple TV app integration. Stay tuned.
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