Soon you might be watching Ted Lasso on a Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel
Ever wished you could stream Ted Lasso or The Morning Show in full resolution with clear, powerful and immersive images on a Google Pixel 8 Pro or Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5?
Well, an Apple TV Plus app for Android could be on the way. A new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman highlights an Apple job posting for the role “Android Software Engineer – Apple TV App.” That makes it pretty clear that there is interest in bringing one of Apple’s most important services to a wide range of devices. After all, you cannot let everyone switch.
The role description notes that the engineer will “lead the development of exciting new features and help build an application used by millions of people to watch and discover TV and sports.” This likely refers to the wide range of content offered by Apple TV Plus, all of which is housed within the current Apple TV app we see on both first- and third-party devices. It includes original TV shows, movies, documentaries and live sports content from Apple thanks to Friday Night Baseball and MLS Season Pass.
Since Apple TV Plus launched in 2019, it has been available on first-party devices such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV streaming boxes, and Vision Pro in the TV app. The same app is also on third-party devices such as smart TVs (including Samsung, Sony, TCL, Fire TV and Hisense), streaming players and gaming consoles.
Like Apple Music, which offers an Android app, Apple wants to expand access to the streaming service and let more people stream the latest shows and movies. With services becoming a bigger and more important part of Apple, especially from a revenue perspective, it makes sense that they would want to reach as many users as possible. And that means offering the experience on a mobile device, even if it’s not made by Apple.
Spread the reach of Apple TV Plus
Let’s say there’s a launch on the Google Play Store for Android. In that case, Apple TV Plus will immediately be opened to many more users on various devices from Google, Samsung, Motorola and OnePlus, among others.
This potential app would also take a page from the playbooks of other streaming services, such as Peacock, Netflix and Disney Plus, all of which offer a range of apps for almost every major platform. It makes sense to meet a potential customer or someone who has already signed up on popular devices.
Considering the job boards refer to sports and mention them by name, it will be interesting to see if the recently launched Sports app will ever appear outside of iOS. I imagine this is a little less likely as it’s not subscription based, and judging by the Android release of Apple Music, Apple probably wants it to be tied to revenue, so outside of Apple TV Plus it could be Fitness Plus . which requires an Apple Watch or iPhone.
Apple declined to comment Bloomberg’s first report about the potential of an Apple TV Plus for Android app, but Ny Breaking has also reached out and will update if we hear back. In the meantime, you can read more about the best streaming services here.