Australian and Canadian iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV users now have access to Apple’s TV app on their devices, just ahead of the Cupertino company’s iOS 11 and tvOS 11 updates, due to rollout on Tuesday.
The app will rollout to seven additional countries later this fall. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the UK will get the TV app by the end of 2017.
Apple TV owners running the latest tvOS software in Australia and Canada discovered the TV app, or at least its icon, on their home screen earlier today and took to Twitter to note the the change. On fourth-generation Apple TV units, the TV app seems to be a placeholder instead of a functional app, but its presence hints at an imminent release likely timed to coincide with tomorrow’s iOS 11 and tvOS 11 launch.
In addition, a few iOS 11 beta testers with access to Apple’s GM seed saw TV go live on iPhone, but not yet iPad, reports iPhone in Canada. Currently, the TV app only installs and appears on iOS when a device is connected to a cellular network. The app reverts back to the legacy Videos title when on Wi-Fi.
Support appears to initially be limited to the CraveTV, Treehouse, CBC TV, City TV, ICI Tou.tv, FXNOW, MUBI, Hopster and CuriosityStream apps, although more channels are expected to soon join the fun.
Apple’s TV app acts as a central hub for content on the Apple TV, allowing users to browse, manage and discover streaming content from various channels in one central location.
