Apple TV Plus: how to sign up, TV shows, movies, price, devices, and more (2024)

Apple TV Plus can't compete with Netflix, Prime Video, Max or even Hulu when it comes to the size of its content library. Even so, Apple's more selective approach, prioritizing quality over quantity, has undoubtedly paid dividends – they even became the first streamer to win a Best Picture Oscar when CODA scooped the big prize at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Apple TV Plus has a proven track record of attracting the biggest Hollywood names to the small screen, whether it's Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro uniting for Killers of the Flower Moon, or Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks headlining Shrinking and Finch, respectively. The platform's TV offering is similarly impressive, with the likes of Ted Lasso, Silo, Foundation and The Morning Show proving it can compete with any of the best streaming services out there.

This guide explains everything you need to know about Apple TV Plus, including details of pricing, the movies and TV shows available to watch, and compatibility across multiple devices – including Android. For even more information, check out our Apple TV Plus review.

Apple TV Plus: how to sign up

Signing up for Apple TV Plus is easy. Just head over to the Apple TV Plus website and you'll see options to subscribe – including a seven-day free trial for new users.

You can also check out Apple One, which gives you the option to bundle Apple TV Plus with other services including Apple Music, Apple News Plus and Apple Arcade for a single monthly fee.

Apple TV Plus price: how much does it cost?

Apple TV Plus costs $9.99 / £8.99 / AU$12.99 per month, or $99.99 / £89.99 / $129.99 (Australia) annually. If you buy a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV you can get three months of Apple TV Plus for free, though terms and conditions apply.

Soccer fans can also watch Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and every other Major League Soccer team in action with an additional MLS Season Pass. It'll cost you $14.99 / £14.99 / AU$22.99 per month to subscribe.

Following Apple's price increases in October 2023, "with ads" tiers offered by Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and Disney Plus are all cheaper than the standard (ad-free) Apple TV Plus subscription. However, those other services come with the caveat that you'll have to sit through the occasional commercial break, and probably won't be able to enjoy your favorite shows and movies in 4K, as you can on Apple TV Plus.

Max's Ad-Lite tier costs the same as an Apple TV Plus subscription, though – like Netflix, Prime Video, and others – it boasts a larger content library.

So, having stood out as one of the lower cost streaming options on the market just a few months ago, an Apple TV Plus subscription isn't quite as appealing as it once was – despite boasting a library stacked with quality movies and TV.

Apple TV Plus free trial: how to get one

Apple TV Plus has a seven-day free trial, and after that period, you'll be automatically set to recurring billing for a monthly fee. It's easy to grab a trial – just download Apple TV, which contains all the Apple TV Plus content, and you'll be greeted with an ad for the service, as well as an invitation for a free trial.

The free trial gives you access to everything on the service during that seven days, so make the most of it – especially as you only get one free trial for Apple TV Plus.

Apple TV Plus devices

Apple TV Plus is accessible on almost all devices in 2024, including: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, Samsung Smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, LG Smart TVs, Sony Smart TVs, Vizio, Roku devices, desktop browsers, Android TV, Google TV, PS5 and Xbox Series X.

The best Apple TV Plus shows

It may only be a little over four years old, but Apple TV Plus has managed to churn out an impressive roster of high-quality original TV content. Our guide to the best Apple TV Plus shows contains a comprehensive breakdown of what's out there, but below, you'll find a whistle-stop tour of the series worth tuning into right now:

• The Afterparty
• Bad Sisters
• Black Bird
• The Changeling
• The Essex Serpent
• Five Days at Memorial
• For All Mankind
• Foundation
• Hello Tomorrow!
• Hijack
• Invasion
• Lessons in Chemistry
• Masters of the Air
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
• The Morning Show
• Mythic Quest
• Pachinko
• Physical
• Platonic
• Schmigadoon!
• See
• Servant
• Severance
• Shining Girls
• Shrinking
• The Shrink Next Door
• Silo
• Slow Horses
• Surface
• Suspicion
• Ted Lasso
• Trying

The best Apple TV Plus movies

Apple TV Plus may not be able to boast the vast quantity of films available on many of the best streaming services out there, but it certainly doesn't skimp on quality. In fact, when Apple's CODA won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2022, it became the first movie made by a streamer to walk away with the big prize on Oscar night.

Apple have since bankrolled Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon – find out where they sit in our best Martin Scorsese movies and best Ridley Scott movies guides, respectively – proving their commitment to investing in prestige projects. Napoleon is available on Apple TV Plus from March 1.

We've got a quick rundown of the films currently available on the platform below, and for a more in-depth look, check out our guide to the best Apple TV movies.

• The Banker
• The Beanie Bubble
• Causeway
• Cha Cha Real Smooth
• CODA
• Emancipation
• Finch
• Fingernails
• Ghosted
• The Greatest Beer Run Ever
• Greyhound
• Hala
• Luck
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• On the Rocks
• Sharper
• The Sky is Everywhere
• Spirited
• Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
• Swan Song
• Tetris
• The Tragedy Of Macbeth
• Wolfwalkers

Apple TV Plus vs other streamers: what's the difference?

Apple TV Plus doesn't currently offer large quantities of licensed content in the way Netflix and its rivals do with the likes of Seinfeld, Frasier, I May Destroy You and Fleabag.

As TechRadar reported in November 2022, the platform has experimented with adding third-party movies to its offering, and you can also watch a few vintage TV shows, such as ’80s puppet show Fraggle Rock and classic Charlie Brown cartoons. But generally speaking, if you want to watch anything beyond Apple TV Plus's library of originals, you'll have to purchase them through iTunes or via other services in Apple TV Channels.