What you need to know
- More details have surfaced about the Apple TV+ playback options.
- There will be limits to number of episodes and movies you can download along with limits to number of times you download a piece of content.
- Simultaneous streaming will also be capped to just one device for now.
Slowly and steady we're learning more information about Apple TV+. After finding out it'll likely start at $9.99, now we are learning about some of its playback capabilities such as offline downloads and simultaneous streaming.
According to MacRumors, code strings within the macOS Catalina beta confirm that Apple TV+ will offer downloading of content for offline viewing. However, there are some limitations: you will only be able to download a certain number of episodes or movies—no word yet on what the actual number will be—and there will also be a cap on how many times you can download a specific piece of content.
The limitations will also extend to downloading content to multiple Apple devices. Here's how that will look:
For example, if a user tries to download the same video on multiple devices, theApple TV app will inform them that "To download this episode of 'The Morning Show', delete it from another device and try again," for example.
Here's how other download cap warnings will look:
If the user reaches the total download limit they will see a message that says "You have reached your limit of [preset number of] downloads." If the user downloads the same video too many times they will see a message like "Download Limit reached for 'The Morning Show' Season 1 Episode 1."
Additionally, simultaneous streams will also be capped. If you are streaming content on an Apple TV, you won't be able to do so on an iPhone. This is common practice among streaming services. Most up the number of simultaneous streams with higher tiered plans. It's not yet clear if Apple will offer something similar.
Apple TV+ is set to launch in the fall along with a healthy library of content. We'll see exactly where Apple's $6 billion investment in content has gone into.
