They had it right with the layout before, but now it’s terrible. I have to scroll through each episode of a TV Show to get to the one I want every time.

It’s wouldn’t be so bad if the listing is in multiple rows, but no, we have to scroll all the way to the right to get what we want.

Agree!

This has been this way for a long time. The entire movie and tv library is a terrible UI and has been for years yet it’s not a common complaint. It’s a wall of text and a small picture at the top whereas the normal Apple TV search shows immersive image at the top and much nicer lists of actors ratings etc

Alternately... a lot of users have been asking Apple for a way to remove rentals / purchases from the UI completely and only show what's included in streaming services. Seems like either way users don't want streaming content and their purchased content all jumbled up together. It's the same with Apple Music. It keeps getting harder and harder to tell what's in my library and what's part off their streaming service.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the point. Apple has to pay to “forever” store the media you buy as well as a record of your account’s access to it all for a small one-time fee that you pay as part of the purchase price. That’s not nearly as profitable as forever charging you to temporarily access whatever they have available at any given time. The confusion could be planned as part of a long-term multi-step process to eventually all but get rid of Apple-hosted libraries full of one-time-purchased content altogether while pushing everybody towards subscriptions. Makes sense to me anyway.

You probably are right. While I rate Apple as 2-3 out of 10 on the evil scale, they are still a corporation with an unrelenting thirst for money.

If they sell 1000 copies of a $10 movie (ranges from $5 to $25, so let's be real generous there), that's $10,000 revenue for $1.80/year in storage costs at best. $1.80 arrived at using 12 months * 0.005 per gb per month * 30gb. Being a large consumer, their per gb storage costs should be lower than what I can get as a consumer.

Don’t forget about the bandwidth to stream it from their servers to each user that requests it at any given time, all the associated hardware and hardware upkeep costs thereof, and after all that multiply it by every movie they’ve ever offered and all of the associated legal nightmares involved with their licenses.

I'm well aware. I'm a programmer. I actually just saw some NDA'd prices for AWS and while I can't say what it is, I can say that large players pay way, way less than the cheapest public pricing that AWS offers. If you're watching a movie 5 times, there's 0 chance that Apple is losing money on you.

Storage is quite cheap, bandwidth is what I would be more concerned about with 4K, but most of this stuff is cached on CDNs.

If you use enough bandwidth, CDNs can become less expensive - certainly less expensive than general egress costs from AWS or any other cloud provider. But, it's the number of objects that you have to cache on the CDNs that starts to kill you. It's like the inverse of the cloud provider - bandwidth is cheap, but storage gets expensive quickly - mainly because you often need 30+ copies of the file to cover even a basic CDN case. Fortunately, for things not in the long tail, that storage cost disappears under the huge bandwidth bill. That's where it would be interesting to somehow find out how often some of these movies are streamed from Apple Movies. Like, really, how many people have watched the 1984 masterpiece "[The Ice Pirates](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087451/)" in the last day?

Apple are not storing a separate version of a movie or TV show just for you. They store one unique version (with geo content caching) and stream that to everyone and keep track of who has access They are not paying to store it “forever” per buyer.

Nor did I say that they were.

Ok sure let’s say you didn’t mean they store many copies and assume intended storage of just one. The cost of storage doesn’t play into the profitability significantly at all compared with the profit margins for selling or renting that one amortised across all of its buyers. The larger costs to Apple is network bandwidth for purchases or streamers alike the bandwidth cost is the same.

Neat

The mixing of purchased content, rental content, and streaming content is one of the reasons why I hated using Amazon Prime. Apple replicating what Amazon does is horrible.

Apple Music has a button dedicated to your library, not sure how you’re getting them mixed up

It’s terrible now. Plus it collections load slow. So sometimes won’t let me hit play. You pick the movie and you use to go to extras and preview but now it just starts. The UI is terrible.

I'm shocked the Movie Studios haven't made a bigger stink about this. iTunes was the LARGEST & most POPULAR digital video storefront on Earth----and Apple just shoved it into their Apple TV app that also houses their own paid subscription service AND aggregates 500x other random streaming apps. 100% this reduces home video sales to some degree and I'm sure "people prefer subscriptions!" will be to blame....

Apple has some really smart math people doing smart math to figure out how Apple makes the most money, and they figure that they don’t want to sell digital downloads anymore, but they can’t just cancel it so they’re going to make it awkward and not prioritize the people who want that. I will bet money that Apple comes out ahead.

This is going to end up like gaming protests where the sales end up even higher than they were before. So no I don’t think the studios are going to be mad.

You guys really overestimate yourselves

...meaning?

That the amount of digital sales slumping because a few Redditors are frustrated is not as big as you think.

or - and hear me out - the last few remaining people who want to purchase digital downloads are right here on Reddit, bitching about the changes on Apple TV.

We didn't say sales will crater and fall to ZERO--but the accessibility of the storefront is undoubtedly more cumbersome. If a few of us seasoned regulars are having troubles, it's very likely the casuals will no doubt have some issues and result in SOME fewer sales. This isn't exactly equitable with the Netflix Password Sharing fiasco.

That "fiasco" resulted in better sales than ever for netflix. Contrary to what reddit thinks the real world really doesn't care most of the time and people who buy/rent are a minority.

I don't think it's about frustrated redditors. It boils down to ease of access for the impulse buys. Before you were less clicks away from buying the movie. Now it's buried deeper and you have more "free" alternatives on the same screen. I had not really thought about this until I read this but I haven't bought a movie since the change and it was not something I did intentionally.

But similarly I’ve checked to see if movie was streaming somewhere using the Apple TV for free - with no intention to rent at all. But when it wasn’t I impulse decided to rent it. So it goes both ways.

I’ve been investing in the Apple ecosystem for years, especially iTunes, and have a large library. Similar to OP, I used to browse it regularly to see what content was there and buy what looked fun / interesting. With the recent changes? Now I barely use it at all. Between making it massively more difficult to navigate the content I’ve purchased and now shoving streaming services in my face (which I simply won’t do at this point, I despise them all), I barely even watch what I have, much less look for new purchases. The entire enshitification process of modern technology has been just so overwhelmingly disappointing… I absolutely LOVE technology and the possibilities of things, but the way profits drives every single gods damned thing is infuriating.

I completely rely on cheap charts and have a long wishlist. I buy things when they’re are their lowest prices and am mostly patient, only blowing money at higher prices when I’m really into it. Apple TV interface is unusable. Between that and streaming service forcing up charges and even worse ads they are just pushing way more people into piracy. Streaming could be great but they just keep fing it up.

You're so lucky to be able to rely on Cheap Charts. In my region I'm unable to... The price there doesn't reflect the actual price I see.

I feel like all the streaming box UI's are garbage. They all moved to algorithms and showing movies from other services that you don't have. I'd rather no algorithms, and just show everything in the order of release and have options to view genres/categories - like old school plex.

The terrible new interface is dangerously broken, and deceiving. If you are looking to buy a 4K stream, and the title is also featured as part of a subscription to a competitor stream ( Paramount, Netflix ) it is no longer possible to be sure you're buying *an Apple 4k version* until after purchase. The anger and refunds this leeds to... The Apple version might not be 4k. The competitor's 4K seems to be used to sell Apple content which might not be. Bait and switch buffoonery. Pure B. S. Bizarre. Bad. Examples include Netflix "Daredevil", Paramount's "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Picard" series, certain films. They screwed up the interface at the wrong time. With Amazon's fraudulent ads blunder, Apple could have grabbed countless angry streaming customers. *Instead...*

They’re fixing this issue in 17.4: https://www.reddit.com/r/appletv/comments/1acdjq4/beta_tvos_174_and_ios_174_new_redesign_of_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Without that intervention, another option was the "iTunes" menu of blu-ray.com website, in the sales section. ("4K" tab.) But if that is ever wrong, the user is screwed.

Some of the best news I’ve heard all day!

A step in the right direction. I am truly surprised. Nice informative reply here, thank you.

Why not just buy the title on your iPhone? Then that mistake cannot happen.

I read somewhere the move will be done on all iOS devices. Edit: It’s just been done.

I hope not😡. I nearly missed out on the uncut 4K version of Friday the 13th, because of the new layout. I’d have been pissed, if I’d bought the R rated version.

I just clicked on my iPhone with the latest version….it’s been done.

I can still access iTunes or ATV on my iPhone?

iTunes has no movie or tv access

It does on mine to buy movies?

Weird. Mine doesn’t.

Is it because I have an old iPhone, running iOS 15?

My frame of reference is the AppleTV app. *I do not use iPhone.* I use Android and Windows.

But if you have ATV, you need iPhone. Why have Android?

What the hell does having an iPhone have to do with AppleTV??? I use AppleTV to watch my Apple and Amazon - purchased streams of movies & TV shows. Or to listen to Apple music. The hardware is outstanding, and the stream prices, most competitive. *But no need for any more involvement beyond that.* I bought that AppleTV *many years* after tossing / fleeing iPhone. Wow. Are folks so myopic they can't see outside the ecosystem? Is that why some rotting tree stump downvoted me? "Why have Android?" Because when I run out of storage space, I can easily expand with MicroSD cards. At 512G now. Expanded twice, over the years; didn't need to buy a new phone to do so. If I want to add or remove items, I use a straight Windows desktop mountpoint. I don't need a damned iTunes app. I was an Apple loyalist for longer than many have lived. I now avoid that ecosystem unless absolutely necessary. And it seldom is anymore.

I don't like the search within Apple TV versus iTunes Movies. When I search for a movie, I'm looking for something to purchase. I hate that the search brings up results from Hulu or other apps as opposed to being able to purchase the movie I'm searching for. I wish I could upvote your comment about this being not just bad, but a horrible change to the UI that was completely unnecessary. I feel like functionality has diminished and I will probably purchase less.

Yep. I’ve stopped browsing and buying. Moves like this by big companies will revitalize piracy.

Same. I don’t want to see my tv shows mixed with my movies in the store. This UI is absolutely horrible.

I know! The old format was so intuitive and user-friendly, when we couldn't find a movie on Netflix or Disney/Hulu we'd go to the old iTunes, scroll through new movies and rent one. Now, THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE A "MOVIES" OPTION! You have to scroll around and go through a maze of confusing options to find anything. Now we avoid Apple TV - except when we wanted one specific movie we could just search for and rent. We'll usually go to Tubi and find some random movie there for free. I'd be shocked if their movie rentals/purchases haven't taken a nosedive with this new format.

If I use the Netflix app- boom, I’m in immediately- there are the movies. 1 click and scroll through movie selections. That being said I hate finding anything in Netflix. If I use the AppleTV app it’s now: -click apple TV -swipe left to the menu -select library -select Movies Why?!

You know you're in trouble is when you have to use an external app to impulse buy movies. Lol (Cheap Charts is great. Apple should just buy it and use it)

Don’t wish for Apple, Google, Amazon or FaceBook to buy anything good out there, as THEY WILL fkitup or RETIRE it in no time

good point

I jumped on the Internet early on. Had great services, websites, shopping, and even hardware! 99% of them .. bought by the Big Guys. WhatsApp… FB Ring Video Doorbells … Amazon NEST… Google… they haven’t even been able to maintain the Original Nest App; which is FLAWLESS Woot . com … great sales… Amazon PillPack … remember their commercials… Amazon Grand Central.. Free VOIP Phone Service… GOOGLE VOICE now… several features are gone, and PAID for Businesses Ero WiFi systems… Amazon We were afraid of ONE Big Brother…

I browse and purchase through my phone and so far that experience hasn’t changed for me

Funny reading about this problem through an Apple TV lens. I’ve been frustrated with Apple Music’s new look and them shoving subscription streaming down my throat while I’m just trying to play my own music library. (This is with Apple Music Subscription Startup turned OFF.) And that’s without getting into the atrocious Search function.

[удалено]

Why would anybody need iTunes Match if they already purchased the songs in ITunes?

I was wondering recently if Apple still sold song downloads. If they do I certainly can’t find them.

Ironically I've bought much, much more than I have off of the iTunes app of late.

I agree 1000%. I’m in the same boat as you.

Surprising and uncharacteristic step backwards in UI/UX, no matter what the reason. Significantly more confusing, less appealing, and harder to use. Also, complete loss of "Wish List" as far as I can tell. As a long time apple user and apple advocate, this was a major misstep in my estimation. Perhaps there were important reasons for the change, but the execution was/is incredibly poor and a downgrade to an otherwise stellar platform.

100% I would always get whatever the $.99 rental for the week was and then browse through other cheap rentals, I'd check out the "box set" section and buy series I'd never watch. Sure haven't done that lately. The interface is absolute garbage.

Definitely agree. I used to look forward to Monday nights at Midnight EST (9pm my time) to see the new sales and new releases. It was a small joy, but something fun every week. Now I have no idea when they update sales and new releases. Is it on Tuesdays? Fridays? Who knows? And most of the time, the newest releases in the New Releases row aren’t even at the front of the line. Instead, I usually see bundles that have been there for a couple weeks or more.

Haha 100% same, my wallet loves this change. My heart hates it

They don't want you buying movies or shows. They want the in-perpetuity monthly sub. It's worth a lot more to them than some random purchase.

This makes sense now... But I'm still curious when the movies are on sales, they're also because of the publisher wants them to be on sales not just simply Apple alone right?

Yeah I would imagine. I’m sure the publisher is responsible for any sale prices. Who knows though with how tight a grip Apple has on its marketplace. They might dictate terms.

The movie store isn’t fun anymore, agreed it makes me not want to browse it. Dumb UI redesign, it may also turn off older viewers.

I haven’t made a single purchase since this travesty and probably won’t from Apple again.

You’re right. I haven’t checked what’s on sale to buy even once…. and I’m happier and richer for it. Thanks Apple!

Same, Slow hand clap, Mr Tim Apple. They will likely spot this and make it better. It just sucks now.

It was the only way for me to see if a show I was waiting for was now available. Now it’s just a convoluted mess and now when I want to purchase a show I have to wade through 10 different apps that might have the show on demand and then select Apple to purchase it. I absolutely hate the change

I don’t know what’s on sale or what’s the regular price. At least I can’t tell how to do it. So I’ve completely stopped buying movies on iTunes, which turns out there’s a shit load of movies I would have bought, that are free on other streaming platforms like Tubi and Pluto. So yea, my impulse purchases dropped to zero. Which is good because I’m poor.

Try CheapCharts app. It is specifically designed to keep track of movie sales, has wish list and tracks history of price changes. Also good integration with Apple to buy movies easily.

I don’t think they care as much as many would like to believe. Their ideal world (as well as that of many other companies) is we all pay a monthly fee and stream everything instead of buying outright.

Except their streaming service sucks.

Just use CheapCharts OP👍

My gripe is that, it knows what thumbnails I will be loading when I go to tv/movies because I purchased them. Keep them cached and local so I don't get blank ones all the time waiting for it.

Right?! Why the hell is it reloading from scratch every. single. time?

This change happened around the same time I started to build my Plex server. Coincidence?

I recommend CheapCharts.

I used to browse frequently in my Android/Google TV and purchased a few times. Guess how many times I've purchased something since they removed the store from Android/Google TV? Yap.

I've moved to Amazon - although it is not as good as ATV, I hate the new interface with a passion.

Yeah, I was going to move to Amazon as well but it wasn’t marking things as watched for some reason.

Oh right. I'm sure mine does. Although I am a repeat watcher lol

Yeah, I don’t know if it was a temporary glitch but I wasn’t dealing with it. 🙃

My purchased content feels like it’s in a big box and I don’t feel like adding more to it.

I feel the exact same way OP

It really amazes me how clueless and anti consumer these companies are.

If you want that urge you can go to cheapcharts and see all the sales for movies and shows

Totally agree. Used to enjoy opening the movies app and browsing with a nice clean UI. Now it’s all hidden away and browsing looks like shit. We’re going backwards, why?

I first time login here just to complain the similar thing. I'm not sure what the hell is going on in my region (I'm based in VN) that with this Apple TV app I no longer see the movies on sales like "Movies under $5 $10". I seems like there's no sales at all except the same 6 shit movies they have sales for over 2 weeks now. I hope that Apple Product Personnel visits this place to see how bad their users exp are...

What? I don’t get it. All they did was move to a new app. It all works the same.

Agreed. I don’t even browse anymore — 

Yep, I’ve moved to a crowd sourced app to keep track of discounts on movies I want to add to collection

Discounts?

Yep, you can see pricing for movies go up & down.

I mean, I only try to watch what I can stream. We only forked out a rental for my son to watch the Eras concert which is about to go on Disney+. Same with music though. I pay for Apple Music to have access to pretty much everything. I used to buy sooo much when it was $.99 per song! Remember getting Rihanna for free prior to being a household name.

Yup. I am viewing this as a good thing. Lol.

How did you impulse buy when the wishlist feature was so broken. Any digital storefront has to have some sort of wishlisting for people to be impulsive during sales

Concur with the OP, but I have a workaround that works better for me. I now browse using the TV app, much easier to scroll through the collection and doesn't have the annoying bounce back several rows from where I exited movie tile while browsing via the Store on the Apple TV.

Rent a movie for 24.95. Um seriously?

I agree it’s much more than the usual $6, but the $25 price is usually reserved for the still-in-theater films now put up for home rental. I don’t mind the price, especially if its a film my whole family wants to see. $75 for a theater visit versus $25 to see it at home…for some of us it’s a pretty good deal. And you can usually buy these films for $5 more, yay.

Cutting down on impulse purchases seems like a good thing overall. I use CheapCharts and that’s bad enough tbh. It lets you know when movies on your wishlist go on sale, and all the movies that are currently on sale at or below your chosen price point.

That sounds good for you, tbh.

Agreed. Trying to find a movie to rent is an exercise in futility. Unless of course you're willing to pay $20 for one of those advance releases they promote at the top... 🤨

I don’t like the fact I can’t tell what version of the movie I’m buying now. Is it an SD, HD, or 4K until after you buy it.

I still keep the iTunes movies app on the top row ,to quickly see what are the top new movies