Apple TV+ is now just Apple TV, and Apple’s senior vice president of Services says the change was simply the right moment to make it.
In a guest appearance on The Town podcast hosted by Matt Belloni, Eddy Cue discussed why the company decided to drop the “Plus” from Apple TV Plus and why Apple does not believe it will create confusion with its other products of the same name.
Cue said the decision was a collective one for Apple.
“I just decided, we just decided. Look, we put the plus in there because we’ve used it in our other services like iCloud+ and News+, but we do that when we have a free service and then there’s a paid version. We stayed consistent because of it, but we all called it Apple TV and we said, given where we are today, it’s a great time to do it, so let’s just do it.”
He explained that Apple no longer sees a need for the “Plus” distinction now that Apple TV’s subscription identity is firmly established.
Dropping the suffix brings the name in line with how consumers already refer to it as simply Apple TV.
Personally, I’m already missing being able to say TV+ in conversation, but I get it.
When asked whether the simpler name might cause confusion with Apple’s hardware, Cue said he does not think that will be an issue.
“Our hardware is called Apple TV 4K for your TV. I think that’s fine, and the app is called Apple TV. It’s been called Apple TV on our third-party products as well, so I don’t think that’ll be a problem at all.”
In a bit of symmetry, the podcast appearance also flips the script on a recent Apple TV connection. Earlier this year, Belloni made a cameo as himself in The Studio on Apple TV. Now, the head of Apple’s TV business is the one appearing on The Town.
This comes up near the end of the podcast episode. Listen in full here.
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