Apple expanded the TV+ video service to Android phones for the first time, a move aimed at boosting its streaming subscribers.

On Wednesday, the TV+ app became available via the Google Play Store as a free download. The service, which launched in 2019, had previously been reserved for the company’s own operating system and third-party TV platforms like Roku. Bloomberg News reported earlier that the app’s launch was imminent.

The move marks the rare occasion when Apple is offering services on Google’s Android, its biggest competitor in smartphone software. Though Apple provides its Music service as an Android app, it typically tries to keep customers within the bounds of its own product ecosystem.

Taking this step suggests that Apple is trying to boost the appeal of TV+ and challenge streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. Though the iPhone maker has had hits on the platform, such as Severance and Ted Lasso, it lags well behind the biggest platforms in viewers, according to industry estimates. Apple has never disclosed subscriber or revenue figures for TV+.

Launched at US$4.99 (HK$38.92) per month, Apple TV+ now costs $9.99 monthly. Bloomberg News first reported last year that Apple was working on an Android app for TV+. A spokesperson for the Cupertino, California-based company declined to comment.

In addition to the TV+ move, Apple will allow users to access its MLS Season Pass on the Android TV+ app. Apple launched that service, which lets fans watch Major League Soccer matches, in February 2023.

BLOOMBERG

The Apple TV application for download in the Apple App store on a smartphone arranged in New York, U.S., on Thursday, June 17, 2021. Apple Inc. would be prohibited from pre-installing its own apps on Apple devices under antitrust reform legislation introduced last week, said Democratic Representative David Cicilline, who is leading a push to pass new regulations for US technology companies. Bloomberg

Apple brings TV+ to Android phones in bid to boost subscribers