Another Streaming Service Just Changed Its Name Without Warning

Yet another streaming service has undergone a name change, following the recent rebranding of subscription services owned by Disney and HBO.

Apple has changed the name of their streaming service from Apple TV+ to just Apple TV, dropping the plus symbol.

While announcing the streaming release date of Joseph Kosinski’s sports drama F1 starring Brad Pitt, the company quietly announced the name change, writing “Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity” in a press release.

It’s not clear when the name change will go into effect across all devices, as the current Apple TV mobile app still utilizes a plus sign in all major branding.

A name change isn’t the only streaming trend Apple is adopting. Just like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney, Apple recently increased the monthly subscription price of Apple TV in August. The price of the streaming service went from $9.99 to $12.99, a 30% upcharge.

As of now, Apple has not stated why it decided to change the name of the streaming service.

It’s possible that the company initially wanted to avoid confusion with the original Apple TV, a streaming box that functions similarly to a Roku or an Amazon Fire Stick, and so they added a plus symbol to the name of the streaming service. (Personally, this writer is excited that he no longer has to figure out how to describe a show that’s on the service without adding an apostrophe and an S to the end of a plus symbol, which always looks weird and ugly.)

The new Apple TV service is available to watch on just about every smart device.