Apple TV+ free trial gets second extension

Apple has extended the year-long free trial of its TV+ SVOD until July 2021.

The service, which launched in November 2019, was initially offered with a free trial to anyone who purchased a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod Touch or Mac device with a US$4.99 per month price point after.

While the service has seen positive critical reactions for titles including Ted Lasso and The Beastie Boys Story, Apple is evidently not confident in its prospects as a standalone product – particularly as many of its productions have been hit by delays.

To date, Dickinson and Servant are the only shows to have debuted their second seasons, while star-studded series including The Morning Show and For All Mankind have seen heavy delays. Foundation, the eagerly anticipated adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi series – which had long been considered an unfilmable text – has similarly been pushed back.

This is not the first time that Apple extended the trial period, with the company in October extending the offer until February.

While launched with the expectation that Apple was to take on Netflix, Apple TV+ is a far more modest proposition and has been focused almost entirely on original content with only a handful of acquired shows. It is offered as a core part of the Apple One services bundle which includes Apple Music, Apple Arcade and cloud storage.