Early in 2025, Apple pulled an almost unimaginable prank by introducing one of its most popular entertainment offerings inside a competitor’s ecosystem. The company revealed earlier today that its Apple TV platform is now available on Android smartphones. You may now download the streaming app for smartphones and tablets from the Google Play Store.
“The Apple TV app for Android was built from the ground up to deliver Android users a familiar and intuitive interface,” says Apple. Additionally, users who install the app for the first time are eligible for a normal seven-day free trial of the Apple TV+ service (which is not the same as Apple TV).
There are no technological difficulties in accessing the TV series, movies, and sports content that are part of Apple’s ecosystem. Like any other app or service linked to a recurring payment on Android devices, you may subscribe to and pay for the MLS Season Pass and Apple TV+ directly through the native billing system of the Google Play Store.
It is not quite the all-in-on-sports experience that you get with Apple’s dedicated Sports app, but the MLS content directory on the Apple TV app isn’t too bad on its own. The announcement comes roughly a week ahead of the next season’s kickoff, and it seems Apple needs all the extra cash it can milk from Android die-hards in return for exclusive content and expert analysis videos. And that $300 million Brad Pitt-led racing film is also in production, so there’s that bill, too.
An overview of Apple TV running on Android
In addition to the standard streaming services, Apple is providing the basic Apple TV experience on Android with minimal functional gaps. This means that you can also access tools like Continue Watching, offline downloads, and Watchlists. The ease of purchasing or renting movies, however, seems to be lacking.You will need to check out Netflix or Amazon Prime Video for that convenience. Naturally, Apple is promoting the streaming service for Android as an additional platform for its library of original TV shows and movies, so you will have to put up with big carousels showcasing some of the most popular shows and movies all over the home screen.
Regarding the user interface, Apple is maintaining consistency with other platforms. Along with support for viewing in picture mode, you also get the ability to stream content in portrait orientation. Nevertheless, there doesn’t seem to be any ability to receive notifications when new episodes are released, nor is there any indication that casting assistance is available.
Notably, the bundle includes accessibility-focused features like audio descriptions (AD) to explain the scenario in progress and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH). Support for Dolby Atmos, Dolby 5.1, and AAC formats will please audio aficionados. In my little experience with the Apple TV app on the OnePlus 13, playback has been seamless thus far, the user interface is clear, and the motions are fluid.