It’s 1 November, and the Apple TV+ streaming service is now available to all iPhone, iPad and Mac users in India.
Apple’s premium TV service was announced in September this year during the Apple iPhone 11 series launch event and it finally comes to Apple users starting Friday.
But, what does it offer in terms of content and how does it stack up against existing Over The Top (OTT) streaming players in India like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (APV) and even Hotstar?
Here’s a comparison between Apple TV+ and other OTTs.
How Much Does it Cost?
Apple TV+ service comes to India at a nominal cost of Rs 99 per month. In this monthly subscription, you get access to Apple TV+ original content only, previews to which Apple showcased at the iPhone launch in September.
Apple hasn’t announced any yearly plans for this service currently and there’s no news whether it intends to do the same.
Netflix announced its mobile-only plan a few months ago and it’s allowing access to all of its content at just Rs 199 per month. This is the most economical plan that Netflix offers. Its highest subscription monthly plan that can be viewed on any device or TV is priced at Rs 800.
Amazon Prime Video customers have to pay Rs 129 per month to access its content. Having said that, they can also save some cash by going for the yearly plan which costs Rs 999 annually.
Hotstar also has a yearly Rs 999 plan for its sports, movies and TV show content. You can also access its content at a monthly subscription of Rs 299 which is the most expensive among the OTT players listed in this piece.
Also, where Apple TV+ offers a free-trial period of just seven days for new users, Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video give you a month’s trial period.
(FYI: the prices mentioned above are base plan prices of all the OTTs.)
What Content Can You Stream?
Apple TV+ doesn’t have an extensive portfolio of shows right now, but it’s looking to build more content over the course of time.
Shows like ‘The Morning Show’, starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell and Reese Witherspoon and ‘See’ starring Jason Momoa of ‘Aquaman’ fame are available to watch for Apple TV+ subscribers and they can even download the episodes. In total there are 11 different titles to choose from.
In addition to this, the Apple TV app caters to a slew of movie titles and shows, that you can watch, but you’ll have to pay a separate fee to buy or rent the same.
Hotstar caters to a wider audience with its sports portfolio and it also houses a lot of daily soap content, exclusives like GOT (Game of Thrones) and both Hollywood and Bollywood movies.
Since it’s a multi-lingual platform, you’ll see content in different Indian languages. Hotstar’s biggest advantage is that users can watch a lot of its content without paying. For the premium titles, they have to pay every month or subscribe to the annual plan.
How Many Devices Do They Support?
Netflix and APV have a vast portfolio of movies and TV shows in multiple languages. Although, the content available is based on the region you are in. For example, users in the US have access to content that comes to India after a long delay.
All four OTT platforms allow you to download content and watch it later. However, Hotstar and APV have restrictions on certain content being downloaded. Only Netflix allows you to download and watch all of its content offline.
Apple TV+ users can view content on multiple devices (two currently). Since the company is yet to introduce its family plan offering in India, it’s safe to assume that only two devices can be used to stream its content.
On the other hand, both Hotstar and APV offer content viewing on two devices at the same time. If you try to view the same on a third one and you are denied access.
Netflix on mobile can only be viewed on one device at a time and doesn’t support device sharing. Although, Netflix does offer multiple-screen viewing on devices, but only at a subscription price starting at Rs 650 per month.
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