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Apple TV app coming to Macs, Roku, smart TVs in 2019

Apple's video streaming service will extend beyond iPhones, iPads and Apple TV.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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Stephen Shankland
Peter Stern, Apple's vice president of services

Peter Stern, Apple's vice president of services

Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

Apple TV no longer will be limited to iPhones, iPads and Apple TVs, as the company plans to release the video service for Macs and smart TVs later this year.

The Mac app will arrive this fall, said Peter Stern, Apple's vice president of services, at an Apple press event Monday.

"We know you're going to want this experience on every screen in your home. We're bringing the Apple TV app to smart TVs," Stern said. It'll begin with Samsung TVs this spring then move to LG, Sony and Vizio TVs afterward, he said.

Roku and Amazon Fire TV streaming-video devices also will be supported. Apple made no mention of Android and Windows devices, though.

The move is a significant expansion of Apple's video ambitions, but it's a crowded market already.

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and others have benefited from cord cutting, consumers ditching their traditional cable subscriptions in favor of smaller streaming bundles. On-demand TV services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu offer thousands of videos to stream on demand, while services like Sling TV, DirecTV Now and YouTube TV let you watch live TV over the internet.

CNET staff writers Joan Solsman and Shara Tibken contributed to this report.